Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao launched the social security pensions for ten lakh new beneficiaries under the “Aasara” scheme of the government at the Independence Day celebrations on Monday. The beneficiaries include for the first time people who crossed the age of 57 years. Earlier, it was applicable only to 65 plus category of people.
The Government is committed to ensuring coverage of all eligible beneficiaries and not just enhancing the pension amount, the Chief Minister said on the occasion. He also announced that henceforth, kidney patients dependent on dialysis would be covered under Aasara pensions.
He was delivering his address after hoisting the national flag at the historic Golkonda fort. Elaborating on the development achieved by the State in a short span of eight years, he said the State’s revenue which was ₹62,000 crore at the time of its formation grew to ₹1.84 lakh crore in 2020-21, registering a three-fold increase.
The GSDP which was ₹5.5 lakh crore in 2014-15 rose to ₹11.48 lakh crore by 2021-22 and the same was the case with the State’s Own Tax Revenue which registered 11.5 per cent growth making the State first in the country. “Achieving development in this scale is not an easy affair. Effective financial discipline, transparency and corruption free governance enabled the State’s growth in the past few years,” he said.
Explaining the measures taken for significantly enhancing growth in agriculture sector, the Chief Minister said the government simultaneously focused on improving amenities in the State run hospitals which now had 56,000 oxygen beds, growth in green cover through Harita Haaram and significant changes brought about in the education sector through residential schools for students from marginalised communities.
The State had set up an integrated command control centre adding another feather to its cap while the image of brand Hyderabad grew by leaps and bounds through introduction of steps like TS-iPASS. From a stage where industries suffered with power outages, the State could achieve huge growth on the industrial front registering ₹2.32 lakh crore investments creating 16.5 lakh jobs in the past eight years.
IT exports which were ₹57,258 crore in 2014 grew thrice to ₹1.83 lakh crore at the end of financial year 2020-21. Growth in IT exports was at 26.14 per cent as against the 17.2 per cent of the national average. The Chief Minister complimented the 61 medal winners including six from the State for their achievement in the recent Commonwealth Games.
He earlier paid homage to martyrs at Veerula Sainik Smarak at Parade Grounds. He received the salute and inspected Samman Guard at Rani Mahal before hoisting the tricolour.
