NEW DELHI: Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman today presented the Union Budget 2024 and it had special impetus for the states of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh (AP), the ruling parties of which, the Janata Dal (United) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) being the two most dominant National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners along with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) both in the centre and in the states. Both the states under JD (U) and TDP have been demanding 'Special Category Status' which has not been given, however, the allocation of significant budgetary provisions and financial support through multilateral development agencies is seen as a measure to serve well the two major NDA partners.

For the state of Bihar, the FM unveiled big-ticket measures in the Union Budget proposing an outlay of Rs 26,000 crore for various road projects in the state and outlining plans for new airports and sports infrastructure along with an assistance of Rs 11,500 crore for flood mitigation. For AP the FM announced significant financial aid providing Rs 15,000 crore in financial assistance for developing Amaravati as the new state capital that has been stuck in challenges for over a decade since it was initial in 2014 a few months after the bifurcation of united AP.

While announcing the sops for the two states, the FM said, "Our government has made concerted efforts to fulfil the commitments in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. We are recognising the state's need for capital. We will facilitate special financial support through multilateral development agencies. In the current financial year, Rs 15,000 crore will be arranged with additional amounts in future years."

She also added that the central government was fully committed to financing and early completion of the Polavaram Irrigation Project, which is a lifeline for Andhra Pradesh and its farmers and funds will also be provided for essential infrastructure such as water, power, railways and roads in Kopparthy node on the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and Orvakal node on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, along with grants for backward regions of Rayalaseema, Prakasam and North Coastal Andhra.

AP's CM Chandrababu Naidu posted on X, thanking the Modi government for the announcements made in Budget 2024-25 saying, "This support from the Centre will go a long way towards rebuilding Andhra Pradesh." At the same time, Bihar's CM Nitish Kumar expressed satisfaction with the "special assistance" announced by FM and said that the measure effectively addressed the state's concerns, which had previously driven demands for special category status. Speaking to reporters he said, "We had proposed that if special status wasn't feasible for technical reasons, Bihar should receive special assistance from the Centre in another form, which has been announced today."