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Two Years of Accomplishments
If Andhra Pradesh received more Foreign Direct Investment than some of the biggest states in India last year, it is because of these well-calibrated forays to the South East Asian countries. Andhra Pradesh and Amaravati are now the most recognizable brands not only in China, Japan and Singapore but also in the corridors of World Economic Forum in Davos.
planning that has gone into the making of a world class metropolis, the story of Amaravati is the stuff legends are made of. Any other would have baulked at the formidable challenges ahead in the conception and creation of a bustling modern city like Amaravati, but Naidu saw it as an opportunity to think out of the box.
When the occasion demands, the Chief Minister has not hesitated to take a bold decision. The shifting of the key administrative functions to Vijayawada, even though there were too many logistics problems staring at him in the face, has proved to be a tough but wise decision. With CM himself choosing to sit in the make-shift offices, the senior staff too followed him. The Government is now truly closer to the people.
A well-laid out policy framework is the bedrock of strong government. During the last two years, the Chandrababu Naidu Government has come up with a series of policies on investments, tourism, IT & Electronics, wind and solar power, Internet of Things, MSME, Retail, Port, Fisheries and many more. Besides branding the State as‘ Sunrise Andhra Pradesh’, the Chief Minister set a clear vision – to be amongst India’ s three best states by 2022, and a developed state by 2029. There has been no looking back since then. For example, tourism sector had the target of Rs 10,000 crore by 2020, but already the Government was able to attract Rs 11,493 crore worth investments.
Chandrababu Naidu was known as the darling of the IT industry in his previous stint, but unfortunately Andhra Pradesh has a lot to catch up in this sector. But that did not deter the CM from successfully conceiving the first of its kind state-wide enterprise architecture in governance- e-Pragati, and a whole lot of other IT initiatives. The soon to be launched Fiber Grid Project, which will provide the cheapest bandwidth along with cable and telephony, is another trail-blazer.
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No other Chief Minister visited so many foreign nations in pursuit of investments and technological expertise as Naidu did in a matter of two years. It takes no little amount of preparation to take up these arduous journeys. If Andhra Pradesh received more Foreign Direct Investment than some of the biggest states in India last year, it is because of these well-calibrated forays. Andhra Pradesh and Amaravati are now the most recognizable brands not only in China, Japan and Singapore but also in the corridors of World Economic Forum in Davos.
Going that extra mile comes naturally to this government. In his previous stint, Bill Gates famously refused to give an appointment to the then CM Chandrababu Naidu initially, but ended up setting up the world ' s biggest software company ' s first-outside-of-America centre in Hyderabad. Likewise, few thought that AP can hope to become a hub for auto manufacturing. The Chief Minister, during a visit to Delhi, reportedly chose to drive down to Munjals of Hero Motors, who were scouting for a place, and himself convinced them of the location in Andhra Pradesh.
With Hero Motors setting shop, and Isuzu Motors rolling out their vehicles from Sri City, the state is set to turn the tide in the automobile sector.
JUNE 2016 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE. ORG 7