New industrial policy to boost growth in AP

Vijayawada: The proposed new industrial policy is likely to lay greater focus on tourism development, service sector and MSMEs which have huge potential for both revenue and employment generation. It may be recalled that the NDA alliance government led by TDP had decided to take up skill census so that they can bridge the gap between the demand and supply of the skills to meet the requirements of the industry. Since Andhra Pradesh has a large scope to develop land, temple and water tourism, it has massive employment potential. Hence the government is contemplating to make this as the focal area, officials told Hans India.

Along with that the policy will also lay emphasis on developing the IT sector, electronics, food processing, automobile, renewable energy, telecommunications, and production of food products. In fact, Andhra Pradesh is lagging behind in food processing industries. If that is done it can give a boost to its exports by giving value to several crops and fruits and even seafood.

Officials said that all this needs a clear time-bound action plan and an ecosystem to attract and encourage the industries. Another core area could be textiles. Plans are afoot to set up new industrial clusters in Kuppam, Mulapeta, Chilamattur and Donakonda in the state to encourage electronics, pharma, food processing and hardware units.

It may be mentioned here that in Auto Nagar in Mangalagiri recently, IT Minister Nara Lokesh, who represents the constituency, took initiative to set up a handloom centre which has ample space and modern machinery. Here the weavers need not sit on the floor instead they can sit in specially designed chairs and weave the cloth. If they are given training in modern designs which can attract the present generation and which are trending, they can even sell their products on e-commerce platforms like Amazon or Flipkart. The new industrial policy is also likely to focus on such issues, sources said.