BJP-led NDA government's biggest ally, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, got a leg-up on Sunday, with three of his major demands addressed in the budget as finance minister announced a tax holiday for data centres, strengthened the Purvodaya scheme and announced a coconut promotion scheme, apart from tourism projects for the state.
The FM announced: "Recognising the need to enable critical infrastructure and boost investment in data centres, I propose to provide a tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign company that provides cloud services to customers globally by using data centre services from India. It will, however, need to provide services to Indian customers through an Indian reseller entity. I also propose to provide a safe harbour of 15% on cost in case the company providing data centre services from India is a related entity."
This announcement directly impacts Andhra Pradesh, which is developing Visakhapatnam as a data centre hub and has already signed an MoU with Google for a data centre cluster. Naidu, whose 16 MPs provide the NDA government the required stability at the Centre, had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this tax break and had been assured the same.
Apart from this, Naidu had written to the Centre in December pushing for a special coconut development scheme and for strengthening the Purvodaya scheme for more effective release of funds. Sitharaman has proposed a 'Coconut Promotion Scheme' to increase production and enhance productivity through various interventions. She has also announced the creation of five tourism destinations in the Purvodaya states, which include Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
The other key ally Janata Dal (United) also cornered certain projects in Bihar. Though the previous budget had given a largesse for Bihar, which had elections in November 2025, the focus this time has been lesser in terms of specific announcements for the state. An announcement on the ship repair ecosystem in Varanasi and Patna under a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme has been made. "The plan to establish a ship repair ecosystem in Varanasi and Patna will create new economic opportunities, enhance logistics efficiency and support sustainable growth. This will benefit both regional economies and the national supply chain," JDU working president Sanjay Jha, told ET.
Andhra Pradesh has also been covered in the special dedicated rare earth corridor and allocated tourism projects. The budget has proposed development of ecologically sustainable mountain trails in Araku Valley (near Visakhapatnam) and bird watching trails along the Pulicat lake in Andhra Pradesh.
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This announcement directly impacts Andhra Pradesh, which is developing Visakhapatnam as a data centre hub and has already signed an MoU with Google for a data centre cluster. Naidu, whose 16 MPs provide the NDA government the required stability at the Centre, had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this tax break and had been assured the same.
Apart from this, Naidu had written to the Centre in December pushing for a special coconut development scheme and for strengthening the Purvodaya scheme for more effective release of funds. Sitharaman has proposed a 'Coconut Promotion Scheme' to increase production and enhance productivity through various interventions. She has also announced the creation of five tourism destinations in the Purvodaya states, which include Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
The other key ally Janata Dal (United) also cornered certain projects in Bihar. Though the previous budget had given a largesse for Bihar, which had elections in November 2025, the focus this time has been lesser in terms of specific announcements for the state. An announcement on the ship repair ecosystem in Varanasi and Patna under a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme has been made. "The plan to establish a ship repair ecosystem in Varanasi and Patna will create new economic opportunities, enhance logistics efficiency and support sustainable growth. This will benefit both regional economies and the national supply chain," JDU working president Sanjay Jha, told ET.
Andhra Pradesh has also been covered in the special dedicated rare earth corridor and allocated tourism projects. The budget has proposed development of ecologically sustainable mountain trails in Araku Valley (near Visakhapatnam) and bird watching trails along the Pulicat lake in Andhra Pradesh.
