Setting up industry in AP simple: Minister

Hyderabad, Sep 25 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Minister for Major Industries J Geeta Reddy today said setting up an industry in the state was very simple and ''there was no need to run from pillar to post'' to get the required clearances.

In her keynote address at a seminar on the Indo-US Economic Co-operation organised here by the Confederation of Indian Industry on the occasion of the visit of USIBC Executive Mission to India, Dr Reddy said the State Government had been active in attracting FDI and domestic investments in various sectors, mainly in manufacturing, mining and infrastructure.

'According to the World Bank Report 2007, Andhra Pradesh was the ''most reforming and investor-friendly State.'' ''The RBI Report 2007 also ranked the State as the second-best investment State in the country,'' she claimed urging the US investors to make use of the ''tremendous investment opportunities'' provided by Andhra Pradesh.

Listing various initiatives, she noted the State Government, in order to ensure all-round growth, had taken up a number of pro-active measures such as creation of SEZs, providing tax-holidays, developing Expressways, creating townships of global standards and knowledge centres.

The government was very successful in providing adequate land for the industries in the State, adequate compensation to the affected people and a job to one of the family members from each affected family.

Referring to the presence of Ian Thomas, president Boeing India, in the meeting, she commented that Andhra Pradesh was creating a large SEZ in Hyderabad for Aerospace Sector.

Cornelie M Keur, Consul General, American Consulate, Hyderabad, said in his address that about 500 applications were processed daily at Chennai Consulate office come from Andhra Pradesh. The new consulate office here would gradually take care of those applications.

UNI BR GM LPB BD2045