Andhra Pradesh

"Andhra" redirects here. For other uses, see Andhra (disambiguation).

Andhra Pradesh
State
From top, left to right: Venkateswara temple at Tirumala, Undavalli caves near Vijayawada, and Vizag seaport
Emblem of Andhra Pradesh
Etymology: State of Andhras
Motto:  Satyameva Jayate (Truth alone triumphs)
Anthem: "Maa Telugu Thalliki" (To Our Mother Telugu)
Location of Andhra Pradesh in India
Coordinates: 16.51°N 80.52°E / 16.51; 80.52
Country	India
Region	South India
Before was	United Andhra Pradesh
Bifurcation	2 June 2014 (Bifurcation by forming Telangana)
Consolidation	1 November 1956
Formation	1 October 1953
Capital	Amaravati
Largest city	Visakhapatnam
Largest metro	Andhra Pradesh Capital Region
Districts	26
Government
• Body	Government of Andhra Pradesh
• Governor	Syed Abdul Nazeer
• Chief minister	N. Chandrababu Naidu (TDP)
• Deputy chief minister	Pawan Kalyan (JSP)
• Chief secretary	Neerabh Kumar Prasad, IAS
State Legislature	Bicameral Andhra Pradesh Legislature
• Council	Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council (58 seats)
• Assembly	Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly (175 seats)
National Parliament	Parliament of India
• Rajya Sabha	11 seats
• Lok Sabha	25 seats
High Court	Andhra Pradesh High Court
Area
• Total	162,970 km2 (62,920 sq mi)
• Rank	7th
Elevation	269 m (883 ft)
Highest elevation (Arma Konda)	1,680 m (5,510 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	49,577,103
• Rank	10th
• Density	304/km2 (790/sq mi)
• Urban	14,610,372
• Rural	34,966,730
Demonym(s)	Andhrulu, Teluguvaaru
Language
• Official	Telugu
• Additional official	Urdu
• Official script	Telugu script
GDP (Advance estimates)
• Total (2022–23)	₹1,317,728 crore (US$160 billion)
• Per capita	₹219,518 (US$2,600)
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 code	IN-AP
Vehicle registration	AP
HDI (2018)	0.649 Medium (27th)
Literacy (2011)	67.02% (31st)
Sex ratio (2011)	993♀/1000 ♂ (20th)
Website	ap.gov.in
Symbols of Andhra Pradesh
Emblem of Andhra Pradesh
Song	"Maa Telugu Thalliki" (To Our Mother Telugu)
Foundation day	Andhra Pradesh Day
Bird	Rose-ringed parakeet
Flower	Jasmine
Fruit	Banginapalle Mango
Mammal	Blackbuck
Tree	Azadirachta indica
State highway mark
State highway of Andhra Pradesh AP SH1–AP SH240
List of Indian state symbols

Andhra Pradesh (English: /ˌɑːndrə prəˈdeɪʃ/, Telugu: [aːndʱrɐ prɐdeːʃ] abbr. AP) is a state in the southern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state with an area of 162,970 km² (62,920 sq mi) and the tenth-most populous state with 49,577,103 inhabitants based on 2011 census data. It shares borders with Odisha to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the north, Telangana to the northwest, Karnataka to the southwest, Tamil Nadu to the south, and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. It has the second-longest coastline in India at about 974 km (605 mi). After existence as Andhra State and unified Andhra Pradesh, the state took its present form on 2 June 2014, when the new state of Telangana was formed through bifurcation. Amaravati is the capital of the state, with the largest city being Visakhapatnam. Telugu, one of the classical languages of India used by the majority of people, is the first official language.

As per the 8th century BCE Rigvedic text Aitareya Brahmana, the Andhras left North India off the banks of the Yamuna river and migrated to South India. The first major Andhra polity was the Satavahana dynasty (2nd century BCE–2nd century CE) which ruled over the entire Deccan plateau and even distant areas of western and central India. They established trade relations with the Roman Empire. After that, the major rulers included the Vishnukundinas, Eastern Chalukyas, Vijayanagara Empire, Nizam dynasty, and the British Raj.

The Eastern Ghats are a major dividing line separating coastal plains and peneplains. The coastal plains are part of Coastal Andhra. These are mostly delta regions formed by the Krishna, Godavari, and Penna rivers. Peneplains are part of Rayalaseema. 62% of the population is engaged in agriculture and related activities. Rice is the state's major food crop and staple food. The state contributes 10% of total fish production and over 70% of shrimp production in India. Industry sectors such as food products, non-metallic minerals, textiles, and pharmaceuticals are the top employment providers. The automotive sector accounts for 10% of India's auto exports. The state has about one-third of India's limestone reserves, large deposits of baryte and granite, and reserves of oil and natural gas. Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), known as Sriharikota Range (SHAR), at the barrier island of Sriharikota in Tirupati district, is the primary satellite launching station of India. Some of the unique products from the state are Banganapalle mangoes, Kondapalli toys, Dharmavaram sarees, Tirupati laddu, and Pootharekulu. Kuchipudi is the official dance form. Many composers of Carnatic music, like Annamacharya, Kshetrayya, and Tyagaraja, were from this region. The Tirumala Venkateswara temple near Tirupati is the most visited Hindu religious place in the world. The state is home to a variety of other pilgrimage centres and natural attractions.

Etymology

According to the Sanskrit text Aitareya Brahmana (800–500 BCE), a group of people named Andhras left North India off the banks of the Yamuna and settled in South India. The Satavahanas, the earliest kings who ruled this region were mentioned by the names Andhra, Andhrara-jateeya, and Andhrabhrtya in the Puranic literature. "Andhra" is both a tribal and territorial name.

History

Main article: History of Andhra Pradesh

The state has 32 museums featuring a varied collection of ancient sculptures, paintings, idols, weapons, cutlery, inscriptions, and religious artefacts. The Amaravathi Archaeological Museum has display of art traditions of Amaravathi and images of Buddha. Bapu Museum in Vijayawada has historical galleries, stone cut writings, coins, swords, body armour, shields, arms, and ornamentation. Telugu Samskruthika Niketanam in Visakhapatnam displays historical artefacts of the pre-independence era. An advanced projection mapping with graphic, animation, and laser displays is used to tell the history of Kondapalli Fort, utilising the irregular landscapes, ruins, and buildings present in the fort as a screen. It was launched in 2019. The Archaeological Survey of India identified 135 centrally protected monuments in the state of Andhra Pradesh. These include the reconstructed monuments at Anupu and Nagarjunakonda.

Pre-history

Excavated stone tools from Hanumanthunipadu in Prakasam district were dated to be 2.47 lakh years old (Middle Palaeolithic). This finding means that these tools were developed by archaic hominin (pre-humans) as such tools were thought to be used by modern man migrating out of Afric about 2.10 lakh years ago. In the absence of fossil evidence, it became a riddle to understand what happened to them. The discovery of petroglyphs, pictographs, and dolmens in Chakrala Bodu, near Boyalapalli village the Yerragondapalem mandal area of Prakasam district indicates the presence of Neolithic-age human settlements in the region.

Early and medieval history

Ruins of the Buddhist Maha Stupa at Bhattiprolu, built during the 3rd century BCE–2nd century BCE

Megasthenes reported in his Indica (c. 310 BCE) that Andhras were living in the Godavari and Krishna river deltas and were famous for their military strength which was second only to Mauryans in all of India. Archaeological evidence from places such as Bhattiprolu, Amaravathi, and Dharanikota suggests that the Andhra region was part of the Mauryan empire. After the death of Emperor Ashoka, Mauryan rule weakened around 200 BCE and was replaced by several smaller kingdoms in the Andhra region. One of the earliest examples of the Brahmi script, from Bhattiprolu was used on an urn containing the relics of Buddha. This is considered as the rosetta stone for decipherment of Tamil Brahmi. Kadamba script, derived from Bhattiprolu Brahmi later led to the evolution of Telugu and Kannada scripts.

The Satavahana dynasty dominated the Deccan plateau from the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE. It had trade relations with the Roman Empire. The later Satavahanas made Dhanyakataka-Amaravathi, their capital. Nagarjuna, the philosopher of Mahayana, lived in this region. Mahayana spread to China, Japan, and Korea. It became the largest Buddhist denomination in the world. Amaravati School of Art is regarded as one of the three major styles of ancient Indian art and had a great influence on art in South India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. The Andhra Ikshvakus, with their capital at Vijayapuri, succeeded the Satavahanas in the Krishna river valley in the latter half of the 2nd century CE. The Salankayanas were an ancient dynasty that ruled the Andhra region between Godavari and Krishna rivers with their capital at Vengi (modern Pedavegi) around 300 CE. Telugu Cholas ruled present-day Rayalaseema from the six to the seventeen centuries. Kallamalla sasanam(law), engraved in 575 CE during the rule of Dhanamjaya, is the earliest written record in Telugu.

The Vishnukundinas were the first dynasty in the fifth and sixth centuries to hold sway over South India. The Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, whose dynasty lasted for around five hundred years from the 7th century until 1130 CE, eventually merged with the Chola dynasty. They continued to rule under the protection of the Chola dynasty until 1189 CE. At the request of King Rajaraja Narendra, Nannaya, considered the first Telugu poet, took up the translation of the Mahabharata into Telugu in 1025 CE.

Kakatiyas ruled this region and Telangana for nearly two hundred years between the 12th and 14th centuries. They were defeated by the Delhi sultanate. Bahamani sultanate took over when Delhi sultanate became weak. Around the same time, Musunuris and Reddi kingdom ruled parts of this region in the early 14th century. Reddy kings constructed Kondaveedu fort and Kondapalli fort. Gajpathis ruled parts of this region, before the entire region became part of the Vijayanagara empire during the reign of Krishnadevaraya. Pemmasani Nayaks belonging to Kamma community controlled parts of Andhra Pradesh and had large mercenary armies that were the vanguard of the empire in the 16th century. Several tanks and anicuts were built. Some of these include Cumbum Tank, Mopad Tank,and Koregal anicut, Vallabhapur anicut across the Tungabhadra river. The empire's patronage enabled fine arts and literature to reach new heights in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Sanskrit, while Carnatic music evolved into its current form. The Lepakshi group of monuments built during this period have mural paintings of the Vijayanagara kings, Dravidian art, and inscriptions. These are put on the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

Modern history

Pre-independence

Parts of Andhra Pradesh in 1765 (left) ruled by Nizam, Carnatic sultanate, British East India Company and Kingdom of Mysore and transformation to British East India Company rule by 1805 (right)

Following the defeat of the Vijayanagara empire, the Qutb Shahi dynasty held sway over Andhra Pradesh. Later, this region came under the rule of the Mughal Empire. In 1611, an English trading post by the name of British East India Company was established in Machilipatnam on India's east coast. Nizam of Hyderabad who was initially appointed as viceroy of Deccan by the Mughal, which included Carnatic sultanate in 1713, established himself as semi independent ruler. In 1765, British Lord Robert Clive obtained from the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II a grant of the five Circars called Northern Circars to the British East India Company. Later, five territories were ceded to the British by the Nizam dynasty in 1800, which eventually became the Rayalaseema region. The local chieftains, known as Polygars, revolted in 1800 against the company's rule, which was suppressed by the company. Meanwhile, in the present day North Andhra, Raja Viziaram Raz (Vijayaram Raj) established a sovereign kingdom by claiming independence from the Kingdom of Jeypore in 1711. It formed alliances with the French and British East India companies to conquer the neighbouring principalities of Bobbili, Kurupam, Paralakhemundi, and the kingdom of Jeypore. It fell out with the British and, as a result, was attacked and defeated in the battle of Padmanabham in 1794. It was annexed as a tributary estate like other principalities and remained so until its accession to the Indian Union in 1949. Following the annexation of Carnatic sultanate in 1801, the last major piece of the present day Andhra Pradesh came under British East India company rule as part of Madras Presidency. After the Indian rebellion of 1857, the region became part of British crown till India became independent in 1947. The No Tax campaign in Chirala and Perala in 1919, the Rampa revolt in 1922 are some of the protests against British rule.

Dowleswaram Barrage built in 1850 by Arthur Cotton

Anicut at Dowlaiswaram built in 1850 by Arthur Cotton and several others at Vijayawada, Nellore, Sangam, Sunkesula, Polampalli are examples of irrigation facilities built during the British raj, that irrigated lacs of acres across coastal districts. Charles Philip Brown did pioneering work in transforming Telugu to the print era and introduced Vemana poems to English readers. Kandukuri Veeresalingam is considered the father of the Telugu renaissance movement, as he encouraged the education of women and the remarriage of widows and fought against child marriage and the dowry system. Gurajada Apparao, a pioneering playwright who used spoken dialect, wrote the play Kanyasulkam which was first presented in 1892. It is considered the greatest play in the Telugu language.

Post-independence

See also: Andhra State, Visalandhra movement, and Andhra Pradesh (1956–2014)

Potti Sreeramulu, whose fast unto death in 1952 led to the formation of Andhra State

In an effort to gain an independent state based on linguistic identity and to protect the interests of the Telugu-speaking people of Madras state, Potti Sreeramulu fasted to death in 1952. The Telugu-speaking area of Andhra state was carved out of Madras state on 1 October 1953, with Kurnool as its capital city. Tanguturi Prakasam became the first chief minister. On the basis of the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1956, the States Reorganisation Act created Andhra Pradesh by merging the neighbouring Telugu-speaking areas of the Hyderabad state with Hyderabad as the capital on 1 November 1956. Hyderabad grew rapidly partly through investments flowing in from agrarian change and 'green revolution' in coastal Andhra.

In the unified state, Indian National Congress (INC) enjoyed a monopoly in ruling the state till 1983. After that Telugu Desam Party (TDP) came to power and became another major party to rule the state. Implementing land reforms and land ceiling acts and securing reservation for lower castes in politics were launched during the rule of P. V. Narasimha Rao. During TDP rule, led by N. T. Rama Rao sub-district administration was transformed by forming mandals in place of earlier taluks, removing hereditary village heads, and appointing non-hereditary village revenue assistants. E-governance through e-Seva centres was started in 2001 for paperless and speedy delivery of government services. Nagarjuna Sagar dam commissioned in 1967, and Srisailam hydro electric project commissioned in 1982 serve the irrigation and electricity needs of the state.

During its 58 years as a unified state, the state weathered separatist movements from Telangana (1969) and Andhra (1972) successfully. When the union cabinet made a decision to consider the formation of Telangana state in 2009 heeding to the demand of relaunched Telangana movement, Samaikyandhra movement opposing it took shape and the state went through a turmoil. Finally, the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act bill was passed by the parliament of India for the formation of the Telangana state, comprising ten districts, despite opposition by the state legislature. The new state of Telangana came into existence on 2 June 2014 after approval from the president of India, with the residual state continuing as Andhra Pradesh. The state resumed celebrating its formation day on 1 November from 2019 after skipping it for 5 years post bifurcation.

TDP formed the first government of the residual state. In 2017, the government of Andhra Pradesh began operating from its new greenfield capital, Amaravati, for which 33,000 acres were acquired from farmers through an innovative land pooling scheme. In the 2019 elections, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, leader of the YSR Congress Party, became the chief minister by winning 151 out of 175 seats. He introduced the 'village and ward volunteers’ system, and reorganised the state with 26 districts. Introduction of English as the medium of instruction in almost all the state schools, and the move to three capitals with Amaravati getting reduced to being the legislative capital, Vijag as the executive capital and Kurnool the judicial capital were stuck down by the High court. The government appealed to the Supreme court.

Geography

Main articles: Geography of Andhra Pradesh and List of rivers in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh relief map

Andhra Pradesh is the seventh-largest state with an area of 162,970 km² (62,920 sq mi). Politically, the state is bordered by Telangana to the north and west, Chhattisgarh and Orissa to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, Tamil Nadu to the south, and Karnataka to the west. Yanam district, an enclave of Puducherry, is in the state bordering Kakinada district. It has a coastline of around 974 kilometres (605 mi), which makes it the second-longest coastline in the nation.

The Eastern ghats are a major dividing line separating coastal plains and peneplains in the state's geography. These are discontinuous, and individual sections have local names. The ghats become more pronounced towards the south and extreme north of the coast. Some of these consist of the Horsley hills, the Seshachala hills, the Nallamala hills, and the Papi hills. Arma Konda, located in Visakhapatnam district, is the highest peak in the Eastern Ghats. Peneplains, part of Rayalaseema, slope towards the east. The Eastern coastal plains comprise the area of coastal districts up to the Eastern ghats as their border along the Bay of Bengal, with variable width. These are, for the most part, delta regions formed by the Krishna, Godavari, and Penna rivers. Most of the coastal plains are put to intensive agricultural use. The Kadapa basin, formed by two arching branches of the Eastern ghats, is a mineral-rich area.

Gandikota gorge in YSR district

The valleys and hills include Araku Valley, Horsley Hills, Papi Hills, and Gandikota gorge. Gandikota gorge is a canyon formed between the Erramala range of hills, through which the Penna (Pennar) river flows spread across a width of mere 100 m. Borra Caves, Undavalli Caves, depicting Indian rock-cut architecture and the country's second-longest cave system, the Belum Caves are in the state. The state has several beaches in its coastal districts, such as Rushikonda, Mypadu, Suryalanka.

Flora and fauna

Main article: Natural vegetation and wildlife of Andhra Pradesh

The total forest cover of the state is 29,784.3 square kilometres (11,499.8 sq mi), amounting to 18.28% of the total area. The Eastern ghats region is home to dense tropical forests, while the vegetation becomes sparse as the ghats give way to the peneplains, where shrub vegetation is more common. The vegetation found in the state is largely of dry deciduous types, with a mixture of teak, Terminalia, Dalbergia, Pterocarpus, Anogeissus, etc. The state possesses some rare and endemic plants like Cycas beddomei, Pterocarpus santalinus, Terminalia pallida, Syzygium alternifolium, Shorea talura, Shorea tumburgia, Psilotum nudum, etc. Coringa is an example of mangrove forests and salt-tolerant forest ecosystems near the sea. The area of these forests is 582 km² (225 sq mi), accounting for about 9% of the local forest area of the state.

The diversity of fauna includes tigers, leopards, dholes, black bucks, cheetals, sambars, sea turtles, and a number of birds and reptiles. The estuaries of the Godavari and Krishna rivers support rich mangrove forests with fishing cats and otters as keystone species. The state has many sanctuaries and national parks, such as Coringa wildlife sanctuary, Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam tiger reserve, Kolleru bird sanctuary, and Nelapattu bird sanctuary. Neem (Azadirachta indica) is the state tree, jasmine is the state flower, rose ringed parakeet is the state bird, and blackbuck is the state mammal.

Mineral resources

Mangampet Barytes

The state, with its varied geological formations, contains a variety of industrial minerals and building stones. Major minerals found in significant quantities in the state include beach sand, bauxite, limestone, granite, and diamonds. Minor minerals include barytes, calcite, and mica. The largest reserves of uranium are in Tummalapalli village of YSR district. The state also has reserves of oil and natural gas.

Climate

The climate varies considerably, depending on the geographical region. Summers last from March to June. In the coastal plain, the summer temperatures are generally higher than in the rest of the state, with temperatures exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). July to September is the season for tropical rains from the southwest monsoon. During October to December, low-pressure systems and tropical cyclones form in the Bay of Bengal along with the northeast monsoon, bringing rains to the southern and coastal regions of the state. November to February are the winter months. Since the state has a long coastal belt, the winters are not very cold. The range of winter temperatures is generally 30 to 35 °C (86 to 95 °F) except in the north where it could fall below 15 °C (59 °F). Lambasingi in Visakhapatnam district is nicknamed the "Kashmir of Andhra Pradesh" as its temperature ranges from 0 to 10 °C (32 to 50 °F). The normal rainfall for the state is 966 mm (38.0 in), and the actual rainfall for June 2020–May 2021 was 1,191 mm (46.9 in).

Demographics

See also: Ethnic groups of Andhra Pradesh, Demographics of Andhra Pradesh, and Religion in Andhra Pradesh

Based on the 2011 Census of India, the population of Andhra Pradesh is 49,386,799, with a density of 408/km² (1,060/sq mi). 70.53% of the population is rural, and 29.47% is urban. The state has 17.08% scheduled caste and 5.53% scheduled tribe populations. Children in the age group of 0–6 years number 5,222,384, constituting 10.6% of the total population. Among them, 2,686,453 are boys and 2,535,931 are girls. Adults in the age group of 18–23 account for 5,815,865 (2,921,284 males, 2,894,581 females).

Population Demographics of Andhra Pradesh (According to 2012 Census)

Sl.No	District Name	Population	Population Males	Population Females	Area (sq km)	Population per sq km
1	East Godavari	5,154,296	2,569,688	2,584,608	10,807	477
2	Guntur	4,887,813	2,440,521	2,447,292	11,391	429
3	Krishna	4,517,398	2,267,375	2,250,023	8,727	518
4	Visakhapatnam	4,290,589	2,138,910	2,151,679	11,161	384
5	Chittoor	4,174,064	2,090,204	2,083,860	15,152	275
6	Anantapur	4,081,148	2,064,495	2,016,653	19,130	213
7	Kurnool	4,053,463	2,039,227	2,014,236	17,658	230
8	West Godavari	3,936,966	1,964,918	1,972,048	7,742	509
9	Prakasam	3,397,448	1,714,764	1,682,684	17,626	193
10	Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore	2,963,557	1,492,974	1,470,583	13,076	227
11	Y.S.R Kadapa	2,882,469	1,451,777	1,430,692	15,359	188
12	Srikakulam	2,703,114	1,341,738	1,361,376	5,837	463
13	Vizianagaram	2,344,474	1,161,477	1,182,997	6,539	359
Total Population		49,386,799	24,738,068	24,648,731	160,205	408.8

The state has a sex ratio of 997 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 926 per 1000. The literacy rate in the state stands at 67.35%. Erstwhile West Godavari district has the highest literacy rate of 74.32%, and erstwhile Vizianagaram district has the least with 58.89%. The state ranks 27th of all Indian states in the Human Development Index (HDI) scores for the year 2018. As of 1 January 2023, there are 39,984,868 voters (19,759,489 males, 20,221,455 females, and 3,924 third-gender voters). Kurnool district has the maximum number of voters at 1,942,233, while Alluri Sitharama Raju district has the minimum at 729,085.

Population and Gender Statistics by Primary Language *

Serial No	Language	Total Population	Male Population	Female Population	% Share of Total Population	% Share of Male Population	% Share of Female Population
1	Telugu language	49,110,328	24,450,696	24,659,632	89.20%	49.20%	50.80%
2	Urdu	7,005,494	3,523,368	3,482,126	12.70%	50.30%	49.70%
3	Tamil language	837,234	420,142	417,092	1.50%	50.20%	49.80%
4	Hindi	532,246	290,862	241,384	1.00%	54.70%	45.30%
5	Odia language	224,720	114,536	110,184	0.40%	51.00%	49.00%
6	Kannada	194,900	94,306	100,594	0.40%	48.40%	51.60%
7	Marathi language	154,952	79,118	75,834	0.30%	51.10%	48.90%
8	Malayalam	66,372	29,150	37,222	0.10%	43.90%	56.10%
9	Bengali language	45,192	25,868	19,324	0.10%	57.20%	42.80%
10	Marwari language	37,800	20,002	17,798	0.10%	52.90%	47.10%
* Based on the 2012 Census data and specifically focusing on districts within Andhra Pradesh, including data from seven mandals, the information was collected and processed.

Telugu is the first official language, and Urdu is the second official language of the state. Telugu is the mother tongue of nearly 90% of the population. Urdu was made the second official language on 17 June 2022. Tamil, Kannada, and Odia are spoken in the border areas. Lambadi, Koya, Savara, Konda, Gadaba, and a number of other languages are spoken by the Scheduled Tribes of the state. 19% of the population aged 12+ years has the ability to read and understand English, as per the IRS Q4 2019 survey.

Language Distribution in Andhra Pradesh

Religion

According to the 2011 census, the major religious groups in the state are Hindus (90.89%), Muslims (7.30%), and Christians (1.38%). The state is ranked third in domestic tourist footfalls for the year 2021, with 93.2 million domestic tourists, which amounts to 13.8% of all domestic tourists in India. A major share of the tourists visit temples in Tirupati, Vijayawada, and Srisailam.

Venkateswara temple, Tirumala

Some of the popular religious pilgrim destinations include Tirumala Venkateswara temple at Tirupati, Kanaka Durga Temple at Vijayawada, Srikalahasti temple, Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam, Shahi Jamia Masjid in Adoni, Gunadala Church in Vijayawada, and Buddhist centres at

Amaravati and Nagarjuna Konda. Tirumala Venkateswara temple is the world's most visited Hindu temple, with footfalls of 30,000–40,000 daily and about 75,000 on New Year's Eve. The region is home to a variety of other pilgrimage centres, such as the Pancharama Kshetras, Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga, Kanaka Durga Temple and Kodanda Rama Temple.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Andhra Pradesh

Geographically notable items

Kondapalli Toys at a house in Vijayawada

Andhra Pradesh has 17 geographical indications (GI) in the categories of agriculture, handicrafts, foodstuffs, and textiles as per the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. Some of the GI products are Banaganapalle mangoes, Bandar laddu, Kondapalli toys, Tirupati laddu, Dharmavaram textiles, Machilipatnam Kalamkari, and Srikalahasti Kalamkari handicrafts. The soft limestone idol carvings of Durgi and Etikoppaka lacquered wooden toys are also notable handicrafts.

Literature

Main article: Telugu literature

Nannayya, Tikkana, and Yerrapragada form the trinity who translated the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata into Telugu during 11-14 centuries. Nannayya wrote the first treatise on Telugu grammar, called Andhra Shabda Chintamani in Sanskrit. Pothana translated Bhagavatam into Telugu. Vemana was an Indian philosopher who wrote Telugu poems using simple language and native idioms on a variety of subjects including yoga, wisdom, and morality. Potuluri Veerabrahmendhra swami, a clairvoyant and social reformer of 17th century, wrote Kalagnanam, a book of predictions.

Telugu literature after Kandukuri Veeresalingam is termed Adhunika Telugu Sahityam (modern Telugu literature). He was the author of the first Telugu social novel Rajasekhara Charitram, published in 1880. The use of colloquial idiom rather than grandhik (classical) in literature, championed by Gurajada Apparao and Gidugu Ramamurthy Panthulu led to increased literacy. Various forms of literature such as poetry, novel, short story were vibrant as indicated by the responses to national and international developments in various spheres of human life. The modern Telugu poetry, which began around 1900 developed into three forms — bhava kavitvam (lyrical poetry), abhyudaya kavitvam (progressive poetry), and new experimental poetry, including viplava kavitvam (revolutionary poetry). Gurajada Apparao, Rayaprolu Subbarao, Gurram Jashuva, Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Devulapalli Krishnasastri, and Sri Sri were some of the modern Telugu poets. Palagummi Padmaraju's short story Galivaana won second prize in world short story competition in 1952. Rachakonda Viswanadha Sastry initiated a new trend by focussing on the downtrodden in his novel Raju-Mahishi. Women writers such as Malati Chandur and Ranganayakamma dominated novels in the 1950s and 1960s. However, in the late 1970s, Yandamuri Veerendranath started writing popular novels with focus on sex, suspense and violence, which were serialised in magazines. Viswanatha Satyanarayana was conferred the first Jnanpith Award for Telugu literature in 1970. Telugu film song as literature took shape in the 1930s. Some of the famous lyric writers include Samudrala Senior, Arudra, Athreya, Daasarathi, and C. Narayana Reddy.

Festivals

Sankranti is the major harvest festival celebrated across the state. It is celebrated for four days in the second week of January. The first day of Telugu new year Ugadi which occurs during March/April is also a special festival with preparation and sharing of pickle (pachhadi) made from raw mangoes, neem flowers, pepper powder, jaggery and tamarind. Tasting this pickle which is mix of different tastes teaches the importance of taking positive/negative life experiences in one's stride. Celebrations end with the recitation of the coming year's astrological predictions called Panchanga sravanam. Vijaya Dasami known commonly as Dussera and Deepavali, the festival of lights are other major Hindu festivals. Shivaratri is celebrated at Kotappakonda, with people from nearby villages preparing 80–100 ft height frames called prabhalu and taking it in a procession to the shine. Eid is celebrated with special prayers. Rottela Panduga is celebrated at Bara Shaheed Dargah in Nellore with participation across religious lines. Christians celebrate their religious festivals Good Friday, Easter and Christmas with processions and prayers.

Dance, music, and cinema

See also: Tholu bommalata

Kuchipudi, the cultural dance recognised as the official dance form of the state of Andhra Pradesh, originated in the village of Kuchipudi in Krishna district. Many composers of Carnatic music like Annamacharya, Kshetrayya, Tyagaraja, and Bhadrachala Ramadas were of Telugu descent. The Telugu film industry hosted many music composers and playback singers, such as Ghantasala, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela, S. Janaki, and P. B. Sreenivas. Harikathaa Kalakshepam (or Harikatha) involves the narration of a story, intermingled with various songs relating to the story. Burra katha is an oral storytelling technique in which the topic is either a Hindu mythological story or a contemporary social issue. It lost its sheen due to poor patronage. Drama is an Indian theatre art form that is still popular. Gurajada Apparao wrote the play Kanyasulkam in 1892, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language. C. Pullaiah is cited as the father of the Telugu cinema.

Main articles: Music of Andhra Pradesh, Telugu theatre, and Carnatic music

Kuchipudi dance

Andhra Pradesh State Film, Television & Theatre Development Corporation offers incentives to promote the industry. The government is asking the film industry to make Vizag its hub. The Telugu film industry (known as "Tollywood"), which produces 300 films annually, is primarily based in Hyderabad, though several films are shot in Vizag. Film producer D. Ramanaidu holds a Guinness record for the most films produced by a person. In the years 2005, 2006, and 2008, the Telugu film industry produced the largest number of films in India, exceeding the number of films produced in Bollywood. "Naatu Naatu" from the film RRR became the first song from an Indian film to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as the first song from an Asian film to win the former.

Cuisine

Main article: Telugu cuisine

Andhra meals are combinations of spicy, tangy, and sweet flavours. The use of chillies, tamarind, and gongura (leaves of roselle) is common in Andhra food. Curry leaves are used copiously in most preparations of curries and chutneys. Various types of Pappu are made using lentils in combination with tomatoes, spinach, gongura, ridge gourd, etc. Apart from curries, pulusu, a stew made using tamarind juice in combination with vegetables, sea food, chicken, mutton, etc., is popular. Pachchadi, a paste usually made with a combination of groundnuts, fried vegetables, and chillies, is a must in a meal. Pickles made using mangoes, gooseberries, lemons, etc. are enjoyed in combination with Pappu. Buttermilk and yoghurt mixed with rice eaten towards the end of the meal soothe the body, especially after eating spicy food items earlier.

Vegetarian Andhra meal, served on important occasions

A tamarind-rich dish popularly known as Pulihora is made with a thick sauce of tamarind, chillies, salt and asafoetida. It is tempered with mustard, curry leaves, peanuts and mixed with rice. It is offered even to the gods and then served as prasadam (divine offering) in the temples to the devotees. Popular vegetarian curries include Dondakaya koora (ivy gourd cooked with coconut and green chilli) and Guttivankaya koora(stuffed brinjal curry). Thalakaya koora (lamb head gravy), Royyala koora (prawns cooked in tamarind), Natukodi koora (free hold chicken curry with chillies) are popular non vegetarian dishes across Guntur and surrounding regions. Veta mamsam kobbari biryani (mutton cooked with coconut), Seema kodi (Rayalaseema-style chicken), Chennuru dum biryani, and Gongura mamsam (mutton cooked in sorrel gravy) are popular non vegetarian dishes in Rayalaseema. Among fish preparations, Pulasa pulusu, thick aromatic and tangy gravy made from a single fish of the Godavari Pulasa variety is most desired in Konaseema. Ariselu, Burelu, Laddu, and Pootharekulu are some of the sweets made for special festivals and occasions. Pootharekulu, a preparation of sugar and rice flour and Taandri, a mango flavoured sun dried fruit jelly are popular sweets originating from Athreyapuram in Konaseema. Kakinada Khaaja layered flour deep fried and dipped in sugar is another popular sweetmeat.

Government and administration

Main articles: Government of Andhra Pradesh, Politics of Andhra Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh Legislature

Secretariat buildings hosting legislative assembly and council, Amaravati

There are a total of 175 assembly constituencies in the state legislative assembly. The legislative council is the upper house with 58 members. In the Indian parliament, the state has 25 seats in the Lok Sabha and 11 seats in the Rajya Sabha.

In the 2024 assembly elections, TDP-led National Democratic Alliance with Jana Sena Party and Bharatiya Janata Party emerged victorious defeating the incumbent YSRCP led by Jagan. It won 164 seats, while YSRCP got 11, a big drop from 151 it held. N. Chandrababu Naidu became the chief minister of the state for the fourth time. According to an opinion, several factors including the prevailing anti-incumbency against the previous government and the alliance's promise of "Welfare with Wealth Generation" contributed to the success of TDP-led alliance.

Andhra Pradesh comprises two regions, namely Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. The northern part of Coastal Andhra is sometimes mentioned separately as North Andhra, particularly after the bifurcation to raise voice against underdevelopment.

Districts

Main article: List of districts in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh districts

The state is further divided into 26 districts, with North Andhra comprising 6 districts, Coastal Andhra comprising 12 districts, and Rayalaseema comprising 8 districts. These districts are made up of 76 revenue divisions, 679 mandals and 13,324 village panchayats as part of the administrative organisation.

North Andhra:

1. Alluri Sitharama Raju
2. Anakapalli
3. Parvathipuram Manyam
4. Srikakulam
5. Visakhapatnam
6. Vizianagaram

Coastal Andhra:

1. Bapatla
2. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema
3. East Godavari
4. Eluru
5. Guntur
6. Kakinada
7. Krishna
8. NTR
9. Palnadu
10. Prakasam
11. Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore
12. West Godavari

Rayalaseema:

1. Anantapur
2. Annamayya
3. Chittoor
4. YSR (Kadapa)
5. Kurnool
6. Nandyal
7. Sri Sathya Sai
8. Tirupati

Cities and towns

There are 123 urban local bodies, comprising 17 municipal corporations, 79 municipalities, and 27 nagar panchyats, in the state. The urban population is 14.9 million (1.49 crores) as per the 2011 census. There are two cities with more than one million inhabitants, namely Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.

Rural Area with High Population According, as per the 2011 Census

Serial No	Name	Population Persons	Population Males	Population Females	Area (In sq. km)	Population per sq. km
1	Jangareddigudem	109,814	54,682	55,132	219	500
2	Guntur	109,216	58,147	51,069	147	742
3	Rajanagaram	106,085	53,345	52,740	235	452
4	Kuppam	98,516	49,865	48,651	360	274
5	Anakapalle	95,417	47,200	48,217	139	684
6	Narasaraopet	94,459	47,502	46,957	228	414
7	Nandigama	92,291	46,218	46,073	183	503
8	Chintalapudi	91,372	45,350	46,022	343	267
9	Kodur	90,814	45,668	45,146	668	136
10	Kadiam	90,499	45,066	45,433	55	1,650

Cities with the highest population in Andhra Pradesh, as per the 2011 Census

Ciy/Town	District(s)	Population (2011)
Visakhapatnam	Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli	1,728,128
Vijayawada	NTR	1,476,931
Guntur	Guntur	743,354
Nellore	Nellore	558,548
Kurnool	Kurnool	484,327
Rajahmundry	East Godavari	476,873
Tirupati	Tirupati	461,900
Kakinada	Kakinada	443,028
Kadapa	YSR	344,893
Anantapur	Anantapur	340,613

Economy

Main article: Economy of Andhra Pradesh

GSDP at current prices for the year 2022–23 is estimated at ₹1,317,728 crore (US$160 billion) (advanced estimates) against ₹1,133,837 crore (equivalent to ₹12 trillion or US$140 billion in 2023) (first revised estimates) for the year 2021–22. The share of agriculture's contribution to the GSDP is at 36.19%, while industry is at 23.36%, and services are at 40.45%. The state posted a record growth of 7.02% at constant prices (2011–12) against the country's growth of 7%. GDP per capita is estimated at ₹219,518 (US$2,600). AP achieved an overall 4th rank in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Report for the year 2020–21, with a first rank in SDG-7 (affordable energy) and a second rank in SDG-14 (life below water). Poverty rate is reduced to 4.2% in 2023 from 11.77% in 2015-16 as per Niti Ayog report. The methodology is based on the global MPI uses 10 indicators, covering three areas health, education, and standard of living and additionally maternal health and bank accounts. Unemployment rate of people with graduation in Andhra Pradesh is estimated at 24% as per Periodic labour force survey (PLFS) of July 2022 to June 2023, the third highest in the country. The number for whole of India is at 13.4%, declined from 14.9% a year ago.

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019–21 data provides an insight into the economic and health status of households. 85% of households in the state have pucca houses. 76% of households (59% urban, 83% rural) own a house. Almost all houses have an electricity connection. 84% of households use clean fuel for cooking. 22% have piped water. 85% of all households (urban areas 97%, rural areas 80%) have access to a toilet facility. Almost all urban households (96%) and most rural households (89%) use a mobile phone. 96% of households use bank or post office savings accounts. 97% of childbirths during 2014–2019 happened in a health facility. The state health insurance scheme (Dr. YSR Arogya Sri), the employee health scheme, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), the employees' state insurance scheme (ESIS), and the central government health scheme cover 70% of households with at least one member covered.

Government revenue and expenditure

For 2021–22, total receipts of the Andhra Pradesh government were ₹2.05 lakh crore (US$25 billion), inclusive of ₹53,284 crore (US$6.4 billion) of loans. States' own tax revenue was ₹70,979 crore (US$8.5 billion). The top three sources of non-tax revenue are state goods and services tax (GST) (₹23,809 crore (US$2.9 billion)), sales tax/value added tax (VAT) (₹20,808 crore (US$2.5 billion)), and state excise (₹14,703 crore (US$1.8 billion)). The government earned a revenue of ₹7,345 crore (US$880 million) from 2.574 million transactions for registration services. Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, and Tirupati are the top contributors to the revenue. The government's total expenditure was ₹1,91,594 crore, which includes debt repayment of ₹13,920 crore. The fiscal deficit was ₹25,013 crore, which was 2.1% of the GSDP. Revenue expenditure was ₹1,59,163 crore and capital expenditure was ₹16,373 crore. Welfare expenditures got the maximum share. Education accounted for ₹25,796 crore, energy ₹10,852 crore, and irrigation ₹7,027 crore. Outstanding debt was ₹3.89 lakh crore, an increase of almost ₹40,000 crore compared to the previous year. This accounts for 32.4 per cent of the GSDP, which is more than the usual limit of 25% as per Fiscal responsibility and budget management act. The outstanding guarantee estimate was ₹1,38,875 crore, of which ₹38,473 are for the power sector, which equals 12% of GSDP.

Out of the audited total expenditure of 1,77,674 crore of the State in the year 2021-22, Social services accounted for 42.65%. The components of social services breakdown is as follows. Social welfare category accounted for 16%, education, sport, arts and culture had a share of 15% and health and family welfare had a share of 6.3%. Comptroller and Auditor General in its 2023 report warned that the trend of increasing levels of revenue expenditure coupled with low level of capital spend will adversely impact infrastructure development, development, aggregate demand, employment generation, and revenue generation in the long run.

Agriculture

Lush green farms in Konaseema

The agricultural economy comprises agriculture, livestock, poultry farming, and fisheries. Four important rivers in India, the Godavari, Krishna, Penna, and Tungabhadra, flow through the state and provide irrigation. 62.17% of the population is engaged in agriculture and related activities as per 2020-21 fiscal data. Rice is the state's major food crop and staple food. The state has three agricultural export zones: the undivided Chittoor district for mango pulp and vegetables, the undivided Krishna district for mangoes, and the undivided Guntur district for chillies. Besides rice, farmers grow jowar, bajra, maize, minor millet, many varieties of pulses, oil seeds, sugarcane, cotton, chilli pepper, mango, and tobacco. Crops used for vegetable oil production, such as sunflower and peanuts, are popular. The state contributes 10% of total fish production and over 70% of shrimp production in India. The geographical location of the state allows marine fishing as well as inland fish production. The most exported marine products include Vannamei shrimp.

Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBK) or farmer facilitation centres were initiated by the government in 2020 to serve as a hassle-free, one-stop solution for the requirements of farmers from seed-to-sale. The services provide include sale of seeds and fertiliser, hiring of farm equipment, quality testing and procurement of produce and support for farmer welfare schemes. Banking services through banking correspondent are also integrated. 10,778 RBKs are functioning as of 2023. AP land titling act 2023 was brought in to change from presumptive land ownership system based on possession, registration or inheritance documents to conclusive land ownership system, with government standing as surety for the ownership. Lands in 6000 villages were surveyed with drones and land title certificates were issued to owners, by georeferencing of their land parcels. The benefits of the act include reduction in land disputes and easier acquisition of lands for public requirements.

The commission on inclusive and sustainable agricultural development of Andhra Pradesh, chaired by Prof. R.Radhakrishna, estimated the number of tenant farmers at 24.25 lakh in 2014. This consists of 6.29 lakh landless tenants and the rest owning some land. Out of 60.73 lakh hectares under cultivation, 27.15 lakh hectares or 44% was cultivated by tenants. Departmental estimates of 2021 put the number of tenant farmers at about 16 lakh. To identify and serve the needs of tenants, crop cultivator rights act (CCRA) of 2019 was brought out. Only 26% of tenants obtained the CCRA or loan eligibility cards as per 2022 data.

Industries

Isuzu Motors India manufacturing plant aerial view, Sri City

LVM3 M4, Chandrayaan-3 – Launch vehicle lifting off from the second launch pad of SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota

As per the annual survey of industries 2019–20, the number of factories was 12,582 with 681,224 employees. The top 4 employment providers are food products (25.48%), non-metallic minerals (11.26%), textiles (9.35%), and pharmaceuticals (8.68%). Gross value added (GVA) contributed by the industrial sector is ₹55,035 crore (US$6.6 billion), of which food products (18.95%), pharmaceuticals (17.01%), and non-metallic minerals (16.25%) are the top 3 contributors. From a district perspective, the top three districts were undivided Visakhapatnam, Chittoor, and Krishna.

The defence administered Hindustan Shipyard Limited built the first ship in India in 1948. Sri City, located in Tirupati district, is an integrated business city that is home to several multinational companies. The state has 36 big auto players, such as Ashok Leyland, Hero Motors, Isuzu Motors India, and Kia Motors, with investments of over US$2.8 billion. It accounts for 10% of India's auto exports.

The mining sector contributed ₹3,390 crore (US$410 million) in revenue to the state during 2021–22. As of April 2023, Ravva Block, in the shallow offshore area of the Krishna Godavari basin, had produced nearly 311 million barrels of crude oil and 385 billion cubic feet of natural gas since its initial production in March 1994. The state accounts for 2.7% of crude oil production in India, with 827.8 thousand metric tonnes from its Krishna Godavari basin. 809 million metric standard cubic metres of natural gas are produced from onshore sites, which accounts for 2.4% of India's production.

As of 20 June 2023, there are 190 science and technology organisations in Andhra Pradesh, including 12 central labs and research institutions. Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), known as Sriharikota Range (SHAR), on the barrier island of Sriharikota in Tirupati district, is the primary satellite launching station operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Services

The subcategories of services sector are a) Trade, hotels & restaurants, b)Transport by other means & storage c) Supra regional sectors (Railways, Communications and Banking & Insurance), d) Real estate, ownership of dwellings & professional services, e) Public administration and f) Other services which are not covered in other subcategories such as education, health, hospitality, financial services, and IT. As per the advance estimates for the year 2022-23 at constant 2011-12 prices, services sector contribution is estimated at ₹278,934 crore (US$33 billion) as against ₹253,452 crore (US$30 billion) in 2021-22(FRE) with a growth rate of 10.5% over last year. Trade, hotels & restaurants registered the highest growth rate of 16.64%, while public administration, the lowest growth rate of 4.24%. The value of information technology exports from the state in 2021–22 was ₹926 crore (US$110 million), which is 0.14% of the IT exports from India. Exports have remained below 0.2% in the past five years.

Infrastructure

Transport

Main article: Transport in Andhra Pradesh

Roads

Vijayawada-Guntur section of NH 16

The state has a total major road network of 47,244.83 km (29,356.58 mi). This comprises 8,163.72 km (5,072.70 mi) of national highways, 12,595.60 km (7,826.54 mi) of state highways, and 26,485.51 km (16,457.33 mi) of major district roads. NH 16, with a highway network of around 1,000 km (620 mi) in the state, is a part of the Golden Quadrilateral project undertaken by the National Highways Development Project. The proposed Anantapuram–Amaravati Expressway is changed to Anantapur–Guntur national highway 544D, with implementation expected to begin in January 2023. The state government-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is the public bus transport provider. It is split into 129 depots across four zones. It has a fleet strength of 11,098 buses and a staff count of 49,544. It operates 1.11 billion kilometres and serves 3.68 million passengers daily.

1.828 million transport vehicles and 13.7 million non-transport vehicles are registered in the state. In the transport category, 0.98 million are goods carriages, constituting 53.61%; 0.66 million are auto rickshaws, constituting 36.21%; and 0.109 million are cabs, constituting 5.96%. In the non-transport category, 12.2 million are motorcycles, constituting 89.5%, and 1.067 million are four-wheelers, constituting 7.29%. The integrated road accident database project, an initiative of the Ministry Of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) is under implementation in the state. Construction of institutes of driver training and research Facilities at Darsi, Praksam district, and Dhone, Nandyal district, in partnership with Maruti Suzuki and Ashok Leyland, respectively, is in progress. Automation of driving test tracks in nine district capitals is expected to be completed by 31 March 2023.

Railways

Andhra Pradesh has a total broad-gauge railway route of 3,969 km (2,466 mi) with rail density at 24.36 km per 1000 square kilometres. The railway network in Andhra Pradesh is under the South Central Railway, East Coast Railway, and South Western Railway zones. During 2014–2022, 350 km of new lines were constructed at a rate of 44 km per year in Andhra Pradesh under the South Central Railway division. The rate of construction was only 2 km per year in the preceding five years. The Nadikudi–Srikalahasti line of 308.70 km sanctioned at a budget of ₹22.89 billion (US$270 million) in 2011–12 as a joint project of the centre and state is progressing slowly, with only phase 1 of 46 km between New Piduguralla station and Savalyapuram completed in 2021–22. There are three A1 and 23 A-category railway stations in the state, as per the assessment in 2017. Visakhapatnam has been declared the cleanest railway station in the country, as per the assessment in 2018. The railway station in Shimiliguda was the first broad gauge railway station at high altitude in the country. A new railway zone South Coast Railway Zone (SCoR), with headquarters in Visakhapatnam, was announced as the newest railway zone of the Indian Railways in 2019, but is yet to be implemented.

Airports

See also: List of airports in Andhra Pradesh

Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Tirupati airports are international airports in the state. The state has three domestic airports, namely Rajahmundry, Kadapa, and Kurnool. A privately owned airport for emergency flights and chartered flights is at Puttaparthi. Bhogapuram international airport is being constructed with a budget of ₹4,750 crore on an area of 2,300 acres near Visakhapatnam. It is expected to be completed by 2025. Andhra Pradesh saw a 60% increase in domestic air passenger traffic, with 24.74 lakh visitors at its five airports during the 2021-22 fiscal year (up to January 2022), compared to 15.48 lakh in the same period the previous fiscal year. Freight traffic at Vijayawada Airport increased by 47.37%, with 1,988 tonnes of goods transported via dedicated cargo flights and in the cargo holds of passenger flights up to January 2022. Meanwhile, Visakhapatnam Airport saw the transportation of 3,300 tonnes of goods during the same period, marking an 18.83% rise.

Sea ports

See also: List of ports and harbours of Andhra Pradesh

The state has one major port at Visakhapatnam under the administrative control of the central government and 15 notified ports, including three captive ports, under the control of the state government. The other famous ports are Krishnapatnam, Gangavaram, and Kakinada. Gangavaram port is a deep seaport that can accommodate ocean liners up to 200,000–250,000 DWT. New sea ports are under construction at Ramayapatnam, Machilipatnam, Mulapeta, and Kakinada. Cargo of 189.21 million tonnes during the FY 2023-34 was handled by Gangavaram, Kakinada Deepwater, Krishnapatnam, Ravva, Kakinada Anchorage (major port), and Visakhapatnam as per Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board (APMB). There was a growth of 7.9% compared to the previous year.

Communication

Andhra Pradesh has 10,605 post offices as of 5 January 2023. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) operates 1,310 telephone exchanges with 2.06 crore land line connections and also has 53.998 lakh wireless subscribers as of 31 December 2022 As of December  2023, the number of mobile phone users reached 8.2 crore, while the number of internet subscribers reached 6.71 crore in Andhra Pradesh. Mobile network services are available in 15,322 out of 17,328 villages. 5G network connectivity is provided by 16,714 base transfer stations.As of January 2023, the AP statewide area network (APSWAN) connects 2,164 offices of state administration at 668 locations down to the level of mandal headquarters. The network supports both data and video communications. BSNL and the National Knowledge Network (NKN) link district headquarters with state headquarters with a bandwidth of 34 Mbit/s. Mandal headquarters are connected with a bandwidth of 8 Mbit/s. Andhra Pradesh state fibre net limited (APSFNL) operates an optical fibre network. This provides internet connectivity, telephony, and Internet protocol television (IPTV) with fibre to private and corporate users in Andhra Pradesh.

Water

The state has 40 major and medium rivers and 40,000 minor irrigation sources. Godavari, Krishna, and Penna are major rivers. The total cultivable area is 19.904 million acres. Major, medium, and minor irrigation projects irrigate 10.172 million acres or 51.1% as of 2015. Following the bifurcation, disputes with Telangana regarding the allocation of Krishna and Godavari continue to dog the state. The Polavaram project is a multi purpose terminal reservoir project located 42 km upstream of Davaleswaram barrage. It is a national project as per the AP reorganisation act of 2014. It has a reservoir capacity of 194.6 TMC and is expected to utilise 322.73 TMC of water in a year. The under construction project suffered setbacks with damage to its diaphragm wall during the 2022 floods. The Veligonda project is delayed despite plan to commission by September 2023, as only the tunnels are completed in January 2024. The Annamayya project, washed away in the 2021 floods, is set to be redesigned at a cost of 787 crore.

Power

Main article: Power sector of Andhra Pradesh

Rayalaseema thermal power station

Thermal, hydel and renewable power plants supply power to the state. The installed capacity share of the state in the public sector generating stations was 7,245 MW. Private sector installed capacity was 9,370 MW, which includes independent power producer capacity of 1,961 MW. The total installed capacity was 16,615 MW. Peak power demand for the state in 2021–22 was 12,032 MW and per capita consumption was 1,285 kilowatt hours. The energy consumed is 68972 million units. Energy consumption increased from 54,555 MU in 2018-19 to 69,113 MU in 2023-24, at a growth rate of 4.8% which is among the lowest in the country. The per capita electricity consumption of A.P. increased by only 123 kWh in the same period when there was an increase of 146 kWh at national level. The reasons were because of steep tariff increase and re-imposing power cuts as there was delay in commissioning of the Polavaram hydro-electric power project (960 MW), SDSTPS (Krishnapatnam) Stage-II Unit-3 (800 MW) and VTPS Stage-V Unit-8 (800 MW) stations.

Healthcare

The government is spending 7.3% of the state budget on healthcare, compared to an average of 4 to 4.5 per cent overall in the country. The 108 service provides fast emergency management services by shifting patients to a nearby healthcare facility. The 104 service provides health care services at the doorstep of villages through mobile medical units that visit at least once a month. All the poor families are covered by the free state health insurance scheme called Arogyasri up to a limit of ₹2,500,000 (US$30,000). The scheme serves 42.5 million people. The services are provided in government and private hospitals under the network. During 2014–2018, though the nominal mean claim amount of Arogyasri beneficiaries went up significantly, it decreased after accounting for inflation. Mortality rates have significantly decreased, which indicates better outcomes are being achieved at a lower cost. 2,700 private hospitals are registered under Arogyasri. 20% (about 540) of these are speciality hospitals. The number of patients treated under the Arogyasri scheme increased from 12 lakh in 2022-23 to 13.90 lakh in 2023-24. whereas the budget remained constant at ₹3,350 crore.

Banking

As of 31 March 2023, there are 12 public sector banks with 4467 branches, 33 private sector banks with 1525 branches, AP State Co operative Bank with 442 branches, three rural banks with 1313 branches, three small finance banks with 96 branches, three payment banks with 25 branches and one APSFC with 13 branches operating in the state. The total number of branches is 7881. As of September 2022, Banks had deposits amounting to ₹435,183.49 crore (US$52 billion) and extended credit amounting to ₹628,134.9 crore (US$75 billion), with credit deposit ratio of 144% against RBI norm of 60%. Primary sector advances amounted to 60.13% of total bank credit. Till 2011 March, the micro finance industry flourished in united Andhra Pradesh with a share of 65% of pan India MFI gross loans. Due to state regulation enacted in 2010, the loan portfolio shrank to 0.8% in Andhra Pradesh and 0.5% in Telangana as of 31 March 2023. With Telangana high court deciding against state regulation, the industry is likely to pick up again.

Education

Main articles: Education in Andhra Pradesh and List of institutions of higher education in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra University, Visakhapatnam

Primary and secondary school education is imparted by government and private schools, regulated by the school education department of the state. The government decided to stop financial aid to aided schools, forcing them to handover the schools with the aided staff to government or become private in 2021. The government runs several residential schools including separate schools for BC and SC/ST categories. As per the child and school information report (2018–19), there were a total of 7,041,568 students enrolled in 62,063 schools. 616,615 students have appeared for the March 2024 secondary school certificate (SSC) exam in the regular stream. Parvathipuram-Manyam district achieved the highest pass percentage of 96.37 among districts. The overall pass percentage was 86.69%, an increase of 14.43% over the previous year, with 100% in 2,803 schools. 393,757 students appeared for intermediate second-year examinations held in March 2024. 78%, which is an increase of 7% over the previous year, were declared passed.

The state initiated education reforms in 2020 by creating six types of schools: satellite foundation schools (pre-primary), foundational schools (pre-primary – class II), foundational school plus (pre-primary – class V), pre-high school (class III – class VII/VIII), high school (class III – class X), and high school plus (class III – class XII). The transition to English-medium education in all government schools was started in the academic year 2020–2021. It is expected to reach completion by 2024–25. 1000 government schools are affiliated to the CBSE in the years 2022–23 as an initial step, and the bilingual text book scheme was adopted to ease the transition. The state government is going ahead with the English medium based on the parents survey despite protests and court cases. The state initiative is being funded in part by a loan from the World Bank to the tune of $250 million over 2021–2026 through the "Supporting Andhra's Learning Transformation" (SALT) project to improve the learning outcomes of children up to class II level.

There are 169 government-aided degree colleges and 55 private-aided degree colleges in the state. 66 government colleges and 48 private-aided colleges have valid NAAC grades. There are 85 government-aided and 175 private polytechnic colleges with a sanctioned strength of 75,906 students. The AP State council of higher education organises various entrance tests for different streams and conducts counselling for admissions. The AP state skill development corporation is set up to support skill development and placement for the educated.

There are a total of 36 universities, which comprise 3 central universities, 23 state public universities, 6 state private universities, and 4 deemed universities. Andhra University is the oldest of the universities in the state, established in 1926. The government established Rajiv Gandhi University of knowledge technologies (RGUKT) in 2008 to cater to the education needs of the rural youth of the state. Dr. Y.S.R University of Health Sciences oversees medical education in 348 affiliated colleges spanning the entire range from traditional medicine to modern medicine. The public universities, including the legacy universities such as Andhra, Sri Venkateswara, and Nagarjuna, are suffering from a severe fund crunch and staff shortage, managing with only 20% of sanctioned full-time staff. Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation University (KL College of Engineering) bagged the 50th rank, while Andhra university in Visakhapatnam bagged the 76th rank in the overall category of India rankings for 2023 as per the national institute ranking framework (NIRF) of the Union Ministry of Education. 2,478 institutions, including 242 institutions from the state, participated in the ranking. The gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education for the age group 18–23 for the state is at 35.2% for the year 2019–20, which compares favourably with the GER for all of India at 27.1%. With a female GER of 35.3 and a male GER of 38.2, the Gender Parity Index is 0.84. The corresponding ratio for India is 1.01.

There were 510 industrial training institutes (ITI) in the year 2020–21 in Andhra Pradesh, with 82 under government management and 417 under private management. The total available seats in 2021 were 93,280, out of which 48.90% were filled. 10,053 students completed ITI education in the year 2020. The state has 2,510 public libraries, including 4 regional libraries and 13 district central libraries under government management. Saraswata Niketanam at Vetapalem in Bapatla district, one of the oldest libraries established under private management in 1918, is losing its attraction as the Internet spreads. The government is planning to develop digital libraries at the village panchayat level.

Media

The total number of registered newspapers and periodicals in the state for the years 2020–21 was 5,798. There were 1,645 dailies, 817 weeklies, 2,431 monthlies, and 623 fortnightlies. 787 Telugu dailies had a circulation of 9,911,005. 103 English dailies had a circulation of 1,646,453. Eenadu, Sakshi, and Andhra Jyothi are the top 3 Telugu daily newspapers in terms of circulation in India and are also the top 3 Telugu news sites. BBC Telugu news was launched on 2 October 2017. Several privately owned news media outlets are considered biased towards specific political parties in the state.

There were 10 general entertainment channels, 23 news channels, 2 health channels, 6 religious channels, 2 other channels, and 2 cable distribution channels, for a total of 45 channels empanelled by the Andhra Pradesh information and public relations department. As of 2019, Akashvani previously known as All India Radio, operates 3 MW, 17 FM transmitters from 14 locations in the state. It reaches 99% of the area and 99.5% of population. Akashvani's FM coverage alone reaches 36% of the area and 45% of population. 5 private operators run 13 FM stations, with Red FM operating from 5 locations.

Sports

Main article: Sports in Andhra Pradesh

Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam

Traditional children games of Andhra Pradesh include Dagudu Mootalu (Hide and seek), Tokkudu Billa, Yedu penkulata (Lagori), Vamanaguntalu (Pallanguzhi), Chadarangam (Chess), Puli Joodam, Ashta Chamma, Vaikuntapali (Snakes and ladders), Nalugu Stambalata, and Nalugu ralla aata. Karrasamu (stick fight) is a traditional martial art form of the state. It is a form of self defence to prevent thefts and robbery in villages. It is a discipline in the national sports, though it is not recognised for the sports quota category of reservations in Andhra Pradesh.

Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh is the governing body that looks after the infrastructure development, coaching, and administration of sports promotion schemes. Dr. YSR Sports School, with classes for grades 4–10 and a focus on tapping rural sports talent, was established in Putlampalli, YSR district, in December 2006. ACA-VDCA stadium in Visakhapatnam hosted ODI, T20I, Test Matches and IPL matches.

Andhra Pradesh is ranked at 13th spot in the sixth edition of Khelo India Youth Games-2023, by winning 27 medals consisting of 7 gold, 9 silver, and 11 bronze. Medals were won in 9 disciplines namely Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Judo, Shooting, Swimming, Volleyball and Weightlifting. Weightlifters won highest number of 11 medals. They were followed by swimmers who won 7. The state secured 16 medals at the 36th National Games held in 2022. It was ranked 21st in the competition. It won the most medals in athletics. Two silvers and one bronze were won in weightlifting. 8 sportspersons from Andhra Pradesh won 11 medals in Tennis, Archery, Badminton, Athletics, Chess and Cricket disciplines in the 19th Asian games held in China in 2022. The winners M. Saket Sai, V. Jyothi Surekha, Kidambi Srikanth, R. Satwik Sairaj, Jyothi, B. Dheeraj, Koneru Hampy and B. Anusha were given cash incentives by the government.

Karnam Malleswari is the first female Indian to win an Olympic medal. Pullela Gopichand is a former Indian badminton player. He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001, becoming the second Indian to win after Prakash Padukone. Srikanth Kidambi, a badminton player, is the first Indian to reach the world championships final in 2021 in the men's singles and win a silver medal.

See also

• Outline of Andhra Pradesh
• Disputes between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

References

Bibliography

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External links

Government

• Official website

General information

• Andhra Pradesh at Curlie
• Geographic data related to Andhra Pradesh at OpenStreetMap