Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu has directed his Administration to conduct “Partnership Summit” prestigiously as many International Industrialists and many Countries Policy Makers are attending. The Chief Minister, on Thursday, has reviewed the plan prepared for the 3 days of the Partnership Summit scheduled from 24th to 26th of this month at Port City, Visakhapatnam. The Summit supported by Confederation of Indian Industry, the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Government of India and the Andhra Pradesh Government.
In the forthcoming Partnership Summit, the Government has targeted to have 281 MoUs signed, with a committed investment of Rs 2.56 lakh crore and employment to 4.25 lakh employees.
He asked officials to present various products of our investors so far, like KIA Cars, Foxconn Cellphones or Apollo Tyres. He said that the exhibits must include everything that reflects the achievements, desires and potential of the State. The Ease of Doing Business reforms, AP Fiber Grid, electrical vehicles, solar storage, real-time governance and Internet of Things.
He also told the Tourism Secretary Mukesh Kumar Meena, that the Andhra Pradesh cuisine and snacks served must be of world class, accompanied by our signature Araku Coffee. He said that the dishes must be organic to promote the success of natural farming of Andhra Pradesh. “Even cultural programmes must be of the best standard, and the kuchipudi performance must welcome the guests with class and dignity, reflecting our heritage”, he said.
He also instructed officials to use this platform to promote local entrepreneurs and personally extend invitations to the leading local businessmen. “All engineering and management colleges should be given a provision to virtually access the important sessions of the Summit. MBA students must also be involved in the organising and management of the event”, he added.
The registration process will begin at 10 pm on February 24, and the inaugural ceremony will be held at 3 pm.
There will be Foundation Stone laying Ceremony for the lulu Convention Centre and 5 Star hotel facility following the ceremony at the same venue. In a remote foundation ceremony, the Chief Minister will also inaugurate the CII project including a University, a Start-up centre and an international exhibition centre.
From the Union Government, the Partnership Summit will be attended by Minister of Commerce Suresh Prabhu, Minister of External Affairs M.J. Akbar, Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Science & Technology Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Electronics & Communications Ravishankar Prasad, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Rajiv Kumar CEO of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant, Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapati Raju and Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan.
The sessions of the summit will revolve around the sectors Automobile, Tourism, Aerospace & Defense, Textiles, Renewable Energy, Food processing, Medical Equipment and Electronics. They will be panel discussions, identifying various ecosystems and the policy frameworks, growth and investment potential of the State.
The Chief Minister also said that there must be an Investors Felicitation Desk with trained and bright students stationed with it.
Investment Tracker: Across 18 departments, 1,817 projects have a combined committed investment of Rs 14.89 lakh crore, and will employ 33.28 lakh people. Out of them, 876 MoUs were signed in the Partnership Summits of 2016 (290) and 2017 (586).
Officials also proposed a separate distinct institutional mechanism to track and monitor the investment procedures with a Special Advisory Task Force and an organisational structure.
As on Thursday evening, the official EODB website said that Andhra Pradesh is ranked number 1, in the implementation of Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP).
The Chief Minister instructed officials to prepare a report to present at the Summit, and include all the next generation reforms that the Government will implement henceforth. He also suggested that a separate session must be kept on Ease of Doing Business, to find out best practices of companies around the world.
State Investment Promotion Board meeting:
The Chief Minister presided over a meeting of the State Investment Promotion Board, to discuss the different proposals and incentives, study the plan of the Partnership Summit presented and monitor the Investment Tracker.
Among the proposals to revise incentives, the framework of the agreement with KIA Motors was also reworked. After GST was rolled out, a gap was formed that was to be filled by a capital subsidy provided by the State Government. Terms were renegotiated to reduce that gap, and a subsidy for a training centre.
There are also chances that KIA Motors will consider investing in a manufacturing unit, in light of the increased import duty. Officials informed the Chief Minister that the performance benchmarks of the companies in order to get the incentives include a commitment of hiring local people for 80% of the employment.
The 18 associates and vendors of KIA is bringing in $761 million, and employment to 6,799 people.
The Chief Minister told officials to focus on creating a cluster or a corridor for the South Korea Investment Township.
Their companies in automobiles, electronics and infrastructure can all set base in a demarcated township, with residential facilities, commercial activity and tourist attractions like the Gollapudi Reservoir.
The township can include the KIA factory site, Site A and nearby plots of land, and can be marketed as the South Korea Investment Township.
The Chief Minister also instructed officials to develop the corridor between Anantapur and Krishnapatnam to promote more investments and an active ecosystem. The Chief Minister also reviewed revised incentives provided to three investors.
Arvind limited, an integrated textile and garment unit, will invest Rs 400 crore and provide direct employment to 15,000 people. Sai Divya Apparel, a garment manufacturing unit, will invest Rs 20 crore and provide direct employment to 2,000 people and indirect employment
to 600 people. Nachu Corporation Steel Industries Pvt. ltd. will set up a plant across 161 acres, investing Rs 1,033 crore and providing employment to 2,000 people.