Andhra govt. targeting 15% growth in all sectors: Minister Kondapalli Srinivas

Andhra Pradesh government aims for 15% growth rate, focusing on development and welfare, offering investment opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Kondapalli Srinivas said the government targeted a growth rate of 15% in all sectors and that it was conscious of the need to strike a balance between development and welfare.

Andhra Pradesh has tremendous investment opportunities, and it has no dearth of entrepreneurs. The government devised the new industrial policy in such a way to make the most of those advantages, he asserted, expressing confidence that the State would have its heydays back.

Participating as chief guest in the inaugural session of the the three-day ‘AP Chambers Business Expo 2024’, organised by the AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) here on Thursday, Mr. Srinivas said there was a severe decline in all sectors in the last five years, which makes achieving the 15% growth rate a difficult task but the government was doing its best to transform A.P. into a prosperous State. He said the leadership of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, whose vision and administrative experience came in handy to overcome the crisis in a calibrated manner.

He said the slew of policies brought out by the government with focus on “speed of doing business” provided ample scope for entrepreneurs to establish their units in A.P. and that the District Industries Centres were being revised and investment promotion officers appointed in all constituencies to extend the required handholding to prospective entrepreneurs.

Mr. Srinivas said the government has put in place a hub-and-spoke model of development over five zones — the north and the central coastal districts, the southern parts of Rayalaseema and the remaining districts thereof, and Konaseema. It was encouraging the establishment of private industrial parks, for which a separate policy had been introduced.

Due emphasis was laid on the standardisation of products made in A.P., especially those coming out of MSMEs, to promote them in the export markets and on sorting out issues relating to production and capital and operational expenditures, the Minister added.

Minister for Excise and Mines and Geology Kollu Ravindra said the NDA government has made a fresh beginning by undoing the damage done by its predecessor and that the spurt in industrial activity witnessed in the wake of YSR Congress Party’s electoral debacle augured well for the State.