The Andhra Pradesh government has informed the Assembly that it has engaged 32 experts comprising 20 advisors and 12 consultants, and this strategic team incurs a combined monthly expenditure of approximately ₹70.45 lakh for the exchequer.
During the question hour of the ongoing Budget session on Thursday, YSRCP MLAs Tatiparthi Chandrasekhar, Buchepalli Siva Prasad Reddy and Matsyarasa Visweswara Raju sought the details of advisors and consultants appointed by the State government between June 2024 and February 2026.
As the members were not present in the House when the question was taken up, the Chair announced that the question was deemed answered.
The government, in its reply, said the advisory panel is led by five honorary advisors who hold the Cabinet rank but do not draw any salary or allowances. This group includes former ISRO Chairman Sreedhara Panicker Somanath for space technology; former DRDO chief Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy for aerospace and defence. Other honorary members include Suchitra Ella for handlooms and handicrafts; Dr. K.P.C. Gandhi for forensics; and Dr. Manthena Satyanarayana Raju for yoga and naturopathy.
Outside of the honorary roles, five other advisors hold Cabinet rank with a salary of ₹2 lakh per month plus additional allowances. These positions are filled by M.A. Sharif for minority affairs, Chaganti Koteswara Rao for students’ ethics and values, Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu for cancer care, and Ch. Seetharamanjaneya Prasad for endowments, and Pochampally Sridhar Rao for mass communications.
The government has also appointed 10 other advisors with varying pay scales to manage specific departments.
Notable among them are retired IPS officer R.P. Thakur and retired IFS officer Ashok Kumar Jain, who oversee operations at A.P. Bhavan in New Delhi, with a monthly pay of ₹3.5 lakh each. Ms. Seeta Sharma receives the highest consolidated pay among the advisors at ₹5 lakh per month for her role in international skilling and mobility.
A team of 12 consultants has also been deployed to provide technical and operational support. The consultancy team includes senior experts earning ₹2.4 lakh per month, such as D. Shalaem Raju for public-private partnerships and Unnam Akhil Chowdary for the CID. The Finance Department has utilised several mid-level consultants, with salaries ranging from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹2 lakh.
This recruitment reflects a clear focus on infrastructure and specialised governance, with significant resources allocated to water resources, finance, and tourism.
The total monthly salary for the entire group stands at ₹52.91 lakh, while the monthly allowances total ₹17.54 lakh. These appointments represent the administration’s commitment to integrating professional expertise into the State’s executive framework.
Published – February 12, 2026 07:24 pm IST
