Amaravati Named Andhra Pradesh's Sole Permanent Capital

President Droupadi Murmu granted assent to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Amendment Act, 2026, on April 6, formally designating Amaravati as the sole and permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh. The legislation, published in the Gazette of India the following day, amends the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act to replace vague language about a new capital with explicit recognition of Amaravati, a 217-square-kilometer area in Guntur district along the Krishna River. This move ends over a decade of uncertainty following the state's bifurcation from Telangana, when Hyderabad served as the joint capital until June 2, 2024.

The amendment carries retrospective effect from that date, nullifying previous proposals for a decentralized three-capital structure and ensuring the capital's status can only be altered by Parliament, not state legislation alone. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party-led government revived the project after returning to power in June 2024, hailed the development as a historic milestone. In a post on X, Naidu stated, "The capital of Andhra Pradesh is Amaravati," expressing gratitude to Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home...