AP mulls exclusive R&D policy

The Andhra Pradesh government is in the process of coming up with an exclusive research and development (R&D) policy for the industries in the state.

“We have realised that the constant upgradation of technology, skills and products will be the key diver for economic growth. So, we are coming up with the policy to promote R&D activities in the state and make the industries competitive at the global market,” said R Karikal Valaven, commissioner of industries, AP government.

Under the proposed R&D policy for industries, which according to Valaven is a first-of--its-kind by any state government in the country, the companies will be given incentives, logistics and infrastructure support and facilitate in upgrading advanced technology.

 

This will be in line with the existing policies like the exclusive tourism promotion, industrial and export promotion policies in the state, he said.

The state is also proposing to bring in sector-specific R&D policies in the next one year to promote research and innovation. It has already identified nine sectors, including textile, paper, aerospace, steel, automobiles, food processing, pharma and biotech.

“To notify the policy as a GO (government order), it needs to get approvals from all the government departments. We expect the policy to be in place in a year from now,” Valaven told Business Standard on the sidelines of PaperTech 2012, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry Green Building Centre (CII-GBC) here.

On the current economic scenario in the state, Valaven said that the state had seen a 12 per cent growth in manufacturing activities and 9.2 per cent growth in the gross state domestic product.

He also said that Andhra Pradesh was the best investment-driven economy, according to a recent Harvard University report. Currently, the state ranks second after Gujarat as the most investment-friendly destination in India.

“The state has a single-window clearance system to make the process easier and faster. We are further working on how to reduce the current 43-day duration to clear the projects,” he said.