Post-bifurcation, the mood appears to be upbeat in Krishna district, especially for industrialists. While plans are afoot to set up specialised zones depending on the strength of the regions such as agri-based industries, port-related activities, fisheries and petrochemical industries, there is not much talk about the IT sector.
Three things seem to emerge as bottlenecks: no clarity on the proposed package for the residuary state of AP; lack of social infrastructure and improvement of student profile.
According to B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Infotech Enterprises, the Centre is yet to give a clear picture on the package. “There is absolute no clarity, and the IT sector is keenly awaiting for it,” he said. He also pointed out that the lone factors that attract the IT sector to places like Vijayawada would be sops and incentives. “The city has got potential, but incentives will play a key role in motivating IT players to pitch in,” said Mr. Mohan Reddy.
Acquiescing with the IT entrepreneur, Chukkapalli R. Prasad, secretary, Andhra Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber had earlier attempted to bring IT players but in vain. “There is a clear lack of political will to market two-tier cities,” he said.
Another stumbling block is social infrastructure. “There is a need to improve social infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and entertainment,” said the Infotech CMD.
Mr. Mohan Reddy was also of the view that both professional colleges and students should think in terms of being industry-ready. “There is a huge chunk of entry-level human resource here, but they are not industry-ready. Both college managements and students should think of improving soft skills and technical skills,” he said.
FacilitiesVijayawada has a huge facility built by L&T Infocity Limited and the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited near Gannavaram on a 30-acre plot. L&T has already come up with a state-of-the-art building with 2 lakh sq.ft., which is ready for occupation. This apart, STPI has a ready-to-use incubation centre and is coming up with a 50,000 sq.ft. IT tower.
