Fapcci urges govt to focus on SME

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Fapcci) has urged the Andhra Pradesh government to focus on the development of micro and small industries to generate more employment, and also on the development of industrial areas at the mandal level.

Addressing the media on the expectations of industry, trade and commerce from chief minister here, MV Rajeshwara Rao, secretary general, Fapcci, said, “AP has about 1,100 mandals, where around 300 new employment can be generated every year from each mandal.”

The employment generation capacity of the larger industries is very low compared with the small and medium enterprises (SME), which has a ratio of 10:90 (large industries:SME sector). Though around 90 per cent of the current employment is created by the SME sector, it gets less attention from the government, people and from the banks, he said.

The government is planning to invest ' 15,000 crore in industrial development and is targeting to create 500,000 jobs per annum under the new industrial policy, released in July this year.

“We are approaching the government to remove all the impediments and formulate new guidelines for the SME sector,” he added. Industrial areas should be provided with all the facilities including, power, good road connectivity and land should be provided on an annual lease basis.

Recently, Fapcci approached the state commissioner of industries to conduct a survey on sector profile in the 23 districts of AP.