 "Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy")
The only book on the table in Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s office was A Silent Revolution: The Journey of the Srinivasan Services Trust by Snigdha Parupudi.
But, talking to Business Standard at the chief minister’s camp office at Tadepalle in Vijayawada, Reddy was focused on a ‘silent revolution’ to take his state forward in social, economic, and industrial parameters.
“My state is proactive and I can assure comfort for the investors. I am betting big on port-based industries,” Reddy said, when asked about his expectations from the two-day global investors summit (GIS), which begins on Friday in the port city of Visakhapatnam. More than 8,000 delegates from across the world, including top industry players, are expected to be part of it.
“As a sop, what they contribute in the form of taxes can be reimbursed by us. However, the most important attraction of our state is that we can bring in ease of doing business for them. We are providing all the necessary clearances within 21 days in a single-desk set up, too. There is a high level of transparency,” Reddy, dressed in his signature white shirt and cream pants, added. The state is credited to becoming number one in the Ease of Doing Business ranking by the Centre for the last three years.
The ranking is based on opinion collected from the industry and according to the chief minister it speaks “volumes about how industry is treated in the state”. Another positive that is being played up is Andhra Pradesh’s double-digit gross state domestic product (GSDP) growth rate, which in 2021-22 was the highest in the country at 11.43 per cent.
The chief minister said the state had already received confirmation of participation from industry bigwigs like Mukesh Ambani, K M Birla, Karan Adani, Sanjiv Bajaj, Sajjan Jindal, Naveen Jindal, and many more.
When asked about the state’s rising debt burden, Reddy said the debts are well within the limits prescribed under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act.
When the state was bifurcated, the state government’s liabilities amounted to Rs 1.13 trillion and it increased to Rs 2.71 trillion by the end of the previous government’s tenure, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19 per cent.
“During our tenure, the debt is seen at Rs 4.42 trillion and increased at a CAGR of around 13.5 per cent,” he said. When asked about the state not attracting enough foreign investment, he said that during road shows the state had received interest from many global majors.
“Our biggest strength is that we have a coastline of 974 km with six operating ports and four under construction (Rs 12,000 crore investment). Out of the 11 industrial corridors in the country, three are in Andhra,” he added. The chief minister waved away comparisons of his administrative style with that of a corporate company’s chief executive. “The chief minister is the father of a state. My duty is to my children.”
Changes in social sector
Reddy said the state was making big investments in education, health and agriculture. The government is reportedly providing 12 per cent of its Budget to the education sector. “We are doing everything through direct benefit transfer. Everything is socially audited, there is no discrimination and no corruption,” he added.
He said schemes like Nadu Nedu, Amma Vodi, and Jagananna Videshi Vidya Deevena were creating a revolution in the education sector. Amma Vodi provides financial assistance of Rs 15,000 to poor and needy mothers if they send their children (class 1 to intermediate) to school, Videshi Vidya Deevena scheme is for higher education abroad, and Nadu Nedu to upgrade infrastructure of government schools. The state has also provided tablets and Byju’s content too for its students from certain classes.
In health, too, the current government has recruited around 48,000 people since it took charge. “We are also hand holding the farmers from seed to sale through our Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs). Every acre is geo-tagged and e-cropped,” he said.
Reddy believes that agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and self employment are the three areas that will generate the maximum jobs and drive the economy, probably a silent revolution that the leader, who “expects to win all 175 seats in the next Assembly elections”, told Business Standard.
Before leaving, when asked whether he was reading A Silent Revolution, Reddy said, “No, this was gifted by Venu Srinivasan’s son (Sudarshan Venu of TVS Motor).”
