As a Christmas gesture, the NDA government in Andhra Pradesh has disbursed Rs 50.50 crore as honorarium to pastors in the state. This amount has been transferred to the bank accounts of 8,148 pastors. The TDP-led coalition allocated funds amounting to Rs 50,50,80,000 for the payment of honorarium to pastors covering the period from December 2024 to November 2025.
Each pastor has received a monthly honorarium of Rs 6,000 for a duration of 12 months. During the Semi Christmas celebrations on December 22, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced the release of funds for the pastors’ honorarium. In April, the government had already provided honorarium to pastors for the period from May 2024 to November 2024, releasing Rs 30 crore before Good Friday. The NDA government has raised the monthly honorarium from Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000.
The ruling alliance, comprising the BJP and Jana Sena, had assured in the previous year’s elections that schemes for the welfare of minorities, including the honorarium for pastors, would be continued. The National Christian Council expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Naidu for reinstating the honorarium payments to pastors. The Council highlighted that the Christian community had long anticipated this development, along with the continuation of the subsidy scheme for pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
The state government has been providing honorariums to Archakas or priests of Hindu temples, imams, muezzins, and pastors. Recently, the government completed the distribution of honorarium to imams and muezzins for six months, allocating Rs 45 crore for this purpose. It was in 2019 that the then YSR Congress Party government, led by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, initiated the payment of honorarium to pastors as pledged during the elections. At that time, the BJP criticized the government’s actions, accusing Jagan Mohan Reddy of utilizing government-paid village volunteers to identify pastors and disburse a monthly stipend.
