Naidu calls for new AP industrial policy for 15% growth rate

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has hinted at the formulation of an industrial policy 2024-29 with a target to achieve a growth rate of 15 for Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu on Monday reviewed the draft industrial policy with industries minister TG Bharath and other senior officials. He asked officials to take ideas from Niti Ayog and frame the new industrial policy. “We should be able to compete with the top five states,” he said, and asked officials to call a meeting with the industrialists on August 16.

The chief minister recalled the industrial policy adopted in 2014-19, when he had offered a series of incentives for entrepreneurs and “aimed at development of infrastructure, and asked officials to raise the status of AP to the first place among states in the Ease of Doing Business.

Referring to the large presence of raw material in the state for manufacture of various products, he asked officials to find ways to provide value addition to them. “Incorporate PPP and P-4 models (public-private-people-partnership) in the new industrial policy,” he said.

He said if the requisite permissions were given, more industries would be set up in the state.

Maintaining that AP has 10 each seaports and airports and a host of other services and logistics, Naidu said, “We would attract the industrialists to invest in the state.” He called for encouragement to sectors like green energy, green hydrogen, manufacture of electric vehicles, aqua and food processing etc.

Another round of discussion for formulation of the new industrial policy would be held on Aug. 23.

While reviewing the affairs of the health department with minister Satya Kumar and senior officials, Naidu asked them to make the hospitals in AP the best in the country. “We can set up a hospital in PPP mode at every assembly segment level by providing them land. Both the government hospitals and those developed through PPP mode can be brought under one umbrella.”

The chief minister said the Medtech zone was recording a turnover of `10,000 crore and it was also providing medical equipment at low cost.

Naidu called for collection of details on the number of patients suffering with kidney ailments, mandal-wise, and to take up a study on the safety of water in places where more cases of kidney ailments were occurring. He also called for a comprehensive survey on the number of patients suffering from tuberculosis and said they must be supplied with medicines on a regular basis. There must be CT scan services in all district hospitals apart from free lab tests, he said.

The chief minister expressed concern over cases of ‘missing infants’ after delivery in government hospitals and warned of stern action against the erring staff in such situations.

On patients getting carried on doli, he called for enhancing connectivity of ambulance services to the feeder ambulance. Officials would face action if patients are getting carried on dolis again.