The state of Andhra Pradesh may be passing through one of the most turbulent times in the wake of Telangana agitation, but its economy will bounce back as this state has many feathers in its cap which makes it an attractive destination for the investors.
Andhra Pradesh economy has registered over 5.5% annual economic growth rate during the last two decades. This state has been an exporter of many agricultural products. Besides, the state is also one of the most industrially developed states of India.
Andhra Pradesh is the leading state in the country in using IT and IT Enabled Services for improving the quality of administration and for taking governance to the doorsteps of every citizen in the state. Almost every village in the state is covered by optical fiber network of BSNL and Reliance.
The State boasts of having a wide base of higher educational institutions like Polytechnic Colleges and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) offering high quality technical education. The newly opened Indian School of Business is an ace business school providing worldwide placements.
Andhra Pradesh holds the first rank in area and production of rice, citrus, chilly, oil, palm, prawns, eggs, broilers and meat, second in fish, mango, tomato and coriander, third in cotton , cashew, fourth in flowers and fifth in growing banana, ginger and guava.
The state is a home to more than 50 prestigious Central and State Research and Development laboratories. It has renowned research institutes like Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology , National Institute for Nutrition, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT), National Geophysical Research Institute. These facilities offer immense opportunities to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and fine chemical sectors in the state.
There is a resurgence of engineering industries in Andra Pradesh. This includes machine tools, foundry, forge, electrical machinery, precision machining and engineering and transport equipments.
AP is the leader in cement production with an installed capacity of 32.89 million TPA, with a large deposit of limestone and coal in the state.
The state stands at the apex in the country in paper production, with an existing capacity of 5.50 lakh TPA. The state is an important producer of steel.
Hyderabad which accounts for one-third of India’s total drug production, is the bulk drug capital of the country. A large number of bulk drug units are located in and around Hyderabad with good infrastructure and trained manpower.
Textiles is another area which is growing very rapidly in the state. The state of Andhra Pradesh has well developed spinning and processing sector in the textile industry. In fact the state is the third largest producer of cotton in the country. Major investments are taking place in this sector and soon AP will emerge as the textile hub of the country.
AP is the second largest in power generation in the country. It has the lowest energy deficit in the country with a deficit of two per cent when compared to the national average of 9.3 per cent. It has an installed capacity of 13,300 MV and additional 15,000 MW is going to be added with an investment of Rs 64,000 crores in the next five years.
Andhra Pradesh offers power at the lowest cost compared to any of the industrially developed states. Vast natural reserves of Krishna- Godavari basin have opened up immense possibilities for environment friendly industrial and economic development of the state.
Source: Government of AP Abstract
