Every Tuesday in Andhra Pradesh has become a day of dread for the state’s finances. The Chandrababu Naidu government borrows money every Tuesday, and this coming Tuesday, it will borrow another ₹4,400 crore.
This is not exceptional. This is the routine. This is how the TDP government has been managing Andhra Pradesh’s finances since coming to power 23 months ago.The cumulative result of this weekly borrowing habit is now visible in stark, undeniable numbers:
- Total debt accumulated in 23 months: ₹3,61,055 crore
- Average monthly borrowing: ₹15,698 crore
- Average daily borrowing: ₹523 crore
Every single day, the Chandrababu government is borrowing ₹523 crore which the people of Andhra Pradesh and their children will be repaying for decades. The immediate trigger for this report is a Reserve Bank of India notice issued on Thursday, confirming that the Andhra Pradesh government will borrow ₹4,400 crore through government securities this coming Tuesday. This is standard operating procedure. The RBI issues weekly notices on behalf of state governments for their market borrowings through government securities, and for Andhra Pradesh under Chandrababu Naidu, Tuesday has become the appointed day for the state to deepen its debt.
The April Picture
Even within the current financial year, the borrowing pace has been extraordinary. In April alone, just one month, the Chandrababu government had already borrowed ₹9,000 crore before this latest Tuesday announcement. Adding the upcoming ₹4,400 crore, April’s total borrowing will cross ₹13,400 crore, more than ₹430 crore borrowed every single day of the month.
23 Months, ₹3,61,055 Crore: Putting the Numbers in Context
The total debt of ₹3,61,055 crore accumulated in 23 months of TDP governance needs to be understood in its full weight. At ₹15,698 crore per month, this government is borrowing at a pace that if sustained, would add nearly ₹1,88,000 crore to the state’s debt every year. This is not the borrowing of a government investing in transformative infrastructure that will generate returns. This is the borrowing of a government that is:
- Renting offices in Amaravati for ₹2,540 crore instead of building them
- Giving away prime public land to corporations at 99 paise on the rupee
- Waiving transmission charges for data centres for 20 years
- Paying GST benefits, stamp duty reimbursements, and property tax exemptions to favoured companies
- Unable to find ₹200 crore to complete a government medical college
The debt is rising. The assets being created are in many cases rentals and concessions not permanent public wealth.
By the time this government completes its term, at the current pace, Andhra Pradesh’s total accumulated debt under Chandrababu Naidu’s 23-month-old administration will have grown to levels unimaginable a generation ago. The Chief Minister calls himself a visionary. But a vision built on ₹523 crore of borrowed money every single day while medical colleges wait, hospitals go unpaid, and farmers queue for diesel is not a vision for Andhra Pradesh. It is a bill being written in the people’s name, without their consent, and handed to their children.
