E
ven as India emerged as the
top destination for foreign
direct investment (FDI) in
2015, the newly created
Andhra Pradesh has
registered an impressive growth in
attracting foreign funds by ranking third
most popular state in the country,
according to fDi Intelligence, a unit of
the Financial Times group.
Among Indian states, Gujarat received
the highest FDI in the country. Of the
total inflows to India and China, the
western state received 10%, with $12.4
billion in investments, while Maharashtra with $ 8.28 billion ranks second.
Andhra Pradesh, the newly created
state with a battered economy, rose to
occupy the third place in a short period
of just two years with $ 6.1 billion
investments.
It is indeed remarkable for Andhra
Pradesh to be in the reckoning for FDI
in such a short time.
The state was down in the dumps after
the truncated Andhra Pradesh was left
with no resources, no large industrial
base, no capital city and no proper
administrative set up following the
most unscientific and unjust bifurcation
in 2014.
India, Bangalore. Still, very people
believed that it was possible to make a
difference to the residual state of
Andhra Pradesh, battered as it was on
all fronts in the division process..
8% to 697 in 2015 over the previous
year. This is still lower than China’s
(789 projects) which indicates that the
value of investments was much higher
in India.
But the Chief Minister proved even his
most bitter critics wrong by creating a
positive environment conducive for
investments through Sunrise Andhra
Pradesh brand. While the cynics
continued to sulk, Naidu went on whirlwind tours to China, Japan, Singapore,
Britain and Davos and convinced them
to invest in Sunrise Andhra Pradesh.
From the Partnership Summit to several
investement conclaves that the Government held to attract investments
showed almost immediate results. The
Partnership Summit in Vizag alone
netted some Rs 6 lakh crore investments.
India is one of the fastest growing major
economies in the world and is considered to be a bright spot by international
agencies, including theInternational
Monetary Fund. Prime minister
Narendra Modi is also pushing to increase manufacturing in the country.
It was a time when AP looked like it was
destined to rot as one of the backward
states in the country with a huge fiscal
deficit and uninspiring economic brass
tacks. The special category status that
was promised on the floor of Parliament
failed to materialise. The fiscal deficit
and special assistance expected from
the Centre remained unfulfilled for a
variety of reasons.
The efforts to make the administration
responsive to investors paid off with the
World Bank ranking the state second
among business-friendly states in the
country. The CM was dogged in his
pursuit of transforming the state
favourable for businesses and investments through policy changes,
pro-active governance and personal
initiative to attract big ticket
investments to the state.
Despite all this gloomy scenario, the one
thing that made a difference to the state
was the newly elected government with
the hugely experienced, self-motivated
and die-hard Chief Minister N
Chandrababu Naidu at the helm.
Meanwhile, India was the top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI)
in 2015. Asia’s third largest economy
raced past China—which was at the top
for many years—with $63 billion worth
of foreign investment.
Indeed, Naidu was a seasoned
administrator having turned around the
sleepy city of Hyderabad into a bustling
IT centre, rivalling the silicon valley of
An increase in the number of investment projects in coal and power in India
helped the country surpass China. The
number of projects in the country rose
MAY 2016
ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG
China, on the other hand, is battling
slow economic growth, overcapacity,
and high debt. Beijing is adding to the
debt to ease the slowdown. “India replaced China as the top destination for
FDI by capital investment following a
year of high-value project announcements, specifically across the coal, oil
and natural gas and renewable energy
sectors,” the fDi report said.
Andhra Pradesh has the distinction of
attracting a few high-profile projects the
last year. Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturer which makes iPhones, has set
up shop in Sri City in Chittoor district.
Globally, AP has made it to the fifth
place in attracting FDI in states and
municipalities. AP has also been named
as the Aspiring Leader category in
World Bank rankings.
The big FDI story of the past year is
India. After a long period of trailing
behind China, the south Asian country is
now racing past its formidable rival.
But as important to note is the
emergence of AP as the challenger
within India. The state is set in every
way to rise up the rankings sooner than
later.
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