The Andhra Pradesh Global Investors Summit (GIS) 2023, inaugurated by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday, 3 March, has received 340 investment proposals worth ₹13 lakh crore.
These projects would provide employment to as many as six lakh people across 20 sectors, the chief minister said at the event that was attended by industry bigwigs like Mukesh Ambani of Reliance, Krishna Yella of Bharat Biotech Group, G Mohan Rao of GMR Group, Naveen Jindal of JSPL, and several others, at the sprawling grounds of Andhra University campus in Visakhapatnam.
“As many as 92 MoUs worth ₹11.85 lakh crore, generating four lakh jobs would be executed today. The remaining 248 MoUs worth ₹1.15 lakh crore would be executed tomorrow and will generate two lakhs more jobs,” Chief Minister Jagan said.
The number of proposals and their value is way above the fairly modest target of under ₹2 lakh crore that the state government had set for itself in the run-up to the GIS — the first being hosted since the YSRCP came to power in 2019.
Highlighting Andhra Pradesh’s economic performance and potential Jagan Mohan identified four key pillars of focus.
“Greenification (decarbonisation), Industrial and logistics infra, Digitalisation and Entrepreneurship,” he said would propel the state towards better all-round development.
We have received 340 investment proposals worth Rs 13 lakh crores, providing employment to 6 lakh people across 20 sectors! #AdvantageAP #APGlobalInvestorsSummit2023 #AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/FQBHVm20Sj
— YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) March 3, 2023
By way of reassuring the investors, Jagan reiterated his commitment to make Visakhapatnam the executive capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Jagan had first made such an announcement at a GIS roadshow in Delhi on 31 January.
“The beautiful coastal city of Visakhapatnam will be the executive capital. I myself would be shifting to the city very soon. This will go a long way in improving the ease of doing business”, he said.
Also Read: Green Energy: Jagan Cabinet okays projects worth ₹81,043 crore
Marquee Investments
Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani emphasised that Andhra Pradesh will emerge as leading player in New India’s growth story.
“The state has abundant natural resources and talented and skilfull entrepreneurs from rural areas too. In fact, some of Reliance group’s best managers come from Andhra Pradesh,” he said during his address.
Pointing out that the group is already investing ₹40,000 crore in the state, he said that “Reliance will source more agri and agri-based produce and goods from Andhra Pradesh. This will generate 50,000 livelihood opportunities in the state. Moreover, we have already partnered with 6,000 kirana stores in Andhra Pradesh and generated 20,000 jobs”.
Assuring continued partnership with Andhra Pradesh and Chief Minister Jagan, Ambani added that the Reliance group will invest in a 10 Giga Watt renewable solar energy plant in the state.
Related: Andhra set to roll out red carpet for 4,800 delegates from 25 countries
‘Andhra Pradesh is a potential industrial hub’
Reminiscing about his pleasant experiences of having shared parliamentary space with Jagan and working in Andhra Pradesh in the past, Naveen Jindal of the JSPL group said that they “see Andhra Pradesh as a potential industrial hub in the future. The state is renowned for its excellent infrastructure, large manufacturing base, talented youth, and a very business-friendly environment”.
Announcing the group’s energy investment, at the AP Global Investors Summit, Jindal said that they “are working towards setting up a three million tonne steel plant near Krishnapatnam. With an investment of over ₹10,000 crore, the project would generate over 10,000 jobs either directly or indirectly and today we are going to sign an MOU for the same”.
Shree Cement Chairman Hari Mohan Bangur congratulated Chief Minister Jagan for his dynamic leadership and for keeping Andhra Pradesh’s development on a fast track.
“We are looking to invest in ₹5,000 crore worth in projects which will generate both direct and indirect employment for over 5,000 people and lead to an annual contribution of ₹1,000 crore to the state’s exchequer,” he said.
#APGIS2023
Sri Hari Mohan Bangur, Chairman, Shree Cement Ltd, commends the Govt. of #AndhraPradesh for promoting sustainable development and laying a strong foundation for industries, at the #APGlobalInvestorsSummit.@AndhraPradeshCM @gudivadaamar @BugganaRaja @GummallaSrijana pic.twitter.com/A6ZJDMcJQ2— Advantage AP Official (@Advantage_APGov) March 3, 2023
The GMR and Dalmia Groups have announced ₹5,000 and ₹1,000 crore rupees investment, respectively, while Renew power group has pledged ₹8,000 crore in renewable energy projects which they said would generate 11,000 jobs on the initial day of the AP Global Investors Summit.
Andhra as global industrial hub: Buggana
Setting the summit in context, state Finance Minister Buggana Rajedranath said that the government is working not only to establish Andhra Pradesh as the industrial hub of India but of the globe.
“We have proximity to Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. We are a very progressive state. Most of all, we have a stable government under the able and dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Jagan and the results are clear. Andhra Pradesh is the fastest-growing state in the country with a GSDP of 11.43 percent and has achieved the number one rank in EoDB (Ease of Doing Business) and retained it for the third successive year,” he said.
Finance Minister Buggana: The dream is not only to reestablish AP as the industrial hub of India but as a Globe#APGIS2023#AdvantageAP pic.twitter.com/U3wlqaekjw
— CMO Andhra Pradesh (@AndhraPradeshCM) March 3, 2023
