Industrial corp for SC/ST entrepreneurs on cards

Major industries minister J Geetha Reddy said the state was planning a separate SC Industrial Corporation that would facilitate necessary approvals starting from land allotment to bank credit for SC/ST entrepreneurs.

AP has 2,600 units promoted by entrepreneurs from SC/STs, up from 178 in 2004.

To promote entrepreneurship among them, the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Investment Corporation (APIIC), in collaboration with industry bodies Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIICI), has also announced special incentives like land allotments, tailor-made credit facilities, training programmes .

The industry bodies had jointly organised industrial motivation campaigns in Tier-II cities like Tirupati, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Warangal over the last one month.

Close to 200 individuals applied for opening up new industrial units across various industrial zones and SEZs in the state, said Jayesh Ranjan, vice chairman and managing director of APIIC.

Addressing a gathering here today, Ranjan said the government was ready to work with all the stakeholders to double the share of SC/ST entrepreneurs in the state from the present 1 per cent. Srini Raju, DIICI mentor and managing director of Peepul Capital Advisors said efficiency in industry was possible only through intense competition and an effective bottom-up approach in production.

To increase employment in the manufacturing industry, focus should be on education and learning via industry interaction and training programmes, he said.

As part of its policy to encourage young SMEs in the country, Peepul has been making investments only in the first generation firms, he added.