The Centre today approved an assistance of over Rs 2,553 crore from the National Disaster Relief Fund to three drought-hit states. The decision was taken at a meeting of the High Level Committee on Central Assistance to States affected by drought chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. <br/><br/>The Committee examined the proposals based on the report of the Central Team which visited the affected states by severe drought. The committee approved nearly Rs 434 crore for Andhra Pradesh, Rs 815 crore for Odisha and over Rs 1,304 crore for Uttar Pradesh. The Committee has deferred the decision in case of Telangana to the next week.<br/><br/>Finance Ministe Arun Jaitley, Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Vice-Chairman NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and senior officers of the Ministries of Home, Finance and Agriculture attended the meeting.