VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has described his recent visit to Davos, where he participated in World Economic Forum, as an effort aimed at boosting the image of Andhra Pradesh and get the world community interested in investing and supporting the state.
Briefing mediapersons about his Davos visit, the Chief Minister said the main objective was to strengthen networking with various countries, industries and NGOs and to know about latest technologies and ideas, so they can be adopted in the state for improving the living standards here.
“Every state faces problems. Ways and means to find solution to those problems through public-private partnership was discussed at length. There are several challenges that need to be understood and solutions need to be worked out,” he said.
Naidu felt that India is at an advantageous position due to its demographic dividend, while Japan, China and Europe are at disadvantage. Comparatively, growth rate in India is encouraging. The growth rate is higher in Andhra Pradesh and the same was acknowledged by many during the conference, he said.
Stating that he had met 11 companies specialising in different sectors in Zurich, Switzerland, he said it was continuation of the Partnership Summit, where MoUs worth `4.6 lakh crore worth were signed.
Rayalaseema as Horticulture Hub
The Chief Minister said one the important issues discussed during the World Economic Forum was New Vision for Agriculture which seeks to make it more profitable and networking all the stakeholders in it. “Right from levelling of the land to harvesting, measures will be taken for improvement by bringing in modernisation and mechanisation and once the produce is ready, steps will be initiated for its logical marketing,” he said.
He said Andhra Pradesh does not have any problems pertaining to seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and agricultural extension activities. The only one problem is water. “To address the issue, we are making serious efforts. We have taken up inter-linking of rivers, effective ways for water management and steps for dry spell mitigation. Rain gauges, piezo meters are being used to undertake water auditing, so we will know exactly how much rainwater is being stored, how much groundwater is available and where, how it is being used and plan accordingly,” he explained.
Naidu said he had sought help of major companies worldwide specialising in agro-business to help in making Rayalaseema a horticulture hub. “My only aim is to ensure better quality and better price for farmers. For this, we are bringing in action plans for 25 to 30 essential agricultural products by not just modernised farming but value-chaining, by setting up agri-based industries, integrated marketing, cold storage and warehouses. The new plans will be set into motion from March,” he said.
100 pc Power Connectivity
Naidu said he wanted 100 percent power connectivity in the state and that he is aiming to see that there is no house or village without a power connection after March. “Our efforts post-bifurcation saw the state emerge as power surplus state form a power deficit one. Now the idea of replacing conventional bulbs with LED bulbs is paying rich dividends and power consumption had reduced significantly. As many as 15 million conventional bulbs were replaced with LED and now we are going for energy saving pump sets and want to tap into vast solar and wind energy,” he said.
He said research into improvement of solar cell is reducing the cost of solar energy production. He said such a development will help reduce pollution levels and hinted at the introduction of electrical transportation in Amaravati, the new capital.
More Pvt, Foreign Varsities
Three private universities - SRM University, VIT University and Amity University - have agreed to start their campuses in the state, the Chief Minister said and added that they are making every effort to have Cambridge, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Berkeley University, University of Singapore, University of California to start their campuses here.