Minister for Industries and IT Mekapati Goutham Reddy on Saturday said integrated cluster development would be the focus area in the New Industrial Policy being formulated by the YSRCP government.
Accusing the previous TDP government of indulging in wasteful expenditure and mere hype on industrialisation, Mr. Goutham Reddy told reporters after a visit to Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC) at Atchutapuram, about 60 km from here, that they would prepare the roadmap for encouraging the MSMEs in a big way and creating employment opportunities to the locals.
The Minister said they would cancel all “irregular allotments” made by the TDP government, and denied criticism that it would send wrong signals to the investors.
“We want to be transparent. We will not entertain those who got various contracts and land allotments through the back door during the five-year TDP rule,” he stated.
Support to BIAC
On BIAC, the largest single location apparel exporter from the country, he said it was given 1,000 acres at a nominal rent during the tenure of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy with the promise that it would provide 50,000 jobs. So far, they could provide employment to 25,000, mainly rural women, after training them.
“The management has infrastructure support from the government. I have promised to provide full support. The company has agreed to employ another 45,000 people,” the Minister said.
Mr. Goutham Reddy said the New Industrial Policy would offer incentives and complete support for clusters so as to create employment opportunities to skilled, semi skilled and highly skilled workers.
Dig at TDP
Training programmes would be undertaken to improve the employment quotient of the youth, and priority would be to earmark 25% jobs to the locals, the Minister added.
He said the TDP had failed to keep its promise on generating two lakh jobs in the IT sector. The YSRCP government would show how they would create jobs through an innovative and pragmatic approach, the Minister said.
