Disorganized approach to policy, budget formulation in Andhra Pradesh, at least in handloom sector

By Umesh Babu and Antara Mukherjee*

Total Expenditure Budget of Andhra Pradesh has increased from Rs 1,56,999.40 crore in the year 2017-18 to Rs 1,91,063.61 crore; increase of Rs 34,064.21 crore (21.69%). It gives a better image and impression. To rely on the quality of budget formulation for policies implementation, we have taken the sample of Handloom Weavers, covered under the department “Handloom and Textiles”.
Total budget of Handloom and Textiles Department in the year 2018-19 is Rs 273.42 crore; an increase of Rs 42.18 crore over the budget Rs 231.25 crore of previous year 2017-18.

Important Observation of Schemes / Programs:

1. Indian Institute of Handloom Technology:

Salaries: Allocation in salary head for the institute has been reduced. In the year 2017-18 budget estimate was Rs 79.46 lakhs and in the year 2018-19 it is Rs 63.59 lakh. A decrease by Rs 15.87 lakh. It indicates that the institute might be gradually shut down.
A new scheme ‘Other Administrative Expenses’ has been launched for the year 2018- 19 with financial allocation of Rs 200 lakh. Total budget for the institute in the year 2017-18 was Rs 137.09 lakhs and in the years 2018-19 it is Rs 308.99 lakhs. If we separate the allocated fund for the new scheme and compare the figures of allocation for the year 2018-19, it comes out to be 108.99 lakhs. Which means in the existing programs of the state, there is a reduction of Rs 28.01 lakhs.

2. Interest Subsidy/Rebate Scheme: Budget for this scheme has been reduced from Rs 6.00 crore in the year 2017-18 to Rs 4.00 crore in the year 2018-19. It is important to note that the expenditure in the year 2016-17 was 4.64 crore, higher than the allocation of the current year.
3. Small Scale Industries (SI) clusters under the Package Scheme – Handlooms Cluster Development Programs: This scheme has been discontinued by the way of not allocating budget in two subsequent years i.e. 2017-18 and 2018-19. In the year 2016-17 expenditure under this scheme was Rs 25 crore.
4. Assistance for livelihood enhancement of weavers: Budget has been increased for this scheme under the head of “Other Grant-in- Aid” from Rs 23.42 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 200 crore in the year 2018-19, an increase by Rs 176.58 crore.
5. Assistance towards loan waiver to weavers: Allocation for this scheme is only Rs 1 lakh in both years 2017-18 and 2018-19.
6. Financial Assistance to Handloom and Textiles Promotion: Budget has been decreased from Rs 50 crore in year 2017-18 to Rs 25 crore in the year 2018-19. A decrease of Rs 25 crore.
7. Margin Money Assistance to APCO under NCDC Scheme: This scheme has been discontinued by way of not allocating budget in two subsequent years i.e. 2017-18 and 2018-19. In the year 2016-17 total expenditure was Rs 5 crore.
8. State share for Revival Reform and Restructuring package for Handloom Sector: Allocation for this scheme is only Rs 1 lakh in both years 2017-18 and 2018-19.
9. Cooperative Handloom Weavers Thrift Fund Scheme: Budget for the scheme is reduced from Rs 3.5 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 2.5 crore in the year 2018-19.
10. Subsidy on Purchase of Raw Material: Budget is increased from Rs 8 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 11 crore in the year 2018-19.
11. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY): Budget is increased from Rs 6 crore in the year 2017-18 to Rs 15 crore in the year 2018-19. 12. Loan Assistance under NCDC Scheme: Budget is decreased from Rs 36.98 crore in the years 2017-18 to Rs 10.00 crore in the year 2018-19.

Remarks:

The overall scenario represents a disorganized approach in policy and budget formulation of the State, at least in handloom sector. The programs that have been working well have been abandoned by way of not allocating funds. Instead of correcting the lapses in existing programs formulation and implementation, new programs are launched to solve the problems. Practically, bureaucracy is not a complete mechanical instrument to adopt new program and in full swing and solve the existential problems of the weavers.
Politically, government can claim of increasing budget. Within these two propositions, chaos is created and public at large gets confused about who is wrong: politics, bureaucracy or the public. This state of confusion creates a situation for politicians to get away scot free and find several excuses for the persistent and consistent growth in poverty, suicides, debt trap, hunger death, etc. In one scheme there is an increase of Rs 176.58 crore and budget size becomes Rs 200 crore in the year 2018-19.
Total increase in departmental budget is Rs 42.18 crore. It means there are the several other smaller components where the budget is reduced and compromised with one scheme so that total budget of the department is in limit by a marginal increase of Rs 42.18 crore The schemes that have been reduced or brought to the point of closing down, will affect not only the weavers but also to State economy and bureaucratic infrastructure. Detailed enquiry of the budget and policies may give other sights or vision to get complete conclusion of the lapses in budget and policy formulation.
---
*Delhi Solidarity Group

Comments

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Subaltern voices go digital: Three Indian projects rewriting history from the ground up

By A Representative A new wave of digital humanities (DH) work in India is shifting the focus away from university classrooms and English-language scholarship, instead prioritizing multilingual, community-driven archives that amplify subaltern voices . According to a review published in the Journal of Asian Studies , projects such as the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), the Oral History Narmada archive , and the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre are redefining how the country remembers its past — often without government funding or institutional support.

Beyond Lata: How Asha Bhosle redefined the female voice with her underrated versatility

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The news of iconic Asha Bhosle’s ‘untimely’ demise has shocked music lovers across the country. Asha Tai was 92 years young. Normally, people celebrate a passing at this age, but Asha Bhosle—much like another legend, Dev Anand—never made us feel she was growing old. She was perhaps the most versatile artist in Bombay cinema. Hailing from a family devoted to music, Asha’s journey to success and fame was not easy. Her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, had already become the voice of women in cinema, and most contemporaries like Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, and Noor Jehan had slowly faded into oblivion. Frankly, there was no second or third to Lata Mangeshkar; she became the first—and perhaps the only—choice for music directors and all those who mattered in filmmaking. Asha started her musical journey at age 10 with a Marathi film, but her first break in Hindustani cinema came with the film "Chunariya" (1948). Though she was not the first choice of ...

Search This Blog