Amaravati, June 12 (IANS) Development and welfare are the two eyes of the TDP-led NDA government in Andhra Pradesh, said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday on completion of the government’s first year in office.

The Chief Minister, along with his son and Human Resources Development and IT Minister Nara Lokesh, addressed a media conference at their residence at Undavalli to mark the occasion.

Listing out the welfare schemes implemented during the last year, the Chief Minister said the government would launch more schemes in the coming days.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief said that as promised during elections, the government was trying to create wealth and increase revenues.

Increased revenues will be spent on development and welfare programmes, he said.

The coalition government celebrated the first year in power with the launch of ‘Talli Ki Vandanam’ scheme as a special gift for mothers.

Under the scheme, Rs 15,000 will be given annually to every school-going student. The amount will be credited to the bank account of the student’s mother.

CM Naidu said that the government would spend Rs 10,091 crore on the scheme, which will cover 67 lakh students. Out of this amount, Rs 1,346 crore will be used for the development of schools.

He said the government was continuing the guidelines of ‘Jagananna Amma Vodi’ implemented by the previous government. He, however, said that while the previous government was providing financial assistance to a mother only for one child, his government will extend the assistance irrespective of the number of children.

The previous government, headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy, was providing Rs 15,000 per annum to poor mothers for sending their children to school. After the TDP-led coalition came to power, it renamed the scheme as ‘Talli Ki Vandanam’.

It was also one of the schemes promised by the coalition under the ‘Super Six’ promises.

CM Naidu mentioned that while the number of beneficiaries under the scheme of the previous government was 42,61,965, ‘Talli Ki Vandanam’ will cover 67,27,164 students. The number of beneficiaries has gone up by 24,65,199.

He also pointed out that the previous government was spending Rs 5,540 crore on the scheme while his government would spend Rs 8,745 crore.

“We are giving an additional Rs 3,205 crore. If a student does not have a mother, the money will be credited in the account of his/her father or guardian,” he said.

District Collectors will identify orphans, and the money will be credited to their accounts. The list of beneficiaries of the scheme will be displayed in the village and ward secretariats.

The scheme will also apply to students admitted into Class 1 and Intermediate First Year. Once admissions are completed and data is available, the funds will be credited to the respective mothers’ accounts accordingly.

–IANS

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