Amaravati, Oct 19 (IANS) The Andhra Pradesh government, on Sunday, announced to release funds towards pending industrial incentives with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu reiterating the commitment to make the state a preferred destination for business and growth.

The Chief Minister took to his official X account to announce release of Rs 1,500 crore towards pending industrial incentives.

“Deepawali reminds us that light always triumphs over darkness. On this auspicious occasion, our government is releasing the first instalment of Rs 1,500 crore towards pending industrial incentives,” CM Naidu said.

“Despite fiscal challenges, we remain steadfast in our commitment to support industry, strengthen investor confidence, and make Andhra Pradesh a preferred destination for business and growth,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that the key decision was taken with the aim of supporting industrialists, who are partners in the progress of Andhra Pradesh.

This decision is likely to bring a huge relief for small and medium-sized businesses in the state, he added.

The TDP-led alliance government is supporting all sections of the society by providing welfare schemes for the poor, job opportunities through investments, payments to government employees, and incentives to businessmen, an official statement said.

On Saturday, the state government had decided to pay one Dearness Allowance (DA) instalment to government employees, with effect from November 1.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has said that Andhra Pradesh should be developed as a destination for artificial intelligence (AI).

He added that the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) partnership summit scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam on November 14-15 should focus on positive policy-making and knowledge sharing.

The Chief Minister conducted a review meeting with officials on arrangements for CII partnership summit in Visakhapatnam.

Speaking on the occasion, CM Naidu said that the summit should be organised on the lines of Davos World Economic Forum summits.

He added that plenary sessions and breakout sessions should give priority for knowledge sharing.

He said that the sessions should focus on AI for good, semiconductors, health sector, innovation, R&D, space, drones, electronics and Medtech.

The Chief Minister added that discussions should be organised on smart manufacturing, chain linkage, logistics, connectivity, inland waterways, warehouse, cold storage, agritech, value addition in rare earth minerals, Swachandhra, circular economy and Public-Private-People Partnership programmes.

He said that with the decision of Google to set up a big AI data centre in Visakhapatnam is going to emerge as a renowned city.

He noted that several other companies are also preferring Visakhapatnam.

At this juncture priority should be given for skill development and human resources, he said.

He suggested that universities and educational institutions also should be given representation in the summit.

He said that one family-one entrepreneur norm should be promoted.

He added that economic corridors, industrial clusters, Amaravati blue and green capital, water security, futuristic work force, and technology-based good governance should be highlighted in the summit.

–IANS

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