Amravati. Andhra Pradesh government will soon set up Ratan Tata Innovation Hub in Amaravati. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu gave this information on Monday. The Chief Minister held a review meeting of the policies being adopted for industrial development, MSME and food processing and made it clear that employment generation is the top priority of his government. Chandrababu Naidu said that industrial policies should be in line with this and pave the way for increasing the pace of doing business by attracting investments. He felt that there was a need for more exercise on the policy of private industrial parks and decided to bring forward the other three policies in the next meeting of the Cabinet. When the officials presented the policies prepared on these subjects before the Chief Minister, Chandrababu studied them thoroughly and also shared his views and experiences with the officials. The Chief Minister said that the innovation hub to be set up in Amravati will be named after eminent industrialist Ratan Tata, who passed away last week. The Chief Minister said that this hub will be a center for skill development, start-ups, facilitation centers and innovation.
Such hubs will be set up at five locations in the state and a lead company will be the mentor for each hub. Chandrababu Naidu expressed hope that the innovation centers will take the industrial sector forward in the state. “We should work as a friendly government with regard to attracting industrialists to invest in the state,” he told officials. The Chief Minister said that his government is making every possible effort to attract large-scale investment in the state and as part of this effort, new policies are being prepared for all departments. It was also decided in the meeting that immediately after the implementation of these new policies, subsidies will be given to those who come forward to invest in the state. The draft policies mention that 200 companies will be the first to come forward to agree the date of their establishment and commercial production. They can be provided with more incentives, while the units which will provide more employment opportunities. They will be given additional 10 percent incentive. The Chief Minister informed the meeting that the State Government is considering a new way of providing industrial incentives through escrow accounts, which he feels will help in providing further incentives to industrial progress and better employment opportunities.
The Chief Minister said that such important decisions will help in creating employment opportunities very fast. The authorities should do a thorough study on the feasibility and necessary procedures on this. Chandrababu Naidu said that the MSME policy should be formulated in such a way that it focuses on the concept of ‘one family-one industrialist’. The steps to be taken to achieve results in food processing sector such as aqua and poultry sector were also discussed in detail in the review meeting, while the proposal to provide additional five per cent incentive for women entrepreneurs in MSME and food processing sectors was also discussed in detail. Approval was given. However, the policy on the industrial sector will be brought before the Cabinet only after a more detailed exercise. Ministers Kondapalli Srinivas and TG Bharat along with officials from concerned departments were also present in the meeting.