Dubai: The politically volatile situation in Andhra Pradesh has not deterred FDI (foreign direct investment) and NRI (non-resident Indian) investments in the south Indian state, said K. Dharma Reddy, executive director of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (APIIC).
Reddy, who was in Dubai to seek investments in the state from the Telugu-speaking community in the UAE, said the APIIC provides financial and tax incentives as well as guidance on profitable investments under industrial investment promotion policy.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, he said the state offers best the investment opportunity with required infrastructure, connectivity and easy availability of skilled and unskilled manpower.
The state has several special economic zones (SEZs) offering world-class infrastructure to manufacturing and service industries. It also offers procedural ease for facilitating FDIs, he said. Over the years, the state has recorded a healthy FDI inflow, thanks to Fortune 500 companies, which have set up operations in Andhra Pradesh, he added.
Reddy said Andhra Pradesh, which is considered the growth capital of India with investor-friendly incentives and a positive business climate, has 325 industrial parks with 130,000 acres of industrial infrastructure.
The APIIC has also acquired land for 40 more industrial parks and SEZs for which infrastructure is being provided to establish pharma and biotech clusters, Reddy said.
When it was pointed out that the APIIC was embroiled in several scams earlier during the late YS Rajasekhar Reddy government, he admitted controversial decisions were made but hastened to add the APIIC now operates in a transparent manner and is monitored by the commissioner of industries.
He further said from applying to the allotment of infrastructural facilities has been streamlined through a single window and everything has gone online.
By way of advice to NRIs, Reddy said the government’s focus is not on food processing, leather, textile pharma, bulk drugs and biotech industries, which enjoy special incentives.
He said for mega projects with $55 million (Dh202 million) and above investments with a potential for 2,000 jobs, the government of Andhra Pradesh offers customised incentive packages, extended period of incentives on a case to case basis.
Reddy said the state is well served by institutes of higher education and every year it adds more that 300,000 engineering graduates and 50,000 management graduates to its talent pool.
