VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh received an all-time high Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow of USD 284.22 million in the financial year 2022-23, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said in the Parliament on Friday.
The attempt by the Opposition TDP to show the Jagan government in poor light with regard to the flow of foreign investments in the State backfired when TDP MP Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar sought the details of the FDI received by the State since 2019 from the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in Rajya Sabha. He questioned if the Centre was aware that there was a drastic reduction in FDI inflows in the State since May 2019, resulting in a steep fall in employment generation and job opportunities.
However, the Union minister snubbed the TDP leader and said that no such reduction in the FDI had been observed. “There has been a temporary dip in FDI inflow in the financial year 2020-21, which may have been due to the pandemic,” Som Prakash stated in writing and added that there has been a steady increase in the FDI equity inflow that has come to Andhra Pradesh since October 2019 till March 2023.
The MoS clarified that the FDI inflows into a country (and consequently to any state) depend on a host of factors, including the availability of natural resources, market size, infrastructure, political and investment climate, macroeconomic stability and investment decision of foreign investors. He said the total FDI inflow, includes equity inflow, equity capita of unincorporated bodies, re-invested earnings, and other capital. The state-wide details are maintained only for the equity component of the total FDI inflow received since October 2019.
“The total FDI equity inflow that came to Andhra Pradesh in 2019-20 (October 2019-Mach 2020) was USD 200.97 million. It reduced to USD 85.85 million in 2020-21 due to the pandemic. But later, it increased to USD 224.96 million in 2021-22 and USD 284.22 million in 2022-23,” the Union minister stated.
Meanwhile, the floor leader of YSRCP in the Lok Sabha PV Midhun Reddy took to Twitter and hit back at the TDP, alleging the party of liars stood completely exposed.
“Time for the already sunk TDP to face the truth and apologise to the people of Andhra Pradesh for their non-stop lies. The State is making great progress in all areas under the leadership of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy,” he said. In another tweet, Minister for Tourism and Culture RK Roja said that TDP should learn a lesson.