Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is all set to present the State in general and Hyderabad in particular as an ideal destination for investment when he unveils the maiden industrial policy of his government at a gala event here on Friday.
His government has left no stone unturned in ensuring the attendance of everyone who matters in the corporate and industrial circles at the ceremony. Over 200 corporate honchos from India and two dozen diplomats from big countries in the world have confirmed their participation.
This apart, there will be a large contingent of participants from public sector undertakings and industry associations like the Confederation of Indian Industry and Federation Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
“We want to showcase to the country and the world that we are ready, we are equipped and has everything in place now for setting up industries,” Industries and Energy Secretary Arvind Kumar told The Hindu .
According to Mr. Kumar, besides providing uninterrupted power supply, the Telangana government has kept ready an extent of 150,000 acres of land, 148 industrial parks across the State and 27 Special Economic Zones in and around Hyderabad for allotment to prospective entrepreneurs.
The industrial policy is also stated to have been designed in such a way that doing business in Telangana will be easy. “Everything from application to issue of various licenses, clearances and certificates required for setting up of industrial undertakings including making of payments will be online. Entrepreneurs need not travel or visit offices. Red tape will be reduced to zero level,” Mr. Kumar said.
The new policy provides for clearance of projects involving investments of over Rs. 200 crore in 15 days and less than Rs. 200 crore in 30 days. “And we will stick to this time frame,” he said.
The Telangana government had also enacted a legislation that provides for ‘Right to Clearances’, a system for easy clearances on the lines of Right to Information Act, which enables taking action against officers responsible for delay. Under this unique provision, an applicant has the right to know the reasons for delay in according clearance for his/her proposed project.
Mr. Kumar said that the rules to operationalise the ‘Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System (TS-iPASS) Act, 2014’ would also be announced along with the industrial policy on Friday.
“Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who has taken interest in promoting industries, is helping us in institutionalising the entire process. There is a great deal of activism in various departments concerned. Everything is now converging into how to set up an industry in a short period,” he said.
