K Chandrashekar Rao assures graft free Telangana to investors

Hyderabad: Telangana state Chief Minister on Thursday assured investors in Singapore of his government’s major plan to develop the newly created state by accelerating project approvals in a graft-free environment. Addressing a business meeting with Singapore an investors, Mr Rao assured that Telangana would be “a zero graft state” with improving “safety and security”. He listed out a wide range of investment opportunities for the private sector development of industries especially given the advance stage of Telangana’s IT sector.

He also listed out priority development of pharmaceutical, food processing and automobile among other industries. Mr Rao assured that his government’s immediate response to investors, saying he and his team of top bureaucrats in the state would directly and immediately handle all investment proposals.

The meet also assured of providing sufficient power supply in the state with 8,000-megawatt to be added in the coming five to six years.
The state is currently facing 4,000-MW shortage in the power sector but plans were already in place to improve supply by setting up additional plants under Telangana Genco and the NTPC, elaborated S Narsing Rao, principal secretary of the Chief Minister. Mr Narsing Rao said the additional 4,000-MW was to meet projected demand increase in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister is scheduled to meet with Singapore’s Foreign and Law Minister K. Shanmugam and the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office as well as the second Minister of Trade and Industry S Iswaran. Rao would also meet Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the opening of the IIMPACT 2015 conference to be attended by some 1,000 delegates and alumni of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) tomorrow. Rao is expected to present his government's investment policies during the conference and discussed potential investments through ventures such as private public participations. Rao and his delegation arrived in Singapore yesterday and met with Singapore based investors as well as studied a number of infrastructure projects including the city state's newly completed Sports Hub. Rao and his delegates would leave for Kuala Lumpur on August 23 for another day-long study tour of Malaysian infrastructure and the capital city of Putra Jaya.

“We are very glad to note that the Chief Minister has taken a lead in discussing investments with investors,” said Anil Reddy Vennam, senior vice president of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry who is part of the delegation. Reddy said Singapore based investors had given positive response for investing in the young state.