Industries Minister Mekapati Goutam Reddy rolled out a red carpet for Japanese firms to invest in the State.The State will offer special fiscal incentive packages to Japanese companies setting up manufacturing facilities in Japan Industrial Township, especially for companies shifting bases from China along with their suppliers, he said.
“We have set up a dedicated Japan Desk to handhold and facilitate Japanese businesses into AP,” he said, revealing that another Japan Industrial Township will be established in the State. Similarly, a Japanese Enclave will be constructed in 10 lakh square feet in Visakhapatnam.
Observing that the Covid-19 pandemic has opened a rare window of opportunity for India to take the manufacturing bus and reach the so-called “Lewis Turning Point’’, as companies are increasingly pursuing ‘China+1 strategy’ to hedge security and trade related risks, the Industries Minister felt the time is right for India to seize the opportunity and create large-scale manufacturing and integrate with global value chains, utilising the demographic dividend.
Participating in the Partnership Summit on ‘Promoting India Japan Strategic and Economic Cooperation during Covid-19 and Beyond’ organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and CII, Reddy said AP and Japan share a very close bond and Japanese institutions have been strategic partners in AP’s industrial growth.
Stating that there is a well-established Japan Industrial Township (JIT) in Sri City, one of the sites envisaged to be developed as a Japanese Industrial township as per the agenda for the India-Japan Investment and Trade Promotion and APAC Economic Integration signed in April 2015 , Reddy said another JIT is proposed in one of the industrial nodes at Chittoor on Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC).
He said around 150-200 Japanese expats work and live in and around Sri City. “We are setting-up Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing (JIM) to increase training programmes in more sectors where Japanese companies tend to invest in India. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has prepared the overall perspective plan of Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor (CBIC), funding about Rs 1,300 crore in collaboration with the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) for development of Krishnapatnam Node (12,944 acres) Industrial Hub for Resource-driven Industries. About Rs 18,548 crore investment is envisaged,” he explained. Around 25 Japanese companies are already operating in Andhra Pradesh, he added.
On the occasion, he congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Piyush Goyal for the initiatives taken to tackle the pandemic and reviving industries. Atmanirbhar awakening has crossed borders as we see greenfield projects and FDI into India with renewed vigour and confidence in Indian markets, he said.
Relationship Managers
Mekapati Goutham Reddy has informed that the AP government will provide Relationship Managers to various categories of investors for timely resolution of their grievances. This initiative is aimed at strengthening Ease of Doing Business in the State.
