Budget and survey questions look like they ask for memory, but they really ask for classification. Is this figure a Budget Estimate, a Revised Estimate or an actual? Does it come from the State's own Socio-Economic Survey, from the budget documents, or from a third-party analysis of those documents? Is it at current prices or at constant prices? Candidates who attach those three labels to every number rarely lose marks, and candidates who do not attach them lose marks even when they remember the number. This post teaches that habit using the latest material available as on October 2026: the Andhra Pradesh Budget for 2026-27, presented on 14 February 2026, and the Socio-Economic Survey 2024-25 published by the Planning Department, with the RBI report on State Finances and MoSPI data as cross-checks.
As on October 2026. The Budget Estimates are for 2026-27 and are plans, not results. The latest Socio-Economic Survey volume listed on the Finance Department's survey page when we checked (7 October 2026) is the 2024-25 edition; a 2025-26 volume was not listed there. Every number below carries its year and its source. Where the Survey and the budget-analysis numbers differ, the difference is explained and not hidden.
This post goes deeper on the budget documents and the Survey than our general revision notes. For a broader first pass on the economy, including the GVA shares and a basic ladder of budget numbers, read AP economy and budget notes for APPSC and SI first, then come back here for the document structure, the Revised Estimate versus actual lesson, the constant-price series, the sub-sector detail and the flagship allocations. For schemes as policy, see the AP government schemes notes. To fit this into your plan, see the Andhra Pradesh government exams 2026 guide.
1. What an Andhra Pradesh budget is made of
A State budget is formally the Annual Financial Statement, the statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the State for a financial year, which the Governor causes to be laid before the Legislature under Article 202 of the Constitution. The year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund is shown separately from the sums that are voted by the Assembly as demands for grants (Article 203), and the sums voted are authorised by an Appropriation Bill (Article 204). If the budget cannot be passed before 1 April, a vote on account (Article 206) lets the government spend for a part of the year. Extra spending during the year needs a supplementary or additional demand (Article 205).
The money itself sits in three accounts. The Consolidated Fund of the State (Article 266(1)) holds revenues received, loans raised and recoveries of loans, and no money can be taken out of it except under an appropriation made by law. The Contingency Fund of the State (Article 267(2)) is an advance kept at the Governor's disposal for urgent unforeseen expenditure, later recouped by the Legislature. The Public Account (Article 266(2)) holds funds the government holds as a banker or trustee, such as provident funds and deposits. The distinction matters in exams: an option that says the Contingency Fund is part of the Consolidated Fund is wrong.
Inside the Consolidated Fund the budget is divided into the revenue account and the capital account. Revenue receipts are taxes, the State's share in central taxes, non-tax revenue and grants; revenue expenditure is spending that does not create an asset, such as salaries, pensions, interest and subsidies. The capital account carries capital receipts (borrowings and recoveries) and capital outlay (asset creation such as irrigation, roads and buildings), plus loans given by the State. Two further principles of classification help: the major head (a four-digit code that identifies a function) and the demand for grants, which is the unit on which the Assembly votes.
2. The budget documents on the Finance Department site
The Finance Department's budget page for 2026-27 lists 34 documents. Knowing what they are saves time when a question asks "which document gives X?" Volume I (in two parts) carries the Annual Financial Statement and Explanatory Memorandum and the Statement of Demands for Grants. Volume II gives Detailed Estimates of Revenue and Receipts. Volume III is a series of seventeen parts, each covering a group of departments, and contains the department-wise detailed estimates (for example, Volume III-7 is Education and Volume III-13 is Water Resources). Volume IV is the Public Account. Volume V is the Annexures, in Telugu and English. Volume VI is the Budget in Brief. Volume VII has the Outcome Budget and the Scheduled Tribes Component and Scheduled Castes Component statements. Volume VIII has Appendices A and B to the Budget Estimates. Volume IX is the Analysis of Demands for Grants by Ministers.
Outside the numbered volumes there are four thematic statements: the Child Budget, the Gender Budget, Budget Allocations to Backward Classes and Budget Allocations to Minorities. The Socio-Economic Survey is a separate document. The Survey says in its preface that it is prepared by the Planning Department with the cooperation of government departments, that it is presented in both Houses alongside the budget documents, and that it is the State's counterpart of the Union Economic Survey. Its 13 chapters run from General Overview and Macro Economic Aggregates through Public Finance, Prices, Agriculture, Industries, Economic and Social Infrastructure, Poverty and Employment, Swarna Andhra Vision 2047, KPIs and SDGs, and an overview of policies, ending in annexures.
An exam tip: when a question says "according to the Socio-Economic Survey", the number must come from the Survey's own Advance Estimate or Revised Estimate, while "according to the Budget" means the Budget Estimate in the Annual Financial Statement. PRS Legislative Research, an independent body, publishes a budget analysis that re-arranges the budget numbers; its numbers are legitimate, but a question that does not name PRS is usually asking about the Government's own documents. The fiscal limits are set by the Andhra Pradesh Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2005, which provides annual targets to reduce outstanding liabilities, revenue deficit and fiscal deficit.
3. Budget 2026-27 at a glance
The Budget for 2026-27 was presented on 14 February 2026 by the State's Finance Minister. All amounts below are Budget Estimates (BE) in rupees crore unless stated, from the Annual Financial Statement as analysed by PRS Legislative Research, with the headline total confirmed by press reports (The News Minute, South First).
| Item (BE 2026-27) | Amount, Rs crore | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Total expenditure | 3,32,205 | includes debt repayment |
| Debt repayment | 22,147 | |
| Net expenditure (excluding debt repayment) | 3,10,058 | 12% above RE 2025-26 |
| Revenue expenditure | 2,56,143 | 8% above RE 2025-26 |
| Capital outlay | 48,698 | 47% above RE 2025-26 |
| Loans given by the State | 5,218 | |
| Total receipts | 3,31,505 | includes borrowings |
| Gross borrowings | 97,315 | includes 11,000 central capex loans |
| Net receipts (excluding borrowings) | 2,34,190 | 19% above RE 2025-26 |
| Revenue receipts | 2,34,140 | |
| Revenue deficit | 22,003 | 1.1% of GSDP |
| Fiscal deficit | 75,868 | 3.8% of GSDP |
| Primary deficit | 38,588 | 2.0% of GSDP |
| GSDP projected | 19,75,073 | current prices, 12% growth |
Three checks help you remember and test these numbers. First, net expenditure plus debt repayment equals total expenditure: 3,10,058 plus 22,147 is 3,32,205. Second, net expenditure minus net receipts equals the fiscal deficit: 3,10,058 minus 2,34,190 is 75,868. Third, gross borrowings of 97,315 minus repayment of 22,147 equals net borrowings of 75,168, which PRS reports as the amount needed to finance the net expenditure. The small gap between 75,168 and 75,868 is the reason you should never assume that net borrowing and fiscal deficit are interchangeable in an exam answer.
The revenue deficit is the gap between revenue expenditure and revenue receipts: 2,56,143 minus 2,34,140 is 22,003. The primary deficit is the fiscal deficit minus interest: 75,868 minus 37,281 is 38,587, which PRS rounds to 38,588. The State's own tax revenue of 1,25,846 crore is 6.4 per cent of the projected GSDP (1,25,846 divided by 19,75,073 is 0.0637), compared with 5.6 per cent in both 2024-25 (actuals) and 2025-26 (RE). Those are arithmetic steps you can do in an exam in under a minute.
4. Budget Estimate, Revised Estimate and actual: the lesson of 2025-26
The most useful exam lesson in the 2026-27 documents is how far estimates drift. PRS tabulates 2024-25 actuals, 2025-26 Budget Estimates, 2025-26 Revised Estimates and 2026-27 Budget Estimates side by side.
| Item (Rs crore) | 2024-25 actual | 2025-26 BE | 2025-26 RE | 2026-27 BE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenditure | 2,72,228 | 3,22,359 | 3,00,535 | 3,32,205 |
| Net receipts | 1,68,121 | 2,18,002 | 1,96,952 | 2,34,190 |
| Revenue deficit | 60,285 | 33,186 | 41,118 | 22,003 |
| Fiscal deficit | 81,013 | 79,927 | 80,567 | 75,868 |
| Fiscal deficit, % of GSDP | 5.1% | 4.4% | 4.6% | 3.8% |
| Revenue deficit, % of GSDP | 3.8% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 1.1% |
| GSDP | 15,91,226 | 18,25,000 | 17,62,357 | 19,75,073 |
Read the table in three steps. In 2025-26 the Government expected net receipts of 2,18,002 crore, but the Revised Estimate was 1,96,952 crore, which is 10 per cent lower. Own tax revenue was budgeted at 1,09,007 crore and revised to 98,025 crore (10 per cent lower), and non-tax revenue was budgeted at 19,119 crore and revised to 14,324 crore (25 per cent lower). The shortfall in receipts pushed the revenue deficit from a budgeted 1.8 per cent to a revised 2.3 per cent of GSDP, and the fiscal deficit from 4.4 to 4.6 per cent. The GSDP estimate was also revised down, from 18,25,000 crore (BE 2025-26) to 17,62,357 crore (RE), a reduction of about 3 per cent, which is why percentages of GSDP can move even if the rupee figure stays the same.
Then look at 2024-25. The Socio-Economic Survey 2024-25, finalised in March 2025, gives a Revised Estimate for 2024-25 of a revenue deficit of Rs 48,311 crore and a fiscal deficit of Rs 73,362 crore. The 2026-27 budget documents, one year later, give the actuals as Rs 60,285 crore and Rs 81,013 crore. The same year, two documents, two sets of figures, both correct for their vintage: one is an estimate made before the year closed and the other is the closed account. A question that says "according to the Survey" wants the first, and a question that says "actual" wants the second. The ratios differ too, because the actual fiscal deficit is 5.1 per cent of GSDP.
Finally, look at 2026-27. A revenue deficit of 1.1 per cent against 2.3 per cent a year earlier is a plan that depends on revenue growing by 19 per cent over the Revised Estimate. The budget's own tax assumption of Rs 1,25,846 crore is 28 per cent over the 2025-26 RE. A careful candidate says "targeted" and "estimated", never "achieved".
5. Revenue side: where the money is expected to come from
Revenue receipts in BE 2026-27 are Rs 2,34,140 crore, built from four heads: the State's own tax Rs 1,25,846 crore, own non-tax Rs 11,474 crore, share in central taxes Rs 64,362 crore and grants-in-aid from the Centre Rs 32,458 crore. These add up to the total. Own resources (tax plus non-tax) are Rs 1,37,320 crore, which is 59 per cent of revenue receipts, and the Centre's contribution is Rs 96,820 crore, 41 per cent. Within the Centre's 41 per cent, the share in central taxes is 27 per cent of revenue receipts and grants are 14 per cent.
The own tax heads show how the State's economy is taxed. In BE 2026-27 the State GST is Rs 45,078 crore (the largest, at 36 per cent of own tax), State excise Rs 30,067 crore, sales tax and VAT Rs 24,126 crore, stamps duty and registration fees Rs 18,701 crore, taxes on vehicles Rs 6,018 crore, electricity duty Rs 512 crore and land revenue Rs 279 crore. Compared with the 2025-26 RE, the budget assumes growth of 15 per cent in State GST, 27 per cent in excise, 34 per cent in VAT, 70 per cent in stamps and registration, and 29 per cent in vehicles. The biggest assumption is stamps and registration, which jumped in the estimate partly because the 2025-26 RE was 16 per cent below that year's budget. PRS also notes that sales tax and VAT, excise and stamps fell short of their 2025-26 budgets; computed from the PRS table, the shortfalls are 14 per cent for sales tax and VAT, 13 per cent for excise and 16 per cent for stamps (the PRS narrative swaps the excise and stamps percentages, so we use the table). A reasonable summary for an answer: the 2026-27 receipts are ambitious, and ambition shows most in the tax heads that missed their last budget.
The Survey gives the structure for an earlier year. Own tax revenue for 2024-25 (RE) was Rs 94,967 crore, of which the Survey says State GST was 38 per cent and State excise 22 per cent, with stamps, motor vehicle tax and others making up the rest. Own non-tax revenue for 2024-25 (RE) was Rs 7,018 crore, of which mines and minerals contributed 50 per cent. Central transfers were Rs 89,157 crore (RE 2024-25) against Rs 84,251 crore in 2023-24, of which Finance Commission grants were Rs 57,002 crore against Rs 55,352 crore. Nothing in the revenue structure is a guess here: all of these come from Chapter 3 of the Survey.
PRS adds a mining observation drawn from the Union Ministry of Mines report of January 2025: only 4 of 25 auctioned mineral blocks in Andhra Pradesh were operational (16 per cent), compared with 54 per cent in Odisha and 29 per cent in Karnataka. The budgeted non-tax revenue from mining is Rs 5,196 crore in 2026-27, against Rs 5,320 crore in the 2025-26 RE.
6. Spending side: committed items, capital outlay and sector allocations
Interest payments are budgeted at Rs 37,281 crore in 2026-27, which is 16 per cent of revenue receipts, and pensions at Rs 23,713 crore, 10 per cent of revenue receipts. Together these two committed items take about 26 per cent of what the State collects on the revenue account, before a single scheme is funded. For comparison, the Survey reports interest of Rs 29,481 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 32,944 crore in 2024-25 (RE). PRS lists the 2024-25 actual interest at Rs 32,967 crore, and the 2025-26 RE at Rs 37,233 crore, so the interest line rises by roughly Rs 4,300 crore in one year, from the 2024-25 actual to the 2025-26 Revised Estimate.
Capital outlay is the line the Government wants to be remembered for. BE 2026-27 is Rs 48,698 crore, which is 47 per cent above the 2025-26 RE of Rs 33,135 crore, and about three times the 2024-25 actual of Rs 16,141 crore as tabulated by PRS. The sectors that gain most in capital outlay are irrigation and flood control (an increase of Rs 3,670 crore), water supply and sanitation (Rs 3,637 crore) and urban development (Rs 3,404 crore). Capital outlay is about 14.7 per cent of total expenditure. Note a trap: the Survey's own capital outlay figures for earlier years (Rs 23,331 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 24,072 crore in 2024-25 RE) come from a different document and vintage than the PRS table, so do not subtract one from the other.
The sector-wise allocations in BE 2026-27 are a revision staple. PRS groups them as follows.
| Sector (BE 2026-27) | Rs crore | Change over RE 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|
| Welfare of SC, ST, OBC and minorities | 52,855 | 27% |
| Education, sports, arts and culture | 35,673 | 7% |
| Rural development | 20,610 | 43% |
| Health and family welfare | 19,630 | 10% |
| Irrigation and flood control | 16,734 | 27% |
| Agriculture and allied activities | 14,433 | 11% |
| Energy | 14,120 | -6% |
| Urban development | 12,541 | 47% |
| Social welfare and nutrition | 9,189 | 26% |
| Transport | 8,834 | 4% |
These sectors account for 67 per cent of the State's total expenditure on sectors. The same table in PRS carries the allocation for each flagship item, summarised in the next section. The comparison with other states is revealing: Andhra Pradesh allocates 11.7 per cent of expenditure to education against a 14.5 per cent average of 31 states (BE 2025-26), 6.4 per cent to health against 6.2, 6.8 per cent to rural development against 4.9, 4.7 per cent to agriculture against 5.7, 0.9 per cent to roads and bridges against 4.3, and 2.8 per cent to police against 4.0. In an exam this comparison turns into "in which of these sectors is the State above the all-state average?" The answer is health and rural development.
7. Flagship allocations and what they pay for
The following numbers are BE 2026-27 allocations from the PRS analysis of the budget documents, and where a second source reports the same number it is mentioned.
- NTR Bharosa social security pensions: Rs 27,719 crore. PRS notes that the 16th Finance Commission recorded the highest per-capita spending on social security pensions in the country for Andhra Pradesh, Rs 5,061 per head (BE 2025-26), and that a ground verification in one village or ward secretariat per district found 9 per cent of beneficiaries ineligible and 0.6 per cent deceased. The Survey 2024-25 describes the pension as Rs 4,000 a month for the elderly, widows, transgender persons and persons with disabilities.
- Thalliki Vandanam: Rs 8,456 crore. The Survey 2024-25 describes the scheme as providing Rs 15,000 annually to mothers of school-going children.
- Annadata Sukhibhava: Rs 6,600 crore, along with Rs 1,365 crore for schemes under the PM Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
- Polavaram: Rs 6,105 crore within irrigation. The Survey (2024-25) reported overall works of the project at 78 per cent, head works at 74.92 per cent, left main canal at 73 per cent and right main canal at 93 per cent. Read the project background in rivers, dams and irrigation notes.
- Amaravati capital city development: Rs 6,000 crore under urban development.
- Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva Trust: Rs 4,000 crore, and Rs 2,819 crore for medical colleges and teaching hospitals. The Survey records that the Trust provides cashless care to 1.43 crore families and 3,257 procedures.
- VB-G RAM G rural employment scheme: Rs 8,365 crore as reported by PRS. The News Minute's sector table lists Rs 4,605 crore against the same scheme, a figure that probably reflects a different component, so we use only the PRS number and mark the difference.
- Stree Shakti, free bus travel for women: Rs 1,420 crore within transport. Rice subsidy: Rs 3,344 crore. Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0: Rs 941 crore. Samagra Shiksha: Rs 3,036 crore. Teaching grants to local bodies: Rs 20,801 crore.
- Energy: Rs 12,832 crore as assistance to the Transmission Corporation for agricultural subsidies. The Survey puts the installed power capacity at 27,392 MW for 2024-25.
- Jal Jeevan Mission: Rs 4,000 crore, and Housing, urban and rural: Rs 5,451 crore, per South First's report of the budget.
South First's report also lists Rs 30,000 crore against a Rayalaseema global horticulture hub proposal, Rs 638 crore for a quantum computing project and an initial corpus of Rs 100 crore for the Andhra Pradesh Wealth Fund. PRS describes the Wealth Fund as a sovereign wealth fund to be established, and notes free power up to 200 units a month for handloom weavers and up to 500 units a month for power loom weavers from 1 April 2026, 3,000 new police vehicles and a cybercrime police station in each district. These are policy announcements in the budget speech, and a question will usually ask only the headline: what is the Wealth Fund, who gets free power, how many vehicles.
Note about department-wise figures: reports give slightly different allocations for the same department, because some count department heads and some count sectors across departments. School Education Rs 32,308 crore and Health Rs 19,306 crore are reported identically by both press reports, so those are safe. Backward Classes Welfare and Agriculture are reported with conflicting figures, so we do not rely on them.
8. Deficits, debt and guarantees
The three deficits carry meaning in different ways. The revenue deficit, Rs 22,003 crore (1.1 per cent), shows that day-to-day spending exceeds day-to-day revenue; the fiscal deficit, Rs 75,868 crore (3.8 per cent), is the amount borrowed for the year; and the primary deficit, Rs 38,588 crore (2.0 per cent), is the borrowing excluding interest. The 16th Finance Commission recommends a fiscal deficit limit of 3 per cent of GSDP for states for 2026-31, and 50-year interest-free central loans for capital expenditure are excluded from the borrowing ceiling; the State has budgeted Rs 11,000 crore of such loans, 0.6 per cent of GSDP.
Outstanding liabilities are a stock. PRS records them at 33 per cent of GSDP in 2021-22, rising to 36 per cent in 2024-25 and estimated at 36 per cent in 2026-27. The Survey, using its own definitions, gives total debt of Rs 4,91,734 crore at the end of 2023-24 and Rs 5,64,488 crore at the end of 2024-25 (RE), which is 34.58 and 35.15 per cent of GSDP respectively. Two sources give 35 and 36 per cent for the same year because the GSDP estimate and the debt estimate were taken at different times, which is a perfect example of why a question must be read for its source.
Two items sit outside the headline. The first is off-budget borrowing: the CAG's State Finances Audit Report No. 2 of 2024 recorded outstanding off-budget borrowings of Rs 1.28 lakh crore (9.7 per cent of GSDP) as of March 2023, with Rs 15,499 crore spent in 2022-23 on repayment and servicing. The second is guarantees: as of 31 December 2025 the State's outstanding guarantees on borrowings of public sector enterprises were estimated at Rs 1,77,328 crore, about 10 per cent of 2025-26 GSDP (1,77,328 divided by 17,62,357 is 0.1006). Guarantees are contingent liabilities. They are not debt unless the State has to pay.
At the national level, RBI's report "State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2025-26", released on 23 January 2026, puts the consolidated gross fiscal deficit of states at 3.3 per cent of GDP in 2024-25 and budgeted at the same level for 2025-26, capital expenditure at 2.7 per cent of GDP in 2023-24 and 2024-25 and budgeted at 3.2 per cent in 2025-26, and outstanding liabilities budgeted at 29.2 per cent of GDP at end-March 2026. Against that backdrop, Andhra Pradesh's liabilities of about 36 per cent of GSDP are above the all-state average, and its fiscal deficit of 3.8 per cent budgeted for 2026-27 is above the 3 per cent Finance Commission benchmark.
9. The Socio-Economic Survey 2024-25: the macro picture
The Survey gives the economy in two price systems. At current prices it estimates GSDP at Rs 14.22 lakh crore in 2023-24 (growth 8.60 per cent) and Rs 16.06 lakh crore in 2024-25 (First Advance Estimate, growth 12.94 per cent). At constant 2011-12 prices it estimates GSDP at Rs 7.99 lakh crore in 2023-24 (growth 6.18 per cent) and Rs 8.73 lakh crore in 2024-25 (growth 9.24 per cent). The all-India comparison in the same table is growth of 6.4 per cent at constant prices and 9.7 per cent at current prices for 2024-25. Real growth is the constant-price number.
Here is the broad-sector table at constant prices, with the exact figures from the Survey.
| Year | Agriculture and allied GVA, Rs lakh crore | Industry GVA | Services GVA | GSDP | GSDP growth, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 1.86 | 1.51 | 2.52 | 6.50 | 3.70 |
| 2020-21 | 1.89 | 1.80 | 2.28 | 6.60 | 1.52 |
| 2021-22 | 2.07 | 1.86 | 2.55 | 7.07 | 7.14 |
| 2022-23 | 2.13 | 1.94 | 2.81 | 7.53 | 6.51 |
| 2023-24 | 2.10 | 2.09 | 3.03 | 7.99 | 6.18 |
| 2024-25 (FAE) | 2.32 | 2.23 | 3.29 | 8.73 | 9.24 |
The pattern is worth reading in prose. The pandemic year 2020-21 shows services falling (from 2.52 to 2.28 lakh crore, a drop of 9.21 per cent), industry rising 18.86 per cent from a weak 2019-20 base, and agriculture almost flat; the services collapse is the reason GSDP grew only 1.52 per cent. In 2023-24, agriculture shrank by 1.58 per cent, which dragged GSDP growth down to 6.18 per cent even though industry and services both grew by about 7.5 per cent. In 2024-25 (FAE), agriculture and allied activities grew 10.70 per cent, industry 6.58 per cent and services 8.53 per cent at constant prices.
At current prices, the Survey's 2024-25 (FAE) GVA values are Rs 5.19 lakh crore for agriculture and allied (growth 15.86 per cent), Rs 3.41 lakh crore for industry (6.71 per cent) and Rs 6.11 lakh crore for services (11.70 per cent). Adding them gives Rs 14.71 lakh crore of GVA. The shares are then 35.28, 23.18 and 41.53 per cent, which matches the Survey's published shares (35.29, 23.18, 41.53). The difference between GSDP (Rs 16.06 lakh crore) and GVA (Rs 14.71 lakh crore), roughly Rs 1.35 lakh crore, is taxes on products net of subsidies. That subtraction, which is our own arithmetic and not a Survey line, is a good answer to the question "why is GSDP bigger than the sum of sector GVAs?"
PRS gives a different set of shares for 2024-25 at current prices: agriculture 37 per cent, manufacturing 21 per cent and services 42 per cent (MoSPI data). The Survey's shares are for the State's own Advance Estimate; PRS used the MoSPI release available at its date. If an exam question names a source, use that source.
Prices matter. Comparing growth at current and constant prices gives an implied price effect: agriculture 1.1586 divided by 1.1070 is 1.047, a 4.7 per cent price rise; industry 1.0671 divided by 1.0658 is 1.001, about 0.1 per cent; and services 1.1170 divided by 1.0853 is 1.029, about 2.9 per cent. So agriculture's strong nominal growth of 15.86 per cent is partly price, and industry's growth is almost all real. That is a richer insight than saying "agriculture grew faster".
10. Sub-sectors, per capita income and the long-run picture
Inside the sectors, the Survey provides constant-price figures. Agriculture and allied GVA for 2024-25 (FAE) is Rs 2,32,296 crore, growing 10.70 per cent. Sub-sector figures at constant 2011-12 prices include horticulture of Rs 60,527 crore (growth 10.04 per cent), livestock Rs 66,456 crore (9.53 per cent), forestry and logging Rs 2,644 crore (0.04 per cent), and fishing and aquaculture, which grew 11.29 per cent. Agriculture proper, that is crops excluding horticulture, is Rs 25,584 crore, growing 14.99 per cent; added to horticulture it gives the Survey's combined agriculture and horticulture figure of Rs 86,111 crore. The crop figure surprises candidates who assume crops are the largest part of the sector. At current prices the sub-sector contributions to GVA in 2024-25 (FAE) are livestock about 12 per cent, horticulture 10 per cent, fishing and aquaculture 9 per cent, and manufacturing 10 per cent of the economy, with forestry 1 per cent, as the Survey's pie chart shows.
Industry GVA is Rs 2,22,741 crore at constant prices in 2024-25 (FAE), up from Rs 2,08,981 crore, and the Survey's text gives sub-sector growth as construction 9.55 per cent, electricity, gas, water and utilities 5.87 per cent, manufacturing 5.32 per cent and mining 2.70 per cent at constant prices. Its overview chapter, using current prices, quotes manufacturing growth of 6.57 per cent and construction growth of 10.47 per cent; these are different numbers for a different price basis and both are correct. The overview also says manufacturing contributes about 11 per cent of GSDP. In services, trade, hotels and restaurants grew from Rs 36,789 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 69,836 crore in 2024-25, and banking and insurance grew from Rs 18,063 crore to Rs 47,038 crore over the same ten years.
Per capita income, measured as net state domestic product per head at current prices, is Rs 2,68,653 in 2024-25 (FAE), against Rs 2,37,951 in 2023-24 (growth 12.9 per cent). The all-India figure is Rs 2,00,162, against Rs 1,84,205 (growth 8.7 per cent). The ratio, 2,68,653 divided by 2,00,162, is about 1.34. The ten-year view is more striking: from Rs 93,903 in 2014-15 to Rs 2,68,653 in 2024-25, which is a multiple of 2.86 and a compound annual growth of roughly 11.1 per cent, while the all-India figure grew from Rs 86,647 to Rs 2,00,162, a multiple of 2.31 and about 8.7 per cent a year. We computed these growth rates from the Survey's table. The earlier-year state figures show how uneven the path was: growth of only 4.10 per cent in 2019-20 and 4.82 per cent in 2020-21, then 15.26 per cent in 2021-22. PRS's per-capita GSDP for 2024-25, Rs 2,98,058, is a different and larger measure, because it does not deduct depreciation and uses GSDP not NSDP.
11. People, poverty and jobs: the social indicators
The Survey's profile of the State gives the stable background numbers that appear in many exam questions: the State has an area of 1,62,970 sq km, a coastline of 974 km, which the Survey calls the third-longest in the country, a population density of 304 per sq km against a national 382 (2011 Census), a sex ratio of 997 (2011) against a national 943, literacy of 67.35 per cent (2011) against 72.98 per cent, and an urban population of 29.47 per cent (2011). Land use shows 30.40 per cent of area under cultivation (49.55 lakh hectares) and 22.63 per cent under forest (36.88 lakh hectares). The profile in the Survey was written when the State had 26 districts; as covered in our district fact sheet, there are 28 as on October 2026.
On poverty, the Survey uses the NITI Aayog Multidimensional Poverty Index Report 2023. For Andhra Pradesh the MPI score is 0.025 for 2019-21, down from 0.053 in 2015-16, and the headcount ratio is 6.06 per cent against 14.96 per cent nationally (7.71 per cent rural and 2.20 per cent urban in the State). The State ranks ninth in the Survey's table of states, behind Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Telangana. In the 12-indicator breakdown, the State's deprivation is highest in nutrition (22.94 per cent), sanitation (22.84 per cent), years of schooling (15.81 per cent) and cooking fuel (16.09 per cent), and the Survey itself flags years of schooling, drinking water, sanitation, bank accounts, child and adolescent mortality, and nutrition as areas needing attention. The older poverty line figure, based on the Planning Commission for 2011-12, was 9.20 per cent for the State against 21.92 per cent nationally.
On employment, the Survey quotes the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023-24 (MoSPI): labour force participation of 47.5 per cent (male 59.5, female 35.8), a worker population ratio of 45.6 per cent, and an unemployment rate of 4.1 per cent (rural 3.4, urban 5.9; youth aged 15-29 at 17.5 per cent; female 6.9 per cent against male 4.3). The Survey's sector-wise employment percentages are not reproduced here because the four figures printed in its overview do not add to 100; use the headline participation and unemployment rates, which are consistent. The Survey also gives a maternal mortality ratio of 45 per lakh live births and an infant mortality rate of 24 per 1,000 live births, both reported as better than the national average.
12. Agriculture, industry and infrastructure indicators
The Survey's agriculture figures for 2024-25 are a collection of rankings. Horticulture covers 18.23 lakh hectares and produces 365.92 lakh tonnes, 15.6 per cent of the national output, and the State is described as the largest fruit producer in India. Foodgrain area in 2024-25 (second advance estimate) is 37.51 lakh hectares, up 12.85 per cent, with production estimated at 161.86 lakh tonnes (up 12.94 per cent) of which paddy is 127.15 lakh tonnes. Fish production reached 41.38 lakh tonnes against a target of 56.62 lakh tonnes, and the State contributes about 30 per cent of national fish production and 31 per cent of shrimp exports. In animal husbandry (2023-24) it ranked first in eggs (2,548.74 lakh), fifth in meat (10.68 lakh tonnes) and seventh in milk (139.94 lakh tonnes). Sericulture produced 61,394 tonnes of cocoons worth Rs 2,701 crore.
On industry and infrastructure: the State Investment Promotion Board approved eight large and mega projects in 2024-25 with committed investment of Rs 2,45,275 crore and an expected 65,541 jobs. The three industrial corridors are the Visakhapatnam-Chennai (VCIC), Chennai-Bangalore (CBIC) and Hyderabad-Bangalore (HBIC) corridors. The installed power capacity is 27,392 MW, the road network 45,379 km, and the Survey counts six operational ports and six airports including three international. The public distribution system covers 1.48 crore beneficiaries through 29,796 fair price shops. Those numbers are as on 2024-25 and will not match the current-affairs items in our October 2026 current affairs post, for instance the Bhogapuram airport that began operations on 17 August 2026. For the ports and industry chapter, see the minerals, industries and ports notes, and for agriculture the agriculture and irrigation notes.
13. Swarna Andhra Vision 2047 targets
The Survey includes a chapter on Swarna Andhra Vision 2047, with a table of current status and targets: GSDP from about 180 billion US dollars to more than 2.4 trillion dollars; per capita income from about 3,400 dollars to more than 42,000 dollars; unemployment from 5.8 per cent to below 2 per cent; women's workforce participation from about 45.8 per cent to more than 80 per cent; skilled workforce from 20-30 per cent to more than 95 per cent; renewable energy share from about 30 per cent to more than 75 per cent; and exports from about 20.7 billion dollars to more than 450 billion dollars. The Vision is built around ten guiding principles (sutras), which the Survey lists as Zero Poverty; Population Management and Human Resource Development; Employment and Skilling; Water Security; Farmer and Agri-Tech Advancement; Global-Best Logistics; Cost Optimization in Energy and Fuel; Product Perfection; Swachh Andhra; and Deep-Tech in All Sectors. Note that the "5.8 per cent unemployment" in the Vision table differs from the 4.1 per cent PLFS number quoted earlier in the Survey, a reminder to always attach the source to a number.
How to use a budget in an exam answer
For a descriptive question, follow a four-line template. Line one: name the document and year ("Budget Estimate 2026-27, Annual Financial Statement"). Line two: give the headline numbers with units. Line three: state the ratio to GSDP or to the total and show one calculation. Line four: add one caution ("the Revised Estimate for 2025-26 was 10 per cent below the budget, so the 2026-27 target depends on a 19 per cent rise in receipts"). That fourth line shows the examiner that you understand the numbers, not just remember them.
For multiple-choice questions, create a three-colour card. Write the BE 2026-27 numbers in one colour, the RE or actual numbers in another and the Survey 2024-25 numbers in the third. When you see a number in an option, ask which colour it belongs to before judging it.
Key facts for exams
- Budget 2026-27 presented 14 February 2026: total expenditure Rs 3,32,205 crore; GSDP projected Rs 19,75,073 crore (PRS Legislative Research analysis of the budget documents).
- Deficits (BE 2026-27): revenue Rs 22,003 crore (1.1 per cent), fiscal Rs 75,868 crore (3.8 per cent), primary Rs 38,588 crore (2.0 per cent).
- Receipts (BE 2026-27): own tax Rs 1,25,846 crore; non-tax Rs 11,474 crore; central tax share Rs 64,362 crore; grants Rs 32,458 crore.
- Capital outlay (BE 2026-27): Rs 48,698 crore, 47 per cent above RE 2025-26.
- Committed items (BE 2026-27): interest Rs 37,281 crore; pension Rs 23,713 crore.
- Biggest allocations: welfare of SC, ST, OBC and minorities Rs 52,855 crore; NTR Bharosa pensions Rs 27,719 crore; education sector Rs 35,673 crore.
- Survey 2024-25 (FAE): GSDP Rs 16.06 lakh crore at current prices (12.94 per cent) and Rs 8.73 lakh crore at constant prices (9.24 per cent); per capita income Rs 2,68,653 against Rs 2,00,162 for India.
- GVA shares 2024-25 (FAE, current prices): services 41.53, agriculture and allied 35.29, industry 23.18 per cent.
- Liabilities: about 36 per cent of GSDP (PRS); guarantees Rs 1,77,328 crore at 31 December 2025.
- MPI (NITI Aayog, 2019-21): State score 0.025, headcount ratio 6.06 per cent, ninth among states in the Survey table.
Common exam traps
- Mixing Budget Estimate, Revised Estimate and actual figures for the same year.
- Quoting the current-price growth (12.94 per cent) when the question asks for real growth (9.24 per cent).
- Using per capita GSDP (Rs 2,98,058, PRS) when the question asks for per capita income (Rs 2,68,653, Survey).
- Calling the revenue deficit the fiscal deficit, or treating net borrowing as identical to the fiscal deficit.
- Counting the State's share in central taxes as own revenue.
- Treating guarantees as debt, or off-budget borrowing as included in the headline deficit.
- Forgetting that GSDP exceeds the sum of sector GVAs by net product taxes.
- Applying 26-district data to the 28-district map.
Ten practice MCQs
1. Which Article of the Constitution requires the Annual Financial Statement to be laid before the State Legislature? a) Article 112 b) Article 202 c) Article 266 d) Article 267 Answer: b. Article 112 is the Union equivalent.
2. The revenue deficit in the Andhra Pradesh Budget Estimate for 2026-27 is: a) Rs 75,868 crore b) Rs 38,588 crore c) Rs 22,003 crore d) Rs 41,118 crore Answer: c. Rs 41,118 crore is the 2025-26 Revised Estimate.
3. The fiscal deficit for 2026-27 (BE) as a share of GSDP is about: a) 1.1 per cent b) 2.0 per cent c) 3.8 per cent d) 4.6 per cent Answer: c. 4.6 per cent is the 2025-26 Revised Estimate.
4. Which is the largest source of the State's own tax revenue in BE 2026-27? a) State excise b) State GST c) Stamps and registration d) Taxes on vehicles Answer: b.
5. According to the Socio-Economic Survey 2024-25, GSDP at constant (2011-12) prices for 2024-25 (FAE) is: a) Rs 16.06 lakh crore b) Rs 14.22 lakh crore c) Rs 8.73 lakh crore d) Rs 7.99 lakh crore Answer: c. Rs 16.06 lakh crore is at current prices.
6. Per capita income (current prices) of Andhra Pradesh for 2024-25 (FAE) in the Survey is: a) Rs 2,00,162 b) Rs 2,37,951 c) Rs 2,68,653 d) Rs 2,98,058 Answer: c.
7. Which broad sector had the largest share in GVA at current prices in 2024-25 (FAE) per the Survey? a) Industry b) Agriculture and allied c) Services d) Manufacturing alone Answer: c, at 41.53 per cent.
8. The Contingency Fund of the State is established under: a) Article 266(1) b) Article 266(2) c) Article 267(2) d) Article 204 Answer: c.
9. In BE 2026-27 the amount allocated to the NTR Bharosa pension scheme is: a) Rs 8,456 crore b) Rs 27,719 crore c) Rs 6,600 crore d) Rs 4,000 crore Answer: b.
10. The Multidimensional Poverty Index score of Andhra Pradesh for 2019-21 cited in the Survey is: a) 0.053 b) 0.066 c) 0.025 d) 0.160 Answer: c. 0.053 is the 2015-16 value and 0.066 is the all-India score.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Socio-Economic Survey 2025-26? As on October 2026, the Finance Department's survey page lists the 2024-25 edition as the latest. If a newer volume appears, update the Survey numbers and keep the budget numbers.
Why do the Survey and PRS give different shares of the economy? They use different estimate vintages and sources. Name the source in your answer.
Is the 2026-27 budget a prediction or a result? It is a plan. Only the actuals, published after the year closes, are results.
Which figure should I use for the size of the economy? Rs 16.06 lakh crore at current prices for 2024-25 (FAE) from the Survey, or the budget analysis figure of Rs 15,91,226 crore for 2024-25, depending on the source named in the question.
What is the difference between GSDP and per capita income? GSDP is the total value of output of the State. Per capita income here means net state domestic product per head, after deducting depreciation.
What does an Outcome Budget do? It links the allocation to expected outputs and outcomes, and is Volume VII of the budget documents.
Where can I check the originals? The Finance Department website (apfinance.gov.in) lists the budget volumes and the Survey; PRS Legislative Research hosts the budget analysis, and the RBI site hosts State Finances.
Related reading
- AP economy and budget notes for APPSC and SI
- AP government schemes notes
- Andhra Pradesh current affairs, October 2026
- AP district-wise fact sheet, 28 districts
- AP Reorganisation Act 2014 explained
- AP rivers, dams and irrigation notes
- AP minerals, industries, SEZs and ports notes
- AP agriculture, irrigation and crops notes
- Telugu edition of this post
Practise on pareeksha.in
To test whether the labels have become a habit, attempt a timed mock test on pareeksha.in, which offers 10 Lakh+ MCQs, 100+ Exams, 5,000+ Full-Length Mocks, and mark each wrong answer as a label error or a memory error.
Sources and verification
Opened and read for this post, official first:
- Andhra Pradesh Finance Department: Socio Economic Survey 2024-25, Planning Department (PDF, 465 pages, read in full text) and the survey index page; Budget 2026-27 document list page (apfinance.gov.in).
- Reserve Bank of India: press release on "State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2025-26", 23 January 2026.
- PRS Legislative Research: Andhra Pradesh Budget Analysis 2026-27 (11 March 2026), which cites the Annual Financial Statement, Budget at a Glance, MoSPI, the 16th Finance Commission report, the CAG State Finances Audit Report No. 2 of 2024 and the Union Ministry of Mines.
- The News Minute and South First: reports on the Budget 2026-27 presented on 14 February 2026.
- Deccan Chronicle, All India Radio and other press items used only in the companion post.
MoSPI: GSDP and national comparison numbers are taken from the Survey and from the PRS analysis, which cite MoSPI releases; we did not open a MoSPI release page for the state series.
Not verified or hedged: department-wise figures for Backward Classes Welfare, Agriculture and rural employment where the two press reports disagree; the 16th Finance Commission's devolution share for the State, which we did not open and therefore leave out; the sector-wise employment percentages in the Survey overview, which do not add to 100 and are therefore left out. The Survey's 2025-26 edition was not listed on the Finance Department page when we checked.
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