The Andhra Pradesh cabinet under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has decided to allot 2,720 acres of land near Orvakallu in Kurnool district for DRDO’s missile testing project. The cabinet also decided to allot 1,965 acres of land to build a naval base at Rayavaram village in Visakhapatnam district.

The cabinet has decided to grant nativity status to people who shift from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh before June 2, 2017. The AP government has decided to reduce VAT on shipping to transform AP coast into a shipping and logistics hub. VAT will be reduced from 22.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent on international shipping and from 22.5 per cent to 5 per cent on national shipping transactions, he said.

The AP cabinet has also decided to raise forest cover of the state from 24 per cent to 40 per cent by 2020, by encouraging people to plant 15 crore saplings a year.

Facts About Andhra Pradesh

• The major rivers of the state are Godavari and Krishna. River Godavari forms one of the biggest river basins in India.
• The state has a coastline of 974 km (605 mi), the second longest among all the states of India after Gujarat.
• There are two regions in the state namely Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.
• In February 2014, the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 bill was passed by the Parliament of India for the formation of Telangana state comprising ten districts.
• Hyderabad will remain as a joint capital for 10 years for both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.