The Hindu Business Line : Give us firm plans to act upon, Naidu tells CEOs

WHILE reiterating the demand for an `open sky policy' and urging the Centre to encourage international carriers to link up with the country, the Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Monday said that the State Government would strive to further streamline single-window procedures for industrial clearances and establish a task force to tackle textile industry-related issues.

The Chief Minister, who interacted with industry leaders at the `CEO Summit' organised by the Industries Department here on Monday, responding to suggestions made by the captains of the industry, assured then that the State would tackle issues concerning the industry with an open mind, but advised them to come up with concrete proposals.

This meeting, where over 300 CEOs were invited for an open house discussion by the Chief Minister, served as a platform to discuss some of the issues raised by the industry.

Present with the Chief Minister were a host of Cabinet colleagues and seniors bureaucrats. The interactive session was held ahead of the Partnership Summit 2003.

The conclave, which initially discussed a broad policy framework of the Government, took up discussions sector-wise covering oil and natural gas, following the recent gas find in the Krishna-Godavari basin, manufacturing, IT hardware, tourism and power sector.

The State Major Industries Minister, Mr K. Vidhyadher Rao, said the State Government's endeavour was to usher in a better mechanism for industrial clearances and early signs indicated that the manufacturing sector was doing better and the world economy was looking up.

Following the announcement of gas find in the K-G basin by Reliance and Cairns Energy, the State Government had constituted a task force under the Chairmanship of Dr T.L. Shanker, and with Mr. M. Gopalakrishna, former Chairman of Rural electrification Corporation.

They have been mandated the task to explore the potential of the gas find, suggest ways to leverage this huge natural find and explore ways to establish downstream projects.

Mr Gopalakrishna, in his presentation, said that the gas find was of global significance and Andhra Pradesh could benefit immensely by the supply of natural gas for power projects, fertiliser units and piped gas for both industry as well as domestic users. "We can convert this find into an opportunity and this depends on the speed with which the industry can respond and tap the potential."

Interestingly, many industrialists evinced interest in firming up gas supply with Reliance Industries. Of significance was the interest shown by several gas-based power projects.

The Managing Director of Lanco Kondapally Power, an independent power producer, Mr Harishchandra Prasad, said that from initial indications it was clear that the gas would be made available for supply by 2004. If the industry were to benefit from this, necessary infrastructure would have to be created, he said.

He called upon the task force to ensure that the private players did not overprice and advocated a mechanism to check gas supply prices.

Mr Naidu said that the Government was also exploring the potential to develop a parallel road along the east coast so that the entire region stretching from Visakhapatnam to Kakinada port can serve as a corridor with focus on ports, power projects, pharma sector and the special economic zone.

The State Principal Secretary, Information Technology and Communication, Mr J. Satyanarayana, said that there was immense scope to develop the hardware sector and the Government was keen to pursue the project.

The hardware park is planned to come up near the proposed international airport. Detailing the business potential, Mr Satyanarayana said even within the State, there was potential for hardware with many e-governance projects under way.

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