PNS|Vijayawada
Andhra Pradesh Industries and IT Minister Gudivada Amarnath emphatically stated that AP is heading towards becoming the best destination for investment in the country.
Amarnath spoke at a roadshow in Hyderabad today ahead of the Global Investment Summit (GIS) 2023 which will be held in Visakhapatnam on March 3 and 4.
Earlier this month, roadshows were conducted by the State government in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai. The aim was to give businesses and investors a taste of what was to come at the summit. Speaking about the development plans of the Jaganmohan Reddy government, Amarnath said, “Our focus is on building Visakhapatnam as the next global IT destination. Andhra Pradesh is the only state with three industrial corridors, i.e, Visakhapatnam-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, and Hyderabad-Bengaluru where we have 48,000 acres of land for industrial allocation.”
“Andhra Pradesh is the only State in South India to get a Bulk Drug Park. Also, AP has been ranked number one in Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) for the last three consecutive years. With a new policy coming up for 2023-2028 in the next few days, we are aiming to create an inclusive and balanced regional development, promote startup culture and ensure skill development,” Amarnath added. Taking the stage at the roadshow, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath highlighted all the major corporates that have set shop in the last few years in the state.
“Andhra Pradesh is a gateway for Asian countries for all exports and imports. Corporations such as Ashok Leyland, Kia, Hero, Isuzu, Apollo, Yokohama, and Bharat Forge operate from AP in the automotive sector. In the electronics sector, we have prominent names like Bluestar, Foxconn, Daikin, Panasonic, and WinTech working from here. It is not just Hyderabad that is a base for pharmaceuticals, Apart from a host of names, we have Mylan, Biocon, Lueben, Hetero, Laurus Labs, Divis Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, GSK, Dr Reddy’s and Apollo functioning from the state. This shows that we have a perfect ecosystem for business expansion. All this reiterates AP’s Number 1 position in Ease of Doing Business for three consecutive years,” he explained.
Giving an exciting titbit about AP, Bharath Kumar Thota, Chief Operating Officer, of AP Food Processing Department, said, “Seventy per cent of the Cocoa production comes from Andhra Pradesh. AP is not just a rice bowl, but also a chocolate bowl of the country. Whether it’s Cadbury or Nestle, it is made from the Cocoa that comes from Andhra Pradesh.”
Also, AP is the largest pulp exporter. Be it Tropicana or companies manufacturing other fruit-based derivatives, most of the pulp comes from Chittoor and Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh, he added.
