Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Net (APNRT) Society president Ravikumar Vemuru on Saturday said the society efforts to attract investments from Telugu diaspora is evoking a good response with 22 companies starting their operations in Amaravati and 10 in Visakhapatnam in the IT sector with a job potential of 3,000.
The demand for plug and play facilities by about 2.5 million NRIs settled in the United States and other countries during past one year was quite encouraging.
APNRT Society is the brainchild of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to act as a bridge between the non-resident Telugus across the globe to bring global investments and companies into the State.
Mr. Ravikumar, Advisor to the State government on NRI affairs, told The Hindu that they were focusing on attracting investments in globally-competitive SME sector to create jobs to locals.
He said another priority area was investments in improving skill-set of local youth for which the government was offering incentives like subsidy on rent. Most of the investments in IT and IT-enabled services were in the range of ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore. He said 30 investment proposals were in advance stage of finalisation within a few days. Most of them would be in Amaravati and Visakhapatnam.
Admitting that Visakhapatnam was the most sought-after place in the State, he said space was a big constraint. “The government is in talks to take three buildings from IT companies on lease at Madhurawada IT Special Economic Zone for creating plug and play facilities. The Technology Hub inaugurated recently by IT Minister N. Lokesh at the new tower built by Tech Mahindra and taken on lease by AP Electronics and IT Agency is a big hit.” Referring to completion of the first phase of Millennium Tower at sea-facing Rushikonda in the city with a built-up area of two lakh sft by October, he said: “We are confident that space in the new tower built by the government will sell like a hotcake.”
Slew of incentives
For training institutes to address skill gap and create a large talent pool, the government is offering several incentives like 50% rental subsidy. Eighteen institutes will come up in Amaravati and Visakhapatnam in a month or two. “They will be armed with all facilities and not comparable with institutes that have flourished in Ameerpet area of Hyderabad,” Mr. Ravikumar pointed out. To encourage investments in training institutes and reverse migration of NRIs, the government was also ready to offer subsidised housing.