Andhra CM to sends farmers to Singapore to learn about business, entrepreneurship

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday announced that few selected farmers from the capital will be sent to Singapore to learn about the best practices in the fields of business and entrepreneurship.

While the original plan accounted for 100 farmers, the Chief Minister approved the sanction of an extra Rs. 12 lakh to include all the selected interested farmers.

"Farmers are the original citizens of the capital, and they should be happy. Their transition into the entrepreneurship sector must be smooth, so we must ensure that skill building is a continuous process," he said at the meeting.

He further instructed the officials to make clear milestones, and ensure that all 32,000 families of the region are empowered and become self-sustainable.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also reviewed the progress on the housing project for government employees in Amaravati.

The designs for the towers with blueprints and layouts of houses were presented to the Chief Minister by Team One India Pvt. Ltd.

MLAs and AIS officers will have 18 towers of luxury flats of a built-up area of 3,500 sq ft., including a clubhouse and parking. Non-gazetted officers will have 22 towers (1,200 sq ft.), Type 1 gazetted officers will have eight towers (1,800 sq ft.) and Type two Gazetted officers will have seven towers (1,500 sq ft.). Class IV officers will have six towers with flats of 900 sq ft.

Three contractors, NCC, L&T and Shapoorji Pallonji, have been finalised for the completion of the housing project within the next six months. The Chief Minister also approved the revised administration sanction of Rs. 2,652 crore, while the previous proposed cost was Rs. 1,991 crore.

Benjamin Yap, who has now become the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Consortium, informed the Chief Minister that the progress of different housing projects near the capital region is positive.

However, Chief Minister said that he is grateful for their cooperation so far and it has made formality and many official procedures fast and efficient.

"I admire Singapore, for being one of the best livable nations, and I need your help to learn from your experience. I want Amaravati to follow the same path of success, and avoid mistakes much as possible", said the Chief Minister.

He also instructed the Joint Implementation Steering Committee, to fill all communication gaps, and keep up the good spirit of the partnership between Andhra Pradesh and Singapore.

Naidu instructed the officials to make clear milestones, and ensure that all 32,000 families of the region are empowered, and become self-sustainable.

CRDA will allot 32 acres of land to eight top schools to set up their campuses in Amaravati. Eight out of 11 top schools in the country have responded positively.

The Chief Minister told the officials to encourage more boarding schools, so that students from other states can also live here and study.

Naidu approved the establishment of a state level command centre, and allocated two acres for the same.

He also approved the set-up of a golf course across 70 acres, for national level events.