Encouraged by the Tatas’ and Mahindras’ move to expand their operations and plans of major public sector undertakings to set shop in the State, the Andhra Pradesh government has now decided to give a major thrust to industrialisation to create more jobs.
Since the turmoil over the demand for bifurcation of the State had done significant damage to its industrialisation efforts in the last 11 months, Andhra Pradesh would like to reposition itself as an investor—friendly destination and attract more investments into the State, particularly in the manufacturing sector that carries immense employment generation potential.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah directed his core team of officials to immediately constitute an Industrial Advisory Council by roping in eminent professionals in different sectors and also involving representatives of top industry bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
The Chief Minister himself is likely to head the Council, sources in the Chief Minister’s Office told PTI.
“The Industrial Advisory Council will give a direction to the State Industrial Policy 2010-15. Our focus will be on encouraging establishment of employment generating industries across the state. Mahindra and Mahindra is going to set up its tractor manufacturing facility at Zaheerabad in Telangana region while the Tata’s helicopter components manufacturing unit is ready near Hyderabad. Tatas are ready to expand their operations here further,” a top official in the CMO said.
Currently, AP Invest headed by the Chief Minister is acting as the one-stop nodal agency for facilitating investment flow into the State.
“But now the Chief Minister wants sector-specific committees to be constituted that could suggest required measures for encouraging labour-intensive industries in all regions of the state. He wants to draw from the experiences of industry bigwigs and seek their counsel for improving the investment climate in the State. The sector-specific committees will also review the parameters for sustaining industrial growth,” the CMO official explained.
The government would begin an exercise soon to identify potential growth areas in manufacturing, Information Technology, Information Technology-Enabled Services, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food processing and textiles in which the state already has significant strength.
