Secretary (Industries & Commerce and Food Processing) N. Yuvaraj explaining the draft industrial policy to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during a review meeting at the Secretariat on Monday. Industries Minister T.G. Bharat and Minister for MSMEs Kondapalli Srinivas can be seen.

Andhra Pradesh to establish ‘Ratan Tata Innovation Hub’ in Amaravati

Chief Minister pitches for granting of industrial incentives through an escrow account in order to improve speed of doing business

by · The Hindu

The State government will establish an innovation hub in Amaravati which will be named after late business tycoon Ratan Tata, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said at a review meeting held to discuss draft policies for the industrial and MSME sectors.

The Ratan Tata Innovation Hub will serve as a centre for skill development, startups, facilitation and innovation, and will be connected to the five ‘centres of excellence’ in different parts of the State, with each centre being mentored by a multinational company, the Chief Minister said.

Attracting investments

After making its mark in the Ease of Doing Business index, the government is now keen on improving its ‘speed of doing business’, Mr. Naidu said at the review meeting.

The Chief Minister said he was thinking of giving away industrial incentives through an escrow account in order to attract investments in the State. Insisting that the idea of ‘employment first’ should be the driving force behind the new policies, the Chief Minister said the government has to adopt an industry-friendly approach in order to draw investments. He added that the policies must be placed for the approval of the Cabinet at its next meeting.

The draft policies envisage that the first 200 companies which submit their ‘Consent of Establishment’ and ‘Date of Commercial Production’ be given additional incentives.

Mr. Naidu said the proposed payment of incentives through an escrow account would encourage prospective entrepreneurs to come forward to invest in Andhra Pradesh, and ordered that the MSME policy be formulated with the concept of ‘one family-one industrialist’.

Ministers T.G. Bharat (Industries & Commerce) and Kondapalli Srinivas (MSMEs), Secretary to Government (Industries & Commerce and Food Processing) N. Yuvaraj and others were present at the review meeting.

Published - October 14, 2024 08:30 pm IST