HYDERABAD: Minister for IT and Industries D Sridhar Babu on Thursday informed the Assembly that the state government is prepared to release a white paper on Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), investments and companies linked to the World Economic Forum (WEF) summits at Davos over the past two years.
Responding to questions raised by K Venkataramana Reddy, Payal Shankar and others during Question Hour, he said investment commitments made at the 2024 and 2025 summits are at different stages of implementation, with land allocation under way. The state signed 44 MoUs during this period, involving investments worth Rs 2.19 lakh crore, which are in various stages of grounding.
Rejecting criticism of the Davos visits, the minister said such campaigns were “baseless”.
He described the WEF as a global platform to attract investments, adding that engagement with international forums is necessary to present the state’s strengths and incentives to potential investors.
Sridhar Babu said the proposed investments are expected to generate around 68,150 direct jobs.
He said the government has introduced a new MSME policy after a gap of ten years and is focusing on industrial development in Tier-II and Tier-III towns. However, retaining trained youth in these locations remains a challenge, as many move to Hyderabad for better opportunities.
To address this, the government has decided to extend the free-rent facility for IT companies operating from IT Towers in Tier-II cities — including Siddipet, Khammam, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Adilabad, Warangal, Mahbubnagar and Nizamabad — for another three years.
The minister said the T-Fiber initiative has provided internet connectivity to all Rythu Vedikas and about 4,000 government offices, and has been recognised by the Union government.
He also said a sponge iron factory is expected to be set up in Khammam district, with Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy responding positively to the state’s request.