Jagan raises SCS issue at NITI meet

New Delhi: AP Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, speaking at the NITI Aayog meet here on Saturday, urged the Centre to fulfill all promises enshrined in the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 to help the State develop at a steady progress.

Keeping his word on "raising the Special Category Status (SCS) issue repeatedly with the Centre", Jagan Mohan Reddy, recalled the same in his maiden speech at the Aayog meet and sought the category to be bestowed on the State.

To strengthen his case in this regard Jagan said, "grant of Special Category Status would mean higher grants-in- aid to the State Government. To illustrate, the per capita grants to the Special Category States is Rs 5,573, whereas Andhra Pradesh received only Rs 3,428.

Moreover, the grant of Special Category Status assumes significance because states which have special status alone enjoy special industrial incentives such as Income Tax exemption, other concessions and exemptions pertaining to GST, etc. Such special incentives are vital for our agrarian state, as it would enable rapid industrialisation leading to improved employment opportunities for the youth and overall development of the State".

Jagan said AP "needs super specialty hospitals, five-star hotels, manufacturing industries, high-value service industries such as IT, premier institutions of higher education and research to transform the economic architecture of our State, which is possible only with Special Category Status".

"Furthermore, mis-governance and institutionalised corruption coupled with lack of sincerity during the past five years have left the state with high unemployment among youth, lack of investment in infrastructure and industry, sharp deterioration of public education and health system and empty coffers."