Amaravati: Yanamala Ramakrishnudu pessimistic about new industrial policy

Amaravati: Former finance minister and TDP leader Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said the new Industrial Development Policy-2020-23 (IDP 2020-23) announced by the state government does not offer any hope of reviving the ailing and crisis-hit sectors in the state economy.

Ramakrishnudu said in a statement on Tuesday said the YSRCP government's policies so far had crippled the construction, manufacturing, real estate, energy, pharma and other major contributors to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). The industrial growth rate went down to negative, recording -2.2 per cent in just 14 months.

The TDP leader said that the new policy had not raised hopes of generating employment opportunities. Lakhs of workers lost their job opportunities because of the retrogressive policies pursued by the Jagan government. It was unfortunate that even the government employees were not getting full salaries. The YSRCP leaders were responsible for destroying the AP brand image that was carefully built by the TDP government, he alleged.

He said that because of the blackmail tactics of the YSRCP leaders, all previous investments were withdrawn. Industries in the state collapsed due to the fear of Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy's unpredictable decisions. Growth in the construction sector was -1.1 per cent, trade and hotels -0.7 per cent, real estate -0.3 per cent and tertiary sector -1.0 per cent. This negative growth will aggravate further due to Covid-19 threat, he warned.

The former minister said that the YSRCP government has not addressed many important issues in the new industrial policy. With AP credit rating falling continuously, investments are unlikely to come in future, he predicted.

Stating that Jagan has no commitment, Ramakrishnudu said the YSRCP leaders had no idea about the concepts like 'Ease-of-Doing Business' that has potential to make any state an industrial hub. Budget allocations were very small compared to the previous government. The TDP rule brought largescale industries in automobile, IT and electronics, pharma and food processing sectors, he said.