HYDERABAD: A six-member committee comprising three officials each from Japanese and Andhra Pradesh Governments was formed to pursue investments from Japan and ensure faster clearances for projects.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu nominated AP Government’s Special Representative in Delhi, K. Ram Mohan Rao, Special Chief Secretary Planning, S.P. Tucker and Principal Secretary (Energy) Ajay Jain on the committee on behalf of AP government. The committee will meet every month pursue investments and ensure faster the process of clearances and that approvals from AP government is made hassle-free (on both sides) through single-desk system.
Japan’s Ambassador to India, Takeshi Yagi, called on Mr. Naidu on Friday and evinced interest in joining AP in concept master-planning of capital city. To this, the Chief Minister replied in the affirmative and told the Japanese Ambassador to identify the sectors for investing in Andhra Pradesh
The Chief Minister added that Japan could partner with Andhra Pradesh in agriculture mechanization, agro processing, aquaculture, petro-chemicals, automobile and power sectors.
Mr Yagi said that Japan has identified AP Investment Task Force (as suggested by the CM on his visit to Japan recently) which will look for prospective investors, coordinate their visits and work closely with the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Mr. Naidu assured the Ambassador that the state government would have a Japanese-speaking official to make it easier for Japanese investors. “Every six months, I will review the status of the projects by visiting Japan,” the Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, Japanese officials also proposed to the Chief Minister to organize a seminar (in partnership with METI and NEDO) on Smart Technologies in India where Japanese investors could explore investments opportunities in AP. Mr. Naidu invited them to hold the seminar in March and also field visit Sri City SEZ, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.
Following this, the Ambassador said that Japan was convinced that Andhra Pradesh was a good investment destination. Mr Yagi also requested the Chief Minister to ensure that the Joint Monitoring Committee (consisting of PMO and state-level officers, which was formed earlier) oversees the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor.
(EOM)
