Contrary to the general perception, coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions (Seemandhra) together hold a majority share in the overall investment compared with that in Telangana.
In the ongoing tussle over the state bifurcation, the city of Hyderabad has become a major bone of contention with leaders of Seemandhra claiming it belongs to both as Hyderabad has attracted most of the investments at the cost of their region. Data, however, say otherwise.
According to industry department's data, reviewed by Business Standard, about Rs 116,765.35 crore investments were made in both large-scale and SME sectors covering manufacturing and services till 2012-13 in Andhra Pradesh.
Till 2008-09, the proportion of investments was even more tilted in favour of Seemandhra. The region had claimed 62.13 per cent or Rs 49,893.75 crore of the total investments of Rs 80,300.76 crore at that point as compared with Rs 30,406.62 crore or just 37.87 per cent in the Telangana region.
However, jobs generated by these investments are found to be less in Seemandhra and more in Telangana and it was almost inversely proportional to the size of investments.
According to districtwise data, a total of 3.15 million jobs were created by these investments of which 44.55 per cent (1.4 million jobs) was in Seemandhra and 55.45 per cent (1.74 million jobs) in Telangana. In 2008-09 about 64 per cent of the jobs existed in Telangana as compared with just 36 per cent in Seemandhra while the total jobs grew two-fold to touch the present levels from close to 1 million four years ago.
"Jobs are more in Telangana because most of the labour-intensive industry, including all those engineering units in the SME category, exists in and around Hyderabad. Also Hyderabad is the only base for sectors like pharma and IT, which again create a lot of employment opportunities in the private sector, in the state," a senior government official told Business Standard.
Though the government had earmarked land for IT companies in the port city of Visakhapatnam, most of the plots remain vacant even today, according to the official.
The trend that followed around 2008-09, however, shows some job shifts to Seemandhra as labour-intensive industries like garment manufacturing and spinning came up in a large-scale in Guntur and Visakhapatnam among other coastal districts. Investment flows between 2008-09 and 2012-13, though, were higher in Telangana at Rs 18,404 crore as compared with Rs 14,212 crore in the Seemandhra region.
Major difference
The other major difference between the two regions is while industries and investments have been spread across several districts in coastal Andhra, close to 80 per cent of the total investments in the Telangana region is concentrated in just four districts -- Hyderabad and its neighbouring districts of Medak, Nalgonda and Rangareddy. It is no surprise that the Rangareddy district alone offers over half a million jobs to people today as compared with just 149,000 jobs it had in 2008-09.
"This has been a problem in Telangana. Hyderabad was eating away all the opportunities leaving little for the rest of the Telangana region. The restructuring of Telangana state must be based on a diversified development spreading the opportunities across the districts," says Vamsi Vakulabharanam, associate professor of Economics at University of Hyderabad.
People who got jobs in these areas of Telangana hail from all the regions while almost none from Telangana region goes to Seemandhra seeking employment either in private or in government sector. This is stated to be one of the major causes for the resurgence of the demand for separate statehood for Telangana and a matter of concern for job seekers from Seemandhra.
In the ongoing tussle over the state bifurcation, the city of Hyderabad has become a major bone of contention with leaders of Seemandhra claiming it belongs to both as Hyderabad has attracted most of the investments at the cost of their region. Data, however, say otherwise.
According to industry department's data, reviewed by Business Standard, about Rs 116,765.35 crore investments were made in both large-scale and SME sectors covering manufacturing and services till 2012-13 in Andhra Pradesh.
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Of this, about Rs 64,920.56 crore or 55.60 per cent went to Seemandhra and Rs 51,844.79 crore in Telangana, including Hyderabad and its neighbouring districts.
Till 2008-09, the proportion of investments was even more tilted in favour of Seemandhra. The region had claimed 62.13 per cent or Rs 49,893.75 crore of the total investments of Rs 80,300.76 crore at that point as compared with Rs 30,406.62 crore or just 37.87 per cent in the Telangana region.
However, jobs generated by these investments are found to be less in Seemandhra and more in Telangana and it was almost inversely proportional to the size of investments.
According to districtwise data, a total of 3.15 million jobs were created by these investments of which 44.55 per cent (1.4 million jobs) was in Seemandhra and 55.45 per cent (1.74 million jobs) in Telangana. In 2008-09 about 64 per cent of the jobs existed in Telangana as compared with just 36 per cent in Seemandhra while the total jobs grew two-fold to touch the present levels from close to 1 million four years ago.
"Jobs are more in Telangana because most of the labour-intensive industry, including all those engineering units in the SME category, exists in and around Hyderabad. Also Hyderabad is the only base for sectors like pharma and IT, which again create a lot of employment opportunities in the private sector, in the state," a senior government official told Business Standard.
Though the government had earmarked land for IT companies in the port city of Visakhapatnam, most of the plots remain vacant even today, according to the official.
The trend that followed around 2008-09, however, shows some job shifts to Seemandhra as labour-intensive industries like garment manufacturing and spinning came up in a large-scale in Guntur and Visakhapatnam among other coastal districts. Investment flows between 2008-09 and 2012-13, though, were higher in Telangana at Rs 18,404 crore as compared with Rs 14,212 crore in the Seemandhra region.
Major difference
The other major difference between the two regions is while industries and investments have been spread across several districts in coastal Andhra, close to 80 per cent of the total investments in the Telangana region is concentrated in just four districts -- Hyderabad and its neighbouring districts of Medak, Nalgonda and Rangareddy. It is no surprise that the Rangareddy district alone offers over half a million jobs to people today as compared with just 149,000 jobs it had in 2008-09.
"This has been a problem in Telangana. Hyderabad was eating away all the opportunities leaving little for the rest of the Telangana region. The restructuring of Telangana state must be based on a diversified development spreading the opportunities across the districts," says Vamsi Vakulabharanam, associate professor of Economics at University of Hyderabad.
People who got jobs in these areas of Telangana hail from all the regions while almost none from Telangana region goes to Seemandhra seeking employment either in private or in government sector. This is stated to be one of the major causes for the resurgence of the demand for separate statehood for Telangana and a matter of concern for job seekers from Seemandhra.