The most tumultuous year for AP politics

As a year that runs up to the general elections’ year 2024, the year 2023 has seen several twists and turns throughout. The most important of all has been the arrest of former chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu. Either ill-advised or due to lack of far sight on the part of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Opposition leader and national president of TDP was arrested on the charges of causing loss to the exchequer in the AP State Skill Development Corporation case. The ACB Court judge in Vijayawada sent him to judicial custody after the CID police arrested him at Nandyal and brought him to Vijayawada on road on the former’s insistence. The road journey has been well utilised by the TDP cadre to organise massive mobilisation.

After he was lodged in the Rajamahendravaram central jail, the CID police sought custody but could not elicit any information from him. After 53 days of incarceration, Chandrababu Naidu was granted regular bail.

The notable point in this scenario is Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan going to the jail and met Naidu. After coming out of the jail along with Nara Lokesh and Hindupuram MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna, he announced the alliance of the TDP and Jana Sena for the forthcoming Assembly elections. He clearly stated that the negative vote against the incumbent YSRCP government should not be split and should be used to dethrone it. In the meantime, Chandrababu’s wife Nara Bhuvaneswari and Nara Lokesh’s wife Brahmani came out in support of him and garnered enough sympathy across all the sections of people. Not surprisingly, the CID could not bring out a single shred of evidence regarding the involvement of Naidu in the alleged skill development scandal during his long stay in jail for 53 days. Naturally, the Andhra Pradesh High Court which granted interim bail for four weeks, finally granted regular bail. It could be said that the TDP has garnered sympathy from all sections of people and now one has to wait and watch whether it would turn into votes in the forthcoming elections. Meanwhile, YSRCP rebel MP K Raghurama Krishna Raju’s petition in Supreme Court demanding revocation of bail to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who has been on bail for the last 12 years appeared to have set the wheels of law moving in cases regarding the CM. Everyone is anxiously waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court on the issue since it has a lot of repercussions.

JANUARY

Jan 1

Three women were crushed to death and 18 injured in a stampede to collect freebies at a public meeting of TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu. This is the second such crush in the past four days at an event of the former CM after eight people died jostling for space to catch a glimpse of him in a narrow lane in Nellore on December 28, 2022. The stampede occurred soon after TDP chief had left the venue and TDP volunteers started distributing special ration kits and clothes to the poor in a programme sponsored by an NRI. A huge crowd had turned up at the venue to receive the items, with many waiting from 2pm, while Naidu arrived only around 6pm.

Jan 2

The state government made mandatory for all government employees to record their attendance through Facial Recognition Based Attendance (FRBA) mobile application. Employees from state secretariat to village secretariat have to capture their attendance on the new application developed by the IT department. The state government has been implementing bio-metric model linking with pay rolls for the past five years and now decided to move into the video-mode through FRBA. This is expected to end malpractices being resorted to through bio-metric model.

Jan 2

In the wake of successive political events leading to stampedes that killed a total of 11 people in the state, the state government banned assembly and processions on public roads and streets. The government notification mentions the Kandukuru stampede during a meeting of Telugu Desam Party chief and former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on December 28. Eight people died in the incident. The order was issued on January 2 home department principal secretary Harish Kumar Gupta under the Police Act, 1861. The order states that no permission will be granted for meetings on National Highways and state highways, and nor could such events be held on municipal and panchayat roads.

Jan 12

The Andhra Pradesh High Court suspended the GO No 1 on a PIL filed by CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna. Though the suspension was temporary till January 23, it later permanently suspended it in May declaring that GO No 1 violates fundamental rights of citizens.

Jan 28

In a survey conducted by the Central government and private agencies among the state police departments in 2022, Andhra Pradesh topped the list of other states in the categories of public trust, efficiency, and honesty in the police department. This was announced during the DGPs’ conference attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah held from January 20 to 22 in New Delhi. AP DGP KV Rajendranath Reddy said that various initiatives taken last year by the police department culminated in the results.

Jan 31

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy reiterated his intention to make Visakhapatnam as new (executive) capital of Andhra Pradesh. Even though the legal tangles still in place, the Chief Minister made this announcement while addressing the International Diplomatic Alliance meeting in New Delhi. “Here I am to invite you to Visakhapatnam which will be our capital in the days to come. I will also be shifting to Visakhapatnam in the months to come,” he said.

February

Feb 7

Andhra Pradesh State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) cleared a chain of investment proposals for establishing industries in various sectors, including energy, data centre, in the state. The board, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy cleared proposals to the tune of Rs 1.44 lakh crore that would provide employment to over 1.08 lakh people. During the meeting, the Chief Minister directed officials to stand by the investors and ensure that all projects were launched within a stipulated time. Jagan Mohan Reddy reiterated that his government was committed to creating 75 per cent of jobs in all emerging industries for locals.

Feb 8

The Centre made it clear that Amaravati is the capital of Andhra Pradesh has given this answer to MP Vijayasai Reddy’s question on the three capitals. The Union Home Minister of State Nityananda Roy gave a written reply to YSRCP member V Vijayasai Reddy in Rajya Sabha stating that then AP government notified Amaravati as the capital in 2015. He explained that the current state government did not consult the Centre while making laws proclaiming three capitals, which were later withdrawn.

Feb 9

Seven workers of an edible oil packaging industry in Kakinada district died when they were in the process of cleaning a large tank in the unit premises. The incident occurred at about 6.30 am at AS Agro Industries, located in G Ragampeta village of Peddapuram mandal, which the state industries officials said was established recently. The seven workers reportedly died due to suffocation, probably inhaling some poisonous gases when they were inside the tank chamber. Five of the deceased are from Paderu district while two are from Peddapuram. The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 25 lakh each for the families of the deceased. “In addition, another Rs 25 lakh will be provided from the factory management side to the families. Each family will also be given a job, other support,” said labour minister Gummanur Jayaram.

Feb 12

A former judge of Supreme Court Syed Abdul Nazeer was appointed as 3rd Governor of Andhra Pradesh. He is also a former judge of the Karnataka High Court. Nazeer succeeded Biswabhushan Harichandan. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy welcomed the new Governor Nazeer.

Feb 14

Giving a boost to tourism security in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated tourist police stations at 20 important religious and tourist places in various districts. Launching these stations virtually from his Camp Office at Tadepalli, the Chief Minister said the security kiosks would work as additional police stations and exclusively attend to complaints from tourists. The locations where the new tourist police outposts were inaugurated include the RK Beach in Visakhapatnam, Sri Kodanda Rama Swamy temple at Vontimitta in YSR district, the Kukkuteswara Swamy temple at Pithapuram in Kakinada district, the Pushkar Ghat at Rajahmundry.

Feb 15

JSW Group began construction work on the ₹8,800-crore steel plant at Sunnapurallapalli village in YSR district. The first phase of the project is expected to be ready for commercial production in 24-30 months. The state government allotted 3,500 acres for the project. Addressing a gathering after the ground-breaking ceremony, JSW group chairman Sajjan Jindal said the plant would run on green energy and bring prosperity to the entire district. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy performs bhumi puja for the project.

March

March 4

The Global Investors Summit held for two-days (March 3 & 4) resulted in 354 investment proposals to the tune of Rs 13 lakh crore, leading to the job creation for over 6 lakh people. The summit hosted 46 diplomats and 14,000 representatives from 25 countries. Several industry stalwarts such as Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries; Karan Adani, CEO, Adani Ports and SEZ; Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals; Suchitra and Krishna Ella of Bharat Biotech, etc.,

March 14

Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy released the socio-economic survey (SES) prepared by the planning department of the state for 2022-23. The SES stated that AP posted a growth of 16.22% over the previous year based on the advanced estimates. According to the SES, Gross Value Addition (GVA) in agriculture and allied sectors reported a decent 13.18% growth while agriculture sector alone reported 20.72 percent growth while horticulture sector achieved 12.58% growth rate. Similarly, the livestock sector reported 7.32% growth rate while fisheries reported 19.41% of GVA.

March 16: Results of MLC elections from local bodies, teachers and graduates constituencies threw mixed results for the ruling party YSRCP and Opposition TDP. The TDP won all the three MLC seats, elections for which were held in graduates’ constituencies on March 13 while the YSRCP bags all the four seats under local bodies constituency. The TDP also won in the elections to the MLC seats held under MLAs’ quota when its candidate Panchumarthi Anuradha won with 23 votes against the required 22 votes, with the support of YSRCP rebel members.

March 25

Andhra Pradesh CID arrested GVS Bhaskar, an accused in the alleged 374 crore AP skill development corporation scam, from Noida in UP. Bhaskar, husband of IAS officerAparna Upadhyay, was a former employee of Siemens that had entered into a contract with the AP government. The CID alleged that Bhaskar was instrumental in inflating the project report to the tune of 3,300 crore and in turn made the state government pay its matching 10 per cent share to the tune of Rs 374 crore.

April

April 6

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy formally launched the Family Doctor Programme aimed at taking the healthcare to the doorstep of the people. Under the programme, qualified doctors in 10,032 Dr YSR Village Health Clinics would extend preventive healthcare to the needy across the state. Launching the programme at Lingamguntla in Palnadu district, the Chief Minister told a public meeting that the programme would herald revolutionary changes in extending healthcare to the needy.

April 7

The state government transferred 54 new IAS officers, including collectors of eight new districts, and gave them new postings. Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy issued orders to this effect. Senior IAS officer G Anantha Ramu, Special Chief Secretary (Labour, Factories, Boilers and Insurance Medical Services department) was transferred and posted as the Special Chief Secretary (Minorities Welfare Department) relieving IAS officer Md Imtiaz from the full additional charge. On April 8, the government shifted 39 IPS officers.

Former Congress leader and last chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh N Kiran Kumar Reddy joined the BJP after sending a one-line resignation letter to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Reddy joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi at the Delhi headquarters and criticised the Congress leadership for not accepting people’s verdict and making course corrections.

April 22

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the e-stamping services of the stamps and registrations department. The new system would enable people to prepare their own documents, pay stamp fee, buy stamps and transfer cheques online using the newly launched the website, www.shcilestamp.com. The selected branches of the State Bank of India, Union Bank of Indiaand AP Cooperative Central Bank, stamp vendors and stockholders across the state would offer these services.

May

May 1: A total of 65 expatriates of Andhra Pradesh stranded in Sudan came back to India, with the help of Operation Kaveri, launched by the Central government to evacuate Indians from the warn torn Sudan. The AP government identified 71 Telugu people were stranded in Sudan and among them 65 came back to India. The evacuees arriving in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Cochin airports were safely repatriated to their hometowns at the State government’s expense.

May 14: Seven women died and four others were seriously injured when an auto and a private bus collided at Subbarayuni Dibba in Sitaramapuram of Tallarevu mandal in Kakinada district. About 15 women, working in a shrimp factory in Subbarayudu Palem, were going to Yanam and Nilapalli in an auto when the tragedy occurred.

May 22: Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy formally launched the Rs 5,156 crore Machilipatnam port works unveiling the pylon and offering special prayers at the sea. The construction of the port, with an initial cargo capacity of 35 million tons, is scheduled to be completed in two years.

The capacity of the 4-berth deep water port would be increased to 116 million tons as the cargo traffic increases gradually.

May 24: The Central government sanctioned the biggest-ever release of funds to Andhra Pradesh since its bifurcation in June 2014. According to the AP government, the Centre has disbursed Rs 10,460 crore as compensation towards the revenue deficit suffered by the State due to the creation of Telangana.

June

June 8

The State government approved the proposal to implement Guarantee Pension Scheme (GPS) by replacing Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for government employees. Under the GPS, pensioners would receive 50% of their last drawn salary as pension as against 20.3 per cent of their basic salary under the CPS. The decision was taken to ensure government employees get better benefits post their retirement.

June 15

The AP government is going to introduce a sporting platform for sports enthusiasts to showcase their talents at State-level through ‘Aadudam Andhra’ programme, to be launched on October 2, marking Gandhi Jayanti. Sports Minister RK Roja said the event was open to everyone aged above 17 years, as part of the state’s avowed policy to promote rural sports.

June 17

A massive fire broke out in a three-storey building near Govindaraja Swamy temple in Tirupati. No casualties were reported. The incident took place at Lavanya’s Pictures and Frames around 12.30 pm. The firm’s owner claimed that stock worth at least Rs 20 crore to Rs 25 crore was damaged by the blaze.

June 20

Disha police arrested 60-year-old Poornananda Swami on the charges of sexually abusing a minor girl in his ashram at Venkojipalem near Visakhapatnam, following a complaint lodged by the minor girl at Child Welfare Committee (CWC) at Vijayawada. A 14-year-old girl from Rajamahendravaram, who was residing in an ashram at Venkojipalem, had escaped from the ashram and approached Krishna District CWC.

July

July 18

The state government has sanctioned Rs 311 crore under Conservation Grants Fund (CGF) for the renovation and construction of temples in the state. Deputy CM and Endowments Minister Kottu Satyanarayana said that they will issue notices to the temple management if they do not start the works from the date of sanctioning of funds. The funds will be cancelled automatically if the works are not completed within two years. He further said that as per the cabinet decisions pertaining to the department, there will be no retirement for the Archakas, if they are fit to work. The retirement age of Endowments department employees was also increased from 60 to 62 years.

July 24

Bharata Chaitanya Yuvajana Party (BCYP), a new political party was launched in the state. Its founder Bode Ramachandra Yadav said that the objective of his party is to liberate the people of the State from the clutches of YSRCP, TDP and Congress. Ramachandra Yadav, an industrialist from Chittoor district and former Jana Sena leader, said BCYP was established with the aim of fulfilling the aspirations of people of all walks of life. A new political regime is needed for the development of the State to happen, he opined.

July 27

Police fired a round in the air and lathi-charged to disperse the activists of YSRCP and TDP after a clash broke out between them in Vinukonda town of Palnadu district. Section 144 was imposed for four days to maintain law and order. With this, tension gripped Vinukonda town. The clash erupted when TDP leaders took out a rally protesting against the police lodging cases against the party’s Palnadu district president GV Anjanneylu and others, who reportedly levelled allegations against YSRCP MLA Bolla Brahma Naidu over illegal mining.

July 30

Chandramouli, 48-year-ol farmer from Chittoor district, became crorepati within just 45 days by selling tomatoes. With the help of advanced farming techniques, he cultivated rare variety of tomatoes ‘Sahu’ in the early weeks of April. By the end of June, he got a bountiful of harvest. By selling 40,000 boxes of tomatoes in Kolar market in Karnataka, he earned Rs 4 crore.

August

August 11

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy appointed Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakara Reddy as the new chairman of TTD Trust Board as the present chairman YV Subba Reddy term expires on August 5. Bhumana served as TTD Trust Board chairman during former CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy regime during 2006 to 2008. After taking oath, the new chairman said that he will strive to fulfil the needs of common devotees and spread the glory of Lord Venkateswara Swamy globally.

August 12

A leopard killed 6-year-old girl Lakshita, at Narasimha Swamy temple area on Alipiri footpath, while she was going along with her family to Tirumala. She was from Pothireddy Palem in Kovur mandal, Nellore district. The victim’s father Dinesh went ahead with his son leaving his daughter, who was eating biscuits. After some time, they looked back for their daughter, but couldn’t find. After rummaging the forest area along the foot path from Anjaneya Swamy temple to NS temple, police found out the girl’s body.

August 25

Kakinada city won the prestigious Indian Smart City Award 2022 in the Sanitation Category. The Indian Smart City Awards, a highly anticipated annual event, aims to recognise and celebrate the most outstanding projects and initiatives undertaken by smart cities across the country. As Kakinada Smart City continues to set new benchmarks in sustainable urban development, its success story stands as a testament to the potential of Indian cities to drive positive change on a national and global scale.

August 25

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, along with Union Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan, laid foundation stone for the Central Tribal University to be built with a cost of Rs 834 crore coming up in an extent of 561.88 acres. The Chief Minister said that the University will provide better educational facilities to tribal youth to lift their living standards and help them shine on national and international platforms. Tribal University is presently functioning temporarily from Vizianagaram utilising Andhra University facilities.

August 26

The officials of Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Vijayawada, seized 4.3 kg of smuggled gold of Dubai and Sri Lanka origin, in a car coming from Chennai, near Bollapalli toll plaza. It appeared that the foreign markings on the gold were deliberately erased to camouflage the smuggled nature of the gold. As a follow up to this operation, the officers conducted a search operation at the carrier’s premises and recovered 6.8 kg of gold jewellery along with foreign currency (Kuwait Dinar, Qatar Riyal and Oman Rial etc.) worth Rs 1.5 lakh. The total weight of the gold is 11.1 kg. worth Rs 6.40 crore.

August 31

A massive fire broke out in Lalithambika shopping complex at Srisailam temple hours. The fire mishap has occurred due to electric short circuit at a shop located in the shopping complex. The flames spread to other shops and in no time around 14 shops were totally engulfed in the fire. The fire brigades after toiling for two hours managed to bring the fire to control. According to primary estimation the property loss has been estimated to Rs 2 crores.

September

Sept 11

Former Chief Minister and TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu was arrested by the CID officials in the alleged AP Skill Development scam. The ACB court sent him on 14-day judicial custody and he was shifted to Rajamahendravaram Central Prison.

Sept 12

Statewide bandh call given by the TDP in protest against the arrest of former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu saw several party leaders being taken into preventive custody. Police were seen dispersing some TDP activists protesting on roads at some places in the State. Several senior leaders including TDP president K Atchannaidu have been taken into preventive custody.

Sept 12

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has returned to AP after completing a 10-day personal tour to London. He was received at the Gannavaram Airport by Deputy Chief Minister B. Mutyala Naidu, Ministers J. Ramesh, K Nageswara Rao, P. Vishwaroop, Chief Secretary K. Jawahar Reddy, DGP K.V. Rajendranath Reddy MPs, MLCs and MLAs among others.

Sept 14

Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan announces that his party will forge an alliance with the TDP and contest the 2024 State Assembly elections. While expressing his resolve to join the TDP in the fight against the ruling YSRCP, JSP chief Pawan Kalyan has sounded optimistic that the BJP will eventually join the newly-formed political front.

Sept 17

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurates five medical colleges. Jagan inaugurates the campus at Gajularega in Vizianagaram district in person and the remaining four virtually, each constructed at a cost of Rs 500 crore. The other four medical colleges were set up in Eluru, Rajamahendravaram, Machilipatnam and Nandyal. The Chief Minister says 12 more government would be ready in the next couple of years.

Sept 27

Even as a section of employees was in arms against the move to implement the Guaranteed Pension System (GPS), the Legislative Assembly passed the Andhra Pradesh Guaranteed Pension System Bill-2023. Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, who introduced the Bill, said that it entailed a financial implication of approximately Rs 2,500 crore by 2040.

October

Oct 6

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has sought release of funds for the Polavaram project. Reddy met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman in New Delhi. He said the Technical Advisory Committee had accepted revised estimates of Rs 55,548 crore for the project, and requested the Finance Minister to ensure clearance for the same by the Union Cabinet. The Centre had earlier agreed to release Rs 12,911 crore to complete the first phase, but as per the Lidar survey, the government should release the revised amount of Rs 17,144 crore to implement the R&R package for the affected people in 36 colonies, Reddy said.

Oct 11

The Crime Investigation Department officials of the Andhra Pradesh police grilled Telugu Desam Party general secretary and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh for seven hours in connection with the alleged irregularities in the alignment of Amaravati inner ring road project taken up during the previous TDP government in the state.

Oct 13

Ten Andhra Pradesh expatriates from Israel returned to India safely.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the resident commissioner of Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in Delhi to help students and other migrants who require travel cost assistance to reach the state.

Oct 27

As many as 1,100 volunteers from 26 districts of Andhra Pradesh carried rice, soil and saplings in 824 urns for ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign being organised at New Delhi. The South Central Railway (SCR) Vijayawada Division arranged the Amrit Kalash Yatra Special train from Vijayawada to Delhi.

Oct 30

Nine passengers were killed and 32 injured after a collision between two trains resulted in the derailment of bogies in Vizianagaram district. Train No. 08504 Visakhapatnam-Rayagada Passenger collided with the 08532 Visakhapatnam-Palasa Passenger train. Due to the collision, two rear coaches of the Visakhapatnam-Palasa Passenger train and the train engine of the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger were derailed.

Oct 31

After spending 52 days in jail in an alleged skill development scam, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu came out of Rajahmundry Central Prison following interim bail granted by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. His family members and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders and hundreds of party workers welcomed him after he emerged from prison.

November

Nov 19

BJP State president Daggubati Purandeswari reiterated that the Amaravati is the capital of Andhra Pradesh and BJP is committed to its stance on the capital. She said the BJP government at the Centre also announced exemption in the income tax on income earned on the land transactions in the capital region of Amaravati after bifurcation of the State. She said the Central government helped the State government in the land pooling from the farmers.

Nov 22

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opened its new office in the Central Government Offices (CGO) Complex in Auto Nagar here. The Amaravati unit office comes under Chennai Zone. CBI Joint Director Venu Gopal, CBI Superintendent of Police (Visakhapatnam) Murali Rambha and other officers attended the inaugural.

Nov 29

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched and laid foundation stone for a slew of food processing and industrial units worth Rs 1100 crore in the State. The units have an employment potential for 21,744 persons. Speaking virtually from his office in Amaravati on the occasion, Jagan said that MoUs signed at the Global Investors Summit (GIS) early this year were translating into reality.

Nov 30

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated the Tunnel-II of the Owk project of the Galeru Nagari Sujala Sravanti project in Nandyal district by releasing 20,000 cusecs of water from Gorakallu reservoir to Owk reservoir. The State government has spent Rs 1501.94 crore on the two tunnels of the Owk project so far. Works worth Rs 1,297 crore pertaining to the Tunnel-III are in progress.

December

Dec 6

Severe cyclonic storm Michaung which made landfall near Bapatla triggered torrential rains and left a trail of destruction in at least six coastal districts, causing extensive damage to the standing crops and disrupting the transport and communication networks. Gusty winds with speeds of 90 kmph to 110 kmph lashed the coastline. Very heavy rains lashed Chittoor, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Bapatla and Krishna districts.

Dec 7

Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan said that his party was not a ‘B-team’ of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) as was being propagated by its opponents.

The JSP is in an alliance with the TDP and that Naidu and he would together decide the Chief Ministerial candidate for the 2024 elections, Pawan said.

Dec 14

The AP government put forward a request of Rs 3,711 crore financial aid to the visiting Central government team which came to assess the trail of destruction left by Cyclone Michaung. A five-member team headed by Rajendra Ratnoo, Executive Director, National Institute of Disaster Management visited the cyclone-affected districts.

Dec 14

The State government announced that the SSC (10th standard) and Board of Intermediate Education (Intermediate) annual examinations for the academic year 2023- 24 will be held in March. Education Minister B Satyanarayana said the Intermediate examinations will begin first from March 1 and end by March 20 while 10th standard examinations will start from March 18 and culminate by March 30.

Dec 15

The State government has hiked the social welfare pension from Rs 2,750 per month to Rs 3,000 pm. The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet which met at the Secretaraiat at Velagapudi approved the proposal.