Economic Survey calls Amaravati ‘a rare window of opportunity to shape growth’

The Government of India’s Economic Survey 2025-26 mentioned Amaravati, the greenfield capital of Andhra Pradesh, as a rare window of opportunity to shape growth deliberately rather than do retrofitting after congestion, informality, and service deficits set in.

As regards urbanisation, the survey ranked 10 cities based on the index of ‘Ease -of-Living’. They are Pune, Navi Mumbai, Greater Mumbai, Tirupati, Chandigarh, Thane, Raipur, Indore, Vijayawada and Bhopal. It was noted that these cities are largely newer or Tier-2 urban centres that are yet to be subjected to intense population pressures experienced by Bengaluru, Delhi or Mumbai over the past two decades and that they remain ahead of the curve: urbanising, but not yet overwhelmed.

The survey further pointed out that Andhra Pradesh implemented single-window industrial clearance, online land registration and e-environmental approvals as per the Business Reforms Action Plan of 2024. The State expanded its ‘online consent management and monitoring system’, allowing firms to apply for consents and track approvals digitally, reducing delays and enhancing data transparency between industry and the A.P. Pollution Control Board.

As for ‘promoting international student mobility’, the Economic Survey found that ‘State-wise, earlier hubs such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have seen declines in international student enrolment, while Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have emerged as hosts, suggesting that sub-national policies, institutional capacity and outreach significantly shape inflows.

Further, the survey said that as per a report of the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices, which compared yields per hectare across kharif crops over time and across States, major rice-producing States, including A.P., had a yield-per-hectare lower than the national average due to unseasonal rains, heat stress and dry spells during critical crop stages.