AP govt, NUS ink MoU on promoting ease of doing business

Hyderabad, Mar 31: Andhra Pradesh government, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have inked an MoU in Singapore to work on 'Ease of Doing Business' in the state.

Effective from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2018, the MoU signed between state government, NUS (acting through the Asian Competitiveness Institute at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy) and CII, is for cooperation in relation to 'Masterplan on Ease of Doing Business in Andhra Pradesh (MEDBAP): Vision 2020'.

As part of the tripartite MoU, the parties will collaborate in conducting joint-research programmes on issues such as strategies and assessment on ease of doing business and enhancement of economic competitiveness, a government statement issued here today said.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was quoted as saying, "the will strengthen our relations with Singapore and spring up many innovative ideas and lead to cultural exchange between the two countries. Let us be partners in development and work together," he said.

The factors that would be considered to assess business friendliness are starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, land acquisition and registration of property, getting credit, protecting minority interests, paying taxes etc, it said.

The MoU also envisages regular visits of delegations through exchange of ideas and research strategies formulation, holding joint seminars where NUS and AP will assess and update their progress on the project.

Asian Competitiveness Institute at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy would be utilised as a platform for investment research, to study economic situations and investment opportunities in AP and ASEAN, and China. The parties will also prepare a joint Annual Progress Report (APR) summarising and detailing the activities and any research output, it added.

PTI