After reduction in size post-bifurcation that too minus Hyderabad — a well-developed metropolitan city by that time — Andhra Pradesh struggled to get the impetus for development.
With the neighbouring States already boasting of a vibrant ecosystem, especially in cities like Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the ‘sunrise’ Andhra Pradesh with the just-born capital city of Amaravati chose events as a tool for drawing investments that can spur development. And yes, the government did succeed in attracting eyeballs with the series of national and international events conducted across the State in the last four years, which also led to higher tourist footfalls that gave a boost to the local economy.
Tirupati has been regularly hosting academic, cultural and sports events, thus drawing the nation’s attention. the 99th annual conference of the Indian Economic Association (IEA) was held during Dec 27-29, 2016, the 104th Indian Science Congress during Jan 3-7, 2017 and the 91st general body meeting of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), referred to as the All India Vice-Chancellors’ Conference. The three national-level academic events held in quick succession infused a sense of importance into the varsity and catapulted the image of the temple city far and wide as an ‘emerging academic hub’. Similarly, national cultural festivals are hosted by the Tourism department every year.
And now, the National Inter-District Junior Athletic Meet (NIDJAM 2018) is planned to be held during Dec 1-3, while the State-level meeting of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is scheduled for Dec 13.
Tirupati is an educational hub, Visakhapatnam an industrial destination and Vijayawada-Guntur (Amaravati) is the capital region and as such business conventions, seminars, workshops and symposiums will be regularly conducted in these places.
Smaller centres
Decentralisation is happening to ensure that smaller centres get the visibility they deserve. The best example is the Yogi Vemana University (YVU) getting the chance to host the 4th Andhra Pradesh Science Congress (APSC 2018) last month. The government leaves no stone unturned to bag events from national and international agencies, but the ultimate success depends largely on the outcome, footfalls and the revenue it generates, apart from the ‘purpose’ it serves, which is mostly an intangible factor.
