Industries sign Rs 10.5 lakh cr investment pacts with Andhra

As many as 665 pacts worth about Rs 10.5 lakh crore, spanning across sectors such as oil & gas, healthcare and mining, were signed during the two day Andhra Pradesh investment summit.
Addressing investors at the end of the summit today, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu promised "transparent and corruption free" administration as he invited industries to invest in the state.
He said as many as 665 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 10.5 lakh crore were signed during the summit which has a potential to generate 22 lakh new jobs.
The investment commitments were double the Rs 4.67 lakh crore that had come in through 320 MoUs at last year's summit.

"After you have signed the MoUs, it is no longer your business, it is our business. All clearances will be given within 14 days... I will offer you transparent and corruption free administration," Naidu told investors.
He said the oil and gas industry has signed MoUs worth Rs 1.43 lakh crore and the state can become a hub of hydrocarbons and petrochemicals. During the summit, ONGC has signed a Rs 78,000 crore MoU, while HPCL and GAIL has signed Rs 40,000 crore worth MoU with the state government.

Inviting businesses to invest in sectors like minerals, infrastructure and railways, Naidu said the state aspires to make it to the list of top 10 states in global rankings for ease of doing business.

Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated with the creation of a separate state of Telangana in June 2014.
As per the World Bank and DIPP report released in October 2016, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had jointly dislodged Gujarat to emerge as the best states to do business in the country.
In 2015 Index, Gujarat featured at the top, with Andhra Pradesh grabbing the second position and Telangana 13th.
Naidu said he is also networking with international universities on imparting knowledge for overall development of the state.