Special package for Amaravati is on wishlist of CII A.P. ahead of Union Budget

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Andhra Pradesh Chapter Vice-Chairman S. Narendra Kumar hopes that the Central government will announce a special financial package for the development of Amaravati in the Union Budget, scheduled to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, in tune with the importance attached to the emerging greenfield city as an engine of growth for the entire State. 

In a conversation with The Hindu on the eve of the budget presentation on Saturday, Mr. Kumar said the Centre was expected to offer additional financial support to Amaravati as the development of infrastructure needed to be fast-tracked and the capital region was emerging as an innovation hub for regional startups. 

He said the allocation of a special fund that would facilitate the speedy development of the Visakhapatnam-Chennai and Hyderabad-Bangalore industrial corridors, inclusive of plug-and- play infrastructure was essential to attract major manufacturing units. 

Next on the wishlist are the approval of the revised cost estimate of the Polavaram project, and special funds for the development of backward districts in Rayalaseema and North Andhra regions. 

Mr. Narendra Kumar said that he was looking forward to the announcement of incentives for the establishment of the 1-GW hyperscale data centre in Visakhapatnam, and steps that would encourage companies to set up Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in the State, noting that the GCCs was currently concentrated in Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram and Mumbai. 

The renewable energy companies would be elated if the Centre laid down a clear policy framework for green finance and gave them the much-needed tax credits and other incentives for the green energy projects. 

A cut in basic customs duty on fish and shrimp feed is being sought so that the aquaculture industry that is facing tremendous pressure from tariff would get some relief.

Measures to meet the working capital requirement of MSMEs and allowance of accelerated depreciation for MSMEs that would enable them to invest in machinery and innovations would be welcome, he said. 

Further simplification of the GST structure (GST 3.0) and a mechanism for large FDI proposals were needed to reduce administrative friction and speed up project execution, Mr. Narendra Kumar said, noting that the above inputs and assistance would enable Andhra Pradesh to achieve a Gross State Domestic Product growth rate of 17.5% up from the current 11%.