Jagan Reddy Cites APERC and CAG Data to Challenge Naidu’s 23-Lakh Jobs Claim

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy mounted a sweeping challenge against the state government’s economic growth claims, citing regulatory data on falling electricity consumption, flat tax receipts, and worsening joblessness.

His critique targeted Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's administration directly. The numbers tell a grim story. In a public statement on social media platform X, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief argued that official state data reveals an industrial slowdown rather than the rapid economic boom projected by the Telugu Desam Party-led ruling coalition.

APERC Power Dispatches Point to Industrial Slump

Reddy anchored his critique on statutory orders issued by the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC). According to APERC records, electricity sales by state distribution companies (DISCOMs) stood at 71,722 million units (MU) in FY 2023-24, with total energy dispatch reaching 79,758 MU. Yet by FY 2025-26, power sales retreated to 70,885 MU and dispatch dropped to 78,546 MU.

Energy consumption dropped across the board. In an expanding economy, power demand rises consistently as factories boost capacity, new plants break ground, and household consumption accelerates. The two-year decline in Andhra Pradesh—falling by 837 MU in direct sales and 1,212 MU in dispatch—signals shuttered capacity and slumping industrial output.

Stagnant Tax Collections and the 23-Lakh Jobs Dispute

Reddy pointed to the state's internal revenue machinery to question the administration's fiscal health claims. State own tax revenue touched ₹85,922.36 crore in FY 2023-24. Provisional figures from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for FY 2025-26 placed that figure at ₹86,552.65 crore—yielding a compound annual growth rate of just 0.15 percent over two years.

Tax receipts barely budged. A growth rate of 0.15 percent over twenty-four months fails to keep pace with basic inflation, laying bare stagnant private investment and subdued consumer spending.

The YSRCP president pushed further into employment metrics, directly confronting Naidu’s assertion that the alliance government generated 23 lakh jobs. Citing federal quarterly tracking data, Reddy stated that Andhra Pradesh ranked fourth worst among Indian states in unemployment during the first quarter of FY 2026-27, before slipping to third worst in the second quarter.

Economic Indicator	FY 2023-24 Baseline	FY 2025-26 Recorded	Net Trend	Source Agency
DISCOM Power Sales	71,722 MU	70,885 MU	Down 837 MU	APERC Orders
Energy Dispatch	79,758 MU	78,546 MU	Down 1,212 MU	APERC Orders
State Own Tax Revenue	₹85,922.36 Cr	₹86,552.65 Cr (Prov.)

The Big Picture

Power off-take and tax yields remain the two most reliable proxies for genuine ground-level economic activity because businesses cannot fake electricity meters or state commercial tax filings. When power sales slip while official releases tout millions of newly created private-sector positions, the underlying fiscal data exposes a deep mismatch between political rhetoric and actual factory-floor output.

Naidu's administration has not yet issued a formal rebuttal to the APERC and CAG figures, with the state legislature expected to take up the disputed economic indicators during the upcoming fiscal review sessions.