Since the YSRCP came to power, it has faced criticism for neglecting the development of the IT and industrial sectors in the state.
Published Jan 19, 2024 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 19, 2024 | 7:00 AM
YS Jagan at Davos 2022. (Supplied)
Davos, Switzerland, hosts the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) every January. It brings together a highly curated selection of delegates representing global businesses, governments, civil society, media, and academia.
Governments — both national and provincial — seizing the opportunity to engage with a wide range of people, utilise the platform to attract investments.
The 54th edition of the annual WEF meeting commenced on 15 January, with the overarching theme of “Rebuilding Trust” and will conclude on 19 January.
Five Indian states — Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh — are taking the lead with mega agreements, anticipating investments worth trillions of dollars.
However, Andhra Pradesh has not made an appearance in Davos this year. This has caused a political flutter in the state, with the Opposition alleging inefficiency, while the ruling YSRCP is yet to release an official response.
Since the YSRCP government came to power, it has faced significant criticism for neglecting the development of the IT and industrial sectors.
Notably, several firms — including Lulu from the UAE, US companies Triton and Jockey, and Reliance and Franklin Templeton from India — have moved out of the state.
The TDP has alleged that the investments attracted during its tenure are being withdrawn due to a lack of cooperation from the incumbent government.
The reasons behind the government’s actions and the departure of these companies remain a subject of discussion.
The YSRCP government has also come under scrutiny for halting the works for the proposed capital Amaravati.
Instead, in 2020, it initiated the three-capital plan with Amaravati serving as the legislative capital, Kurnool as the judicial capital, and Visakhapatnam as the executive capital.
In the face of such criticism, the YSRCP sought to enhance the optics of development and attract investments in the IT and industrial sectors.
Jagan attended the Davos summit in 2022 and signed agreements totalling ₹1.25 lakh crore with Adani Green Energy, Aurobindo Realty Infrastructure, and the Greenko Group.
This marked the last time Andhra Pradesh participated in any such investor summit abroad.
Chartered accountant Nethi Maheshwar Rao, the president of the Andhra Pradesh Professional Forum who is also a member of the Congress, told South First that Jagan allocated insufficient funds to infrastructure development, which attracted poor investments.
He added that there were no details on the realisation of the investment amount given out by the government.
According to the revised 2022-2023 state budget, the spending on roads and bridges accounted for 0.8 percent, urban development for 3.2 percent, and energy for 3.7 percent.
In contrast, the spending on the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/STs), and Backward Classes (BCs) stood at a significant 19.1 percent.
In 2023, the Andhra Pradesh government chose not to attend the Davos meeting despite receiving an invitation.
IT and Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath explained that the government opted out due to its focus on the Global Investor Summit (GIS) scheduled for March that year.
The GIS took place in March in Visakhapatnam. It saw 354 investment proposals totalling ₹13 lakh crore that promised the creation of over six lakh jobs.
The summit hosted 46 diplomats and 14,000 representatives from 25 countries. Notable industry figures — including Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, Karan Adani (CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ), Preetha Reddy (executive vice-chairperson of Apollo Hospitals), and Suchitra and Krishna Ella of Bharat Biotech — were in attendance.
But, Jai Bharath Party founder and former IPS officer JD Lakshminarayana, told South First that he was urging the government to release a white paper on the GIS detailing the realised investments.
He expressed scepticism, stating that the event seemed to have been organised merely for publicity purposes.
Andhra Pradesh chose to stay away from the Davos stage this year as well.
YSRCP national spokesperson K Ravi Chandra Reddy told South First: “The previous TDP government attended the Davos meeting solely for publicity, not for the actual implementation of investment projects.”
He added, “Now, we are not participating in Davos because it does not serve the purpose of realising investments. Instead, we are focused on organising our own investor summits, which we will conduct again after retaining power.”
Regarding the business prospects in the state, Ravi Chandra Reddy said: “Andhra Pradesh boasts one of the highest GSDP growth rates in the country. The state has secured the first position in the Ease of Doing Business (EDB) index for three consecutive years.”
Lakshminarayana and Maheshwar Rao have highlighted two main reasons for the alleged lack of investments and the path forward.
Maheshwar Rao explained that any company, before investing in any state, conducts an internal analysis known as PESTEL Analysis — Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environment.
Maheshwar said Andhra Pradesh performs poorly in two main areas: Political and Economic. However, it is decent in the other four areas.
He argued that the Andhra Pradesh government’s actions, such as the reversal of tenders, like recalling tenders for projects such as Polavaram, created an unfriendly image of the state — one that investors prefer to avoid for fear of political disputes.
“On the economic front, the lack of development of infrastructure — such as roads, highways, and coastal corridors — lowers Andhra Pradesh’s score,” he explained.
He also said, “The lack of intent to address these two core areas hinders the state from effectively attracting new businesses and IT investments.”
Lakshminarayana pointed out, “The emigration of young people from the state for employment opportunities has increased since 2014, after the bifurcation. The state must focus on the industry and IT sector.”
He added: “The government should attend investor summits as they provide a platform for the state to engage with various stakeholders. The government should also explain to the state why it has not attended the Davos meeting.”
Both Lakshminarayana and Maheshwar Rao emphasised that the state had a revenue deficit, and to invest in capital expenditure, it needed Central support, such as Special Status.
This would provide the state with financial freedom for development, given the current government’s continuous emphasis on welfare.
