Red Tape May Keep Japanese Investors Away From Andhra

A business delegation from Japan yesterday expressed apprehensions over investment procedure in Andhra Pradesh.

Would we not get entangled in bureaucratic red-tape? a member of the delegation, on a days visit to weigh investment opportunities, asked Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during an interactive session.

Another Japanese industrialist wanted to know if good partners were available in Andhra Pradesh for joint ventures.

Naidu agreed that it was difficult to get over bureaucratic red-tape and instill a work culture.

All the same, he has set the goal and was moving fast in that direction, the Chief Minister told the delegation. Visit again after a year. You will notice the change, he told the delegates.

 

The Chief Minister explained how the single window clearance scheme was working and how he was personally monitoring the implementation of the different industrial projects in the state. He also referred to the states increasing dependence on information technology and computerisation which not only speeded up work, but also introduced an element of transparency in the administration.

Towards introducing a new work culture and encouraging self-reliance, he had introduced the janmabhoomi programme modelled after what South Korea had done two decades ago. The delegation, led by Japanese Ambassador Sakutaro Tanino, evinced keen interest in investing in core areas like power generation, automobile and allied industries and roads.

Top executives from Sumiutomo Corporation, Itochu, Marubeni India, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Honda were among those who interacted with the Chief Minister. Earlier, the delegates visited Reddys Research Foundation, the Indian Institutre of Chemical Technology and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and inquired about the research and development work being carried on in these principal institutes.