Applications involving Rs 6,947 crore investments cleared online by AP in first month

The govt had introduced the 'Single Desk' system on May 29

The Andhra Pradesh government has processed applications to set up industrial projects with a total investment of Rs 6,947.91 crore in the first month since it introduced the ‘Single Desk’ system on May 29.

This comes on the back of a government directive to all the departments that they have to accept applications for approvals and clearances only through its online portal and not any paper directly.

As part of ease of doing business, the government has created an online portal (www.apindustries.gov.in), which is a single point contract to provide services for industry from entry level to the completion of the project.

About 548 industries have utilised this system, where the applicants have received all the approvals at one place without having to roam around different offices within the prescribed time lines, according to an industry department official.

Projects  with an investment size of Rs 400-500 crore have been proposed by Greenply, Guntur Textile Park, Simhadri Pellets, Gil Lifesciences among others while 39  have proposed a total of Rs 6,432 crore investment and a little over Rs 500 crore comes from the remaining applicants, who are essentially setting up micro, small and medium projects.

“Receiving applications involving close to Rs 7,000 crore investments in just one month is not a small thing. Moreover, all these applicants are in the process of setting up their units,” said an industry department official. Together, these units propose to create close to 16,000 jobs, according to the official.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are not only competing for  investments but also making transparent and hassle-free propositions in terms of governance and faster approvals for industries.  Last month, the Telangana government launched a policy called ‘TS-iPass’  which offers faster single-window clearances for industries in as little as two weeks. The government also introduced a system of penalties for officers for the delays beyond the prescribed period when it comes to approvals.

AP claims it’s the first state in the country to create an IT-enabled platform, which accepts and electronically transfers applications to respective authorities as well as track and monitor status of the application. A user password is given to entrepreneurs and the applicant can know the status by logging in. It also enables the head of the department to know the status of the pending proposal to pursue with the authorities for processing the same, according to the department.