The Andhra Pradesh government would introduce sector-specific policies under five verticals — pharma, engineering, textile, infrastructure and food processing — to speed up the industrial growth in the state, said Karikal Valevan, state commissioner of industries.
There are 257 industrial estates in AP, some of which do not function properly. The government would study the issues relating to these estates, he said.
According to a report by the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Fapcci), the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in AP had come down to 7.19 per cent during the last decade, from 21.7 per cent during 1990-2000.
The report on the pattern of industrial growth and investment in AP released today also stated there was a decline in employment during the period.
Valevan said the government was likely to introduce special financial institutions for the SMEs and establish exclusive industrial estates in the state for them.
However, investments across all industries (small, medium and big) increased three-fold to Rs 41,785 crore during the decade from Rs 15,957 crore. There was a marginal increase in the number of new units to 1,274, from 1,235 and in employment to 211,641 from 210,336 during 1990-2000.
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Around 11 per cent of the total investment goes to the SMEs (with capital investment of up to Rs 1 crore- Rs 10 crore), 8 per cent to mid-size (Rs 10-20 crore), 27 per cent to large industries (Rs 20-100 crore) and 54 per cent to very large (Rs 100 crore and above).
The current industrial policy supports large industries and much of the funding goes to them. The AP Industrial Development Corporation (APIDC), which used to provide seed funding to the entrepreneurs, has stopped funding them, the report said, adding APIDC should revise its policies in this regard.
Further, it pointed out that major investment was going to traditional industries, such as cotton, textile and pharma, neglecting the modern ones. The state is lagging in the automobile manufacturing sector in spite of being the largest buyer of automobiles. Absence of ancillary sector is failing to attract mega industries.
JC Sharma, principal secretary -industries & commerce, said, “The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C) has reviewed APIDC. According to the recommendations of IIM-C and Fapcci, we will propose strengthening of APIDC.”