VIJAYAWADA: The State government has decided to involve the private sector more directly to fully realise Andhra Pradesh’s economic growth potential. It has partnered with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to set up the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) CII Consultative Forum.
Orders constituting the Consultative Forum were issued late Saturday night. It will be headed by Minister for Real Time Governance Nara Lokesh. The Chief Secretary will be the Vice-President. The CII AP State Council Chairman will be the member secretary.
The forum was constituted initially for two years, with the mandate to address various issues of concern relating to industry, trade and investment, and to act as a catalyst for the promotion of investment climate, industrial growth, skill and entrepreneurship development, and infrastructure development through consultation, networking and establishing linkages between various stakeholders in the government and industry.
It is considered that the partnership with CII will help diversify the industrial base by promoting sectors like renewable energy, IT hardware, biotechnology and high-precision manufacturing. This will also reduce the State’s reliance on a few industries, and foster broader economic growth.
During a special plenary session of the 4th CII Southern Regional Council meeting, IT Minister Lokesh said the Government of AP wants to earn a place among the top three industrialised States in the country and make rapid strides in IT, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and MSME sectors.
It was proposed to form a joint consultative forum between the State government (AP Economic Development Board) and CII.