The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has come out with a vision document for Andhra Pradesh, envisaging a growth rate of 11 per cent each in industrial and services sectors, and a 6 per cent growth in agriculture till the year 2020.
Releasing the ‘Andhra Pradesh Vision 2020’ here on Tuesday, Dilip Modi, president of Assocham, said the state being the hub of agriculture had a greater potential to register higher growth rate over and above the national average, owing to huge investments made in irrigation in the past few years.
Similarly, the industry here has the potential to grow at an annual rate of 11 per cent with contribution of Rs 1.9 lakh crore to the gross state domestic product by the end of this decade. To achieve this, the state will require huge investments by the private sector.
Assocham’s document suggested various steps that the government needs to take to achieve these targets. According to the document, the state has to pursue a strategy aimed at integrated development of the the agriculture sector, harnessing water resources, developing agriculture in rain-fed areas and spurring growth through policy reform. However, to bring these changes the state will need to invest around Rs 1.8 lakh crore until 2020.
In the industrial sector, areas such as food and agro processing, petroleum, petrochemicals, chemicals and fertilisers, engineering and automotive, and mineral-based industries have been identified as thrust areas to achieve the higher growth rate.