YSRCP leader Gudivada Amarnath criticized Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh’s celebration of GST growth. Amarnath claimed the 21% growth is ‘artificial,’ resulting from a negative base in the previous year’s corresponding quarter.
Former Andhra Pradesh IT Minister and YSRCP leader, Gudivada Amarnath, on Thursday slammed state cabinet minister Nara Lokesh, claiming “artificial growth” in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) numbers for the first quarter of the financial year 2026-27.
Nara Lokesh had lauded the 21 per cent year-on-year growth in GST collections for June 2026; however, Amarnath claimed that the numbers were skewed given the -7 per cent year-on-year growth in the first quarter of FY 2025-26 in the state’s SGST collection, after adjusting the IGST settlement. In an X post, Gudivada Amarnath said that Nara Lokesh shared the data without understanding the reasoning behind the figures.
Amarnath’s ‘Artificial Growth’ Accusation
The former minister wrote, “It is heartening to see that at least after 40 per cent of their term is over, @naralokesh is finding reason to make a comment on State finances. Now, with the GST numbers for June 2026 being released, Nara Lokesh presumably got the impression that his Government has done well on the GST front and hastily made tweet on the same, claiming that the GST growth indicates growth, jobs and so forth. The source which Nara Lokesh quotes reveals many more things that he did not have the time or ability to take a deeper look into before patting himself on the back. We are attaching the figures to this post, which are quite revealing.” He argued that the poor growth in GST numbers in 2025-26, being the base for FY 2026-27, showed “artificial growth.”
The ‘Base Effect’ Argument
“During the first quarter of FY 2026-27, the AP’s SGST (post IGST settlement) shows a year-on-year growth of 25 per cent, and this is the reason that apparently motivated Nara Lokesh to make the claims he made yesterday. But if we look a little deeper, we identify that during the first quarter of FY 2025-26, the AP’s SGST (post IGST settlement) shows a year-on-year growth of -7 per cent. This miserable performance during the previous year is what provided a base effect advantage in the first quarter this year, contributing to an artificial growth. If FY 2025-26 performance was poorer, then FY 2026-27 growth would have been even better. But that is no reason to be happy,” he wrote.
The YSRCP leader said that the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over the two-year period was merely 7.9 per cent as compared to 8.6 per cent during the party’s tenure in Andhra Pradesh. Amarnath wrote, “Considering a post-settlement SGST of Rs. 8,568 crores during Q1 2024-25 and a corresponding figure of Rs. 9,978 crores during Q1 2026-27, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over the two-year period is only 7.9 per cent, offering no reason to cheer. During the five-year period, 2019-24, the SGST revenues have grown from Rs. 20,611 crores in 2018-19 to Rs. 31,130 crores in 2023-24, registering a CAGR of 8.60 per cent, despite overwhelmingly challenging circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“For the last two years, despite several discussions on the unattractive fiscal performance of the State, Nara Lokesh appeared to be oblivious to any of those happenings and never even attempted to offer any explanation on the same, now when one figure prima facie appears to be favourable to the Government, without even taking a moment to understand the reason behind it, Nara Lokesh rushes to take credit,” the X post read.
What Nara Lokesh Posted
Earlier, Nara Lokesh had shared the GST collection numbers for June 2026 on X, calling them an “acceleration” in economic activity in the state. “Andhra Pradesh’s growth engine is firing on all cylinders! A robust 21 per cent year-on-year growth in GST collections for June 2026 is yet another sign that economic activity is accelerating across the state. More growth. More investments. More jobs. We’re just getting started,” the TDP leader posted on X on Wednesday. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)