Andhra Pradesh’s minister for IT Electronics & Communication, HRD & RTG, Mr Nara Lokesh recently addressed industry leaders at CII’s 4th Southern Regional Council meeting held in Vijayawada.

Stressing on the need for job creation and speed of doing business Mr Lokesh reiterated his government’s whole hearted support towards industry and encouraged them to work cohesively with the government in furthering economic activity in the state.

The minister emphasised on the need of creating a strong and sustainable ecosystem which he stated needs to be scalable.

If the ecosystem is strong and scalable then politics will have little to interfere in it. Industry will drive its growth, opined the minister addressing the gathering industry titans.

In the interactive meeting the Minister for IT Electronics & Communication and HRD & RTG, Government of Andhra Pradesh got an opportunity to hear first-hand from some of the top industry leaders on their respective sectors and importantly on some of their sector specific challenges and pain points.

From Agro to food processing to IT, Pharma, manufacturing to Ports, Shipping & logistics the minister was seen diligently taking notes and addressing their questions in a patient and inquisitive manner.

Vizag a key Driver

Speaking on the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, the minister underscored the role of Vizag and its overall importance to the state.

Given the overwhelming mandate that the people of Vizag have given us in the elections it lays a great deal of responsibility on us. If AP needs to become a USD 3-4 trillion economy, Vizag and the Greater Visakhapatnam region have to contribute about USD 1 trillion, said Mr Lokesh.

The minister also spoke on his vision of developing one of the world’s largest pharma parks in North Andhra and also a dedicated freight corridor for the region to boost the logistics sector in this area.

One of things that he announced to execute in a week’s time was to constitute a Government of AP – CII Consultative Forum for which he said a formal GO would be out in a week’s time.

Earlier in the meeting, Mr Neerabh Kumar Prasad, IAS., Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh also shared his views on the Economic Agenda for Andhra Pradesh and informed the Members about the visionary and proactive approach of the Chief Minister.

The CII meeting was attended by CII Southern region chairman, Ms R Nandini, Mr NMP Jeyesh, Mr V Murali Krishna, Mr Shivkumar Gunturu, Mr Murali Krishna Gannamani, Mr Rajesh Mittal, Mr Srinivasa Raju, Mr Suresh Chitturi along with other members of CII southern region.