AP Industries Minister visits Sri City

Inaugurated two factories, presided over six MOUs signings, addressed the CII Roundtable, and released Socio Economic Survey & Skill Development reports on Sri City

Sri City, May 30, 2023: Mr. Gudivada Amarnath, Hon’ble Minister of Industries, Infrastructure, Investment & Commerce, Information Technology and Handlooms & Textiles, Government of Andhra Pradesh, paid a visit to Sri City on Tuesday. Dr. Ravindra Sannareddy, Founder Managing Director, Sri City, extended a warm welcome and gave a detailed presentation on the world-class infrastructure and the brisk pace of development of the mega industrial hub. Mr. K Narayana Swamy, Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. K. Adimulam, MLA, Satyavedu, and K. Sanjeevaiah, MLA, Sullurupeta, accompanied the Minister. Mr. Praveen Kumar, Vice Chairman & MD, APIIC & Commissioner of Industries, Mr. Lanka Sridhar, Advisor to AP Government, and a host of senior officials of State Government were present.

The Minister inaugurated the newly commissioned production units of RSB Transmission and Adela Electricals in the presence of a host of dignitaries. During his presence, six Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed with six companies, viz., NGC, TlL Healthcare (Expansion), Magnum, Evershine Moulders, Bombay Coated Special Steels, and BVK Group. The cumulative proposed investment of all these companies will be around Rs. 500 crore, with an employment potential of 1500.

Mr. Amarnath addressed the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) roundtable, in which members of the Tirupati region took part along with the CXOs of the industrial units of Sri City and representatives of some of the industries in the region. Briefing about the purpose of convening the meeting, Ms. Priyamanjari Todi, Chairperson, CII-Tirupati Region, said that the intent is to bridge the understanding between industry and the Government through deliberations.

Addressing the gathering, the Industries Minister expressed happiness to meet the CII members and the industry representatives. Appreciating the initiatives taken by Sri City management in developing such a large industrial park and creating large employment opportunities in a backward area, he said, “I am amazed to see an excellently planned industrial hub equipped with excellent infrastructure and investor-friendly ambiance here. I congratulate Dr. Ravindra Sannareddy for developing such a world-class business city.”

“Under the dynamic leadership of Mr. Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, the state has emerged as an ideal destination for investments. With the new Industrial Policy, we are aiming to create an inclusive and balanced regional development, promote startup culture, and ensure skill development. Our thrust is to improve the economy and provide employment opportunities to the youth. The new policy lays emphasis on fast-track clearance of projects to ensure their early grounding. Our Government has been investing on a priority basis to set up excellent logistic infrastructure in the state. We will take feedback from the CII and address the issues as early as possible,” the Minister added.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ravindra Sannareddy said, “It is the very first visit of the Hon’ble Minister to Sri City, falling on the 4th anniversary of the present Government, and we consider it a great honor and privilege to have him here. The visit reflects the strong impetus and seriousness of the government on industrial development, and his observations and suggestions will be very useful for Sri City’s growth.” Acknowledging the invaluable guidance and support being extended by the AP government in creating an enabling environment for businesses and industries to thrive in the Tirupati district, he said, “The state government’s commitment to facilitating investors has been instrumental in attracting investments, fostering industrial development, and boosting the economic growth of the region.” He called upon the industrial units to take membership in CII to avail a lot of benefits.

During the interactive session, representatives of some of the industrial units brought up a few specific issues, such as property tax rebate with Industrial Area Local Authority (IALA), Customs duty and GST-related issues faced by SEZ units, raw material import-related travails, power subsidies and outages, approvals for rooftop solar power generation, improvement of roads and other amenities in industrial parks in the region, collaborative skill development, and introducing new courses in ITI and Polytechnic courses. The Minister made a note of all the issues brought to his notice and promised to take appropriate action.

The Minister formally launched the report on the ‘Socio-Economic Impact of Sri City Industrial Park on neighboring rural region’ by Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam, Tirupati, and the Report on the case study by Rural Media on the ‘Skill Development and Placement initiatives, and Sri City’s impetus’.