• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Our Bureau

The State Major Industries Minister, Mr K.Vidhyadher Rao, said as per a survey conducted by Assocham, Andhra Pradesh ranked second with a total investment of about Rs 46,493 crore, thereby ranked only after Maharashtra with about Rs 51,338 crore.

HYDERABAD, May 3

POST-reform, since 1991, Andhra Pradesh has made rapid strides by moving over to third spot in terms of overall investments. It has become a favoured destination for investments, the State Major Industries Minister, Mr K.Vidhyadher Rao, said.

Mr Rao, speaking to a select group of journalists, said that since 1991 up to November 2001, the State has managed to attract Rs 1,38,094 crore of investments which ranks only next to Maharashtra and is close to Gujarat (Rs 1,37,526 crore) and accounts for a little over 10 per cent of total investments in the country.

Reeling out statistics from CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy) and SIA (Secretariat of Industrial Assistance), Mr Rao said even as per a survey conducted by the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, which made an analysis of industrial entrepreneur memoranda and letter of intent, Andhra Pradesh ranked second with a total investment of about Rs 46,493 crore, thereby ranked only after Maharashtra with about Rs 51,338 crore.

With regard to various memoranda of understanding signed during the Partnership Summit, Mr Rao said that projects worth Rs 1,000 crore have already begun production and about Rs 6,500 crore worth projects are set to be grounded. In the case of the Rs 18,500-crore mega Kakinada LNG terminal, the consortia has sought six months extension from January to June 2002 to complete certain formalities, he said.

While the State was an agrarian economy with a small industrial base, which is smaller compared to States such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and even Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, however, since 1996, the State has made swift strides in attracting fresh investments.

The balance is gradually seen to be shifting in favour of services and the investment in the industrial sector is looking up. In the year 2000-2001, agriculture sector contributed 33.7 per cent, industrial sector 20.4 per cent and the services sector 45.9 per cent to the net State domestic product (NSDP) of the State. Mr Rao said that the State was very low in the perception of the prospective entrepreneurs in 1995 when it stood at a low 22nd place, which went up to fifth in 1997 and to third in 1999. This was largely due to efforts made by the Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, to project the State as a happening State.

With regard to attracting the Malaysian Proton car project and the Indo Rama project, Mr Rao said that the automobile industry has gone through a recessionary phase and that the carmaker itself has decided against establishing base in the country.

However, the State is now seeking to woo Volkswagen, which is mulling a manufacturing base in the country. Refuting the allegation that industries were drifting away from Andhra Pradesh and preferring neighbouring States, Mr Rao said that this was not true and only some small firms have favoured Goa and Pondicherry to leverage the tax sops they offer there.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section
India major user of anti-dumping measures

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line