FICCI : Industry's Voice for Policy Change

The Times of India | Feb 21, 2022

FICCI to support state in enhancing energy efficiency in Andhra Pradesh

The New Indian Express | Feb 21, 2022

FICCI to aid Andhra Pradesh in energy conservation

Bizz Buzz | Feb 21, 2022

FICCI to help AP build energy efficiency mechanism

The Times of Truth | Feb 20, 2022

FICCI to assist A.P. obtain vitality effectivity targets

The Hindu | Feb 20, 2022

FICCI to help A.P. achieve energy efficiency targets

The Times of India | Dec 06, 2021

Odisha's tourism festival starts on December 15

Outlook Traveller | Oct 26, 2020

Andhra Pradesh will Soon Come Alive on your Screen

Andhra Pradesh is looking at popularising virtual tours of various important tourist destinations in the state keeping with the demand for virtual tourism. The state is also exploring the development of rural tourism, amusement parks and adventure sports while ensuring a seamless connectivity of the destinations from all major airports.

Addressing a virtual interactive session with members of the national tourism committee of FICCI, Rajat Bhargava, Special Secretary (Tourism and Culture), said though hotels and other tourism establishments have reopened after the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the footfall of tourists was not very encouraging.

He said an aggressive marketing push was required for quick revival for the state’s tourism. “The path to revival (of tourism) will involve building a perception of safe tourism in the minds of the tourists. Adjoining states will have to work together to ensure free flow of tourists across borders,” he pointed out. A coordinated effort between the central government, state governments, tourism bodies, travel and tour operators and hospitality industry was essential for this, he added.

Bhargava said that Andhra Pradesh had the potential to develop coastline and position itself as a luxury beach tourism destination, and the state is preparing a new tourism policy that would not only be flexible and aggressive but would also address several issues regarding mega tourism projects.

The tourism department has found certain high potential locations for the development of hotels and luxury resorts, he said.

The FICCI officials said that the development of required infrastructure was vital to capture the emerging opportunities in the tourism sector. They also wanted tax benefits and infrastructure subsidies apart from congenial regulations for development of beach shacks, MICE and other tourist facilities to facilitation greater participation of the private sector.

ET Travel World | Oct 22, 2020

Mega Tourism projects to get special status in Andhra's new tourism policy

Mega Tourism projects in Andhra Pradesh will be given special facilitation by bestowing them with industry status. The new Tourism Policy of the Andhra Pradesh government promises industry status for all mega tourism projects. This was informed by Dr Rajat Bhargava, Special Chief Secretary to the Andhra Pradesh government during a virtual interaction with National Tourism Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Bhargava said that the upcoming Tourism Policy of the state will be both “flexible and aggressive” to address many issues faced by the investors in the tourism sector in the state. The senior bureaucrat informed the National Tourism Committee of FICCI that the tourism policy is designed to reflect the vision of the Chief Minister of the State to make Andhra a preferred premium tourist destination in the country.

The objective of the event was to ideate and understand the various initiatives under consideration by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to revive tourism in Andhra Pradesh. The forum also sought innovative ideas and recommendations from the industry bodies to identify measures crucial for the revival of tourism.

Bhargava said that the Tourism department has identified certain high potential locations for development of hotels and resorts in the state. It has been actively marketing it to investors and developers of international repute. It also plans to develop amusement parks and adventure sports spots in the state while ensuring a seamless connectivity of destinations from all major airports. He emphasized the importance of marketing for quick revival of tourism.

Responding to the queries raised by the National Tourism Committee members of the FICCI, Pravin Kumar, MD, AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) and CEO, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority (APTA), talked about the strategy adopted by the department for revival. He highlighted how the next two months are going to be crucial from the standpoint of building confidence in the tourists about safe travel. Aggressive yet cautious marketing coupled with adherence to SOPs for safe operation of hotels would be critical for revival. APTDC has already started the operation of its 37 hotels. While there are signs of revival, going forward it would be important to consolidate efforts in marketing and infrastructure development, Kumar stated.

The FICCI delegates indicated the importance of safe tourism and building a perception of safe destination in the minds of the tourists. The neighbouring states will have to work together to ensure free flow of tourists across borders. It will involve a coordinated effort between the different stakeholders like the central government, state governments, tourism bodies, travel & tour operators and hospitality industry stakeholders, they said.

There are opportunities for Andhra Pradesh to develop rural tourism and coastal tourism and position itself as a high-end luxury beach tourism destination. Promotion of local artforms, handicrafts, cuisines and programs shall be important to revive the loss in income faced by local artisans in the state. The state can be a trendsetter and declare all the tourist destinations as plastics free zones.

The FICCI National Tourism Committee was represented among others by Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee; Sanjoy K roy, Co-chair, FICCI Art & Culture Committee; Ragini Chopra, Executive VP, InterGlobe Enterprises; Ankur Bhatia, Director, Bird Group; Rohit Kohli, Jt MD, Creative Travel.

The News Stand | Oct 22, 2020

AP looking at popularising virtual tours of important tourist destinations

He said an aggressive marketing push was required for quick revival of tourism. “The path to revival (of tourism) will involve building a perception of safe tourism in the minds of the tourists. Adjoining states will have to work together to ensure free flow of tourists across borders,” the Special Chief Secretary said. A coordinated effort between the different stakeholders, including the Central government, state governments, tourism bodies, travel and tour operators and hospitality industry was essential for this, he added. Rajat said AP has the potential to develop coastline and position itself as a high-end luxury beach tourism destination.

He said the state was preparing a new tourism policy that would not only be flexible and aggressive but also would also address several issues like according industry status to mega tourism projects. The tourism department has identified certain high potential locations for development of hotels and luxury resorts in the state, he said. It also plans to develop amusement parks and adventure sports in the state while ensuring a seamless connectivity of the destinations from all major airports.

The FICCI officials said development of required infrastructure was vital to capture the emerging opportunities in the tourism sector. They also wanted tax benefits and infrastructure subsidies apart from congenial regulations for development of beach shacks, MICE and other tourist facilities to facilitation greater participation of the private sector. AP Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Pravin Kumar and other officials attended.

The New Indian Express | Oct 22, 2020

Plan to give a big boost to tourism sector

Speakers at an online interactive session organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) stressed upon the importance of resolving the issues impeding the recovery of the tourism sector in the State post Covid-19.

Special Chief Secretary Rajat Bhargava spoke on ‘Revival of Tourism in Andhra Pradesh’ and briefed the participants about the upcoming tourism policy which is not only flexible and aggressive but also addresses several issues, including industry status to mega tourism projects. The tourism department has identified certain high potential locations for development of hotels and resorts, he said.

Responding to the issues cited by the industry bodies, APTDC Managing Director Pravin Kumar explained the strategy adopted by the department for revival. He highlighted how the next two months are going to be crucial from the standpoint of building confidence in the tourists about safe travel. APTDC has already started the operation of its 37 hotels, he said.

The News Minute | Oct 22, 2020

Andhra looking at popularising virtual tours to revive tourism

Development of rural tourism, given the perception of being safe and experiential in nature was also being explored, he said.

Addressing a virtual interactive session with members of the national tourism committee of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), Rajat said that though hotels and other tourism establishments have reopened after the lockdown, the footfall of tourists was not yet encouraging.

He said an aggressive marketing push was required for quick revival of tourism.

"The path to revival (of tourism) will involve building a perception of safe tourism in the minds of the tourists. Adjoining states will have to work together to ensure free flow of tourists across borders," the Special Chief Secretary said.

Rajat said Andhra Pradesh has the potential to develop its coastline and position itself as a high-end luxury beach tourism destination.

He said the state was preparing a new tourism policy that would not only be flexible and aggressive but would also address several issues, like according industry status to mega tourism projects. The tourism department has identified certain high potential locations for development of hotels and luxury resorts in the state, he said.

It also plans to develop amusement parks and adventure sports in the state while ensuring a seamless connectivity of the destinations from all major airports.

The FICCI officials said development of required infrastructure was vital to capture the emerging opportunities in the tourism sector. They also wanted tax benefits and infrastructure subsidies apart from congenial regulations for development of beach shacks, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) and other tourist facilities to facilitate greater participation of the private sector.

Devdiscourse | Oct 21, 2020

AP looking at popularising virtual tours of important tourist destinations

Addressing a virtual interactive session with members of the national tourism committee of FICCI, Rajat said though hotels and other tourism establishments have reopened after the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the footfall of tourists was not yet encouraging. He said an aggressive marketing push was required for quick revival of tourism.

A coordinated effort between the different stakeholders, including the Central government, state governments, tourism bodies, travel and tour operators and hospitality industry was essential for this, he added. Rajat said AP has the potential to develop coastline and position itself as a high-end luxury beach tourism destination.

It also plans to develop amusement parks and adventure sports in the state while ensuring a seamless connectivity of the destinations from all major airports. The FICCI officials said development of required infrastructure was vital to capture the emerging opportunities in the tourism sector.

They also wanted tax benefits and infrastructure subsidies apart from congenial regulations for development of beach shacks, MICE and other tourist facilities to facilitation greater participation of the private sector. AP Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Pravin Kumar and other officials attended.

Outlook | Oct 21, 2020

AP looking at popularising virtual tours of important tourist destinations

Andhra Pradesh is looking at popularising virtual tours of various important tourist destinations in the state keeping with the trends in virtual tourism, Special Chief Secretary (Tourism and Culture) Rajat Bhargava said here on Wednesday. Development of rural tourism, given the perception of being safe and experiential in nature was also being explored, he said. Addressing a virtual interactive session with members of the national tourism committee of FICCI, Rajat said though hotels and other tourism establishments have reopened after the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the footfall of tourists was not yet encouraging. He said an aggressive marketing push was required for quick revival of tourism. "The path to revival (of tourism) will involve building a perception of safe tourism in the minds of the tourists. Adjoining states will have to work together to ensure free flow of tourists across borders," the Special Chief Secretary said. A coordinated effort between the different stakeholders, including the Central government, state governments, tourism bodies, travel and tour operators and hospitality industry was essential for this, he added. Rajat said AP has the potential to develop coastline and position itself as a high-end luxury beach tourism destination. He said the state was preparing a new tourism policy that would not only be flexible and aggressive but also would also address several issues like according industry status to mega tourism projects. The tourism department has identified certain high potential locations for development of hotels and luxury resorts in the state, he said. It also plans to develop amusement parks and adventure sports in the state while ensuring a seamless connectivity of the destinations from all major airports. The FICCI officials said development of required infrastructure was vital to capture the emerging opportunities in the tourism sector. They also wanted tax benefits and infrastructure subsidies apart from congenial regulations for development of beach shacks, MICE and other tourist facilities to facilitation greater participation of the private sector. AP Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Pravin Kumar and other officials attended.

Latest LY | Oct 21, 2020

AP looking at popularising virtual tours of important tourist destinations

Development of rural tourism, given the perception of being safe and experiential in nature was also being explored, he said.

He said an aggressive marketing push was required for quick revival of tourism.

"The path to revival (of tourism) will involve building a perception of safe tourism in the minds of the tourists.

Adjoining states will have to work together to ensure free flow of tourists across borders," the Special Chief Secretary said.

Rajat said AP has the potential to develop coastline and position itself as a high-end luxury beach tourism destination.

He said the state was preparing a new tourism policy that would not only be flexible and aggressive but also would also address several issues like according industry status to mega tourism projects.

The tourism department has identified certain high potential locations for development of hotels and luxury resorts in the state, he said.

It also plans to develop amusement parks and adventure sports in the state while ensuring a seamless connectivity of the destinations from all major airports.

The FICCI officials said development of required infrastructure was vital to capture the emerging opportunities in the tourism sector.

AP Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Pravin Kumar and other officials attended.

Deccan Chronicle | Feb 23, 2019

India among top 13 in PSU R&D

India is amongst the top 13 countries in terms of public sector in research and development along with the US, Russia, UK and others, says a survey by the department of science & technology, Uni-on minister of science and technology and earth sciences Dr Harsh Vardhan said at the two-day Global R&D Summit on Friday.

The summit was organised by FICCI in partnership with the DST. “Over 80 per cent of money spent on R&D in India comes from research agencies like DRDO, Isro, and CSIR,” Dr Vardhan said. “India offers distinct advantages to offer R&D. Firstly, the burgeoning aspirational middle class presents a huge market for a host of products. This is a great starting point for innovation and R&D.”

India is among the top-ranking countries in the field of basic research. The year 2018 has seen India’s resea-rch and development with technology-led innovation getting further recognition as one of the most powerful instruments of growth and development. In many cases, India offers R&D super deductions to the tune of 200 per cent, which is at par with the best in the world.

The Union minister added that India boasts of a large pool of English-speaking manpower, which is hard to find in most countries. This makes execution of R&D plans much easier. He pointed that 2018 has seen India’s research and development with technology-led innovation getting recognition.

The Hans India | Feb 23, 2019

Indian R&D, beacon of hope for third world countries

Chief guest Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, delivered the Keynote Address, at the Special Session on the concluding day of the two day 'Global R & D Summit 2019', organised by FICCI in partnership with the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, at Hyderabad, on Friday.

Also present on the occasion were Guests of Honour, Nkandu Luo, Minister of Higher Education, Government of the Republic of Zambia; Getahun Mekuria, Minister of Science & Technology, Govt. of the Republic of Ethiopia; S K Varshney, Head-International Cooperation (Bilateral), Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India; Kampeta Sayinzoga, Director General, National Industrial Research & Development Agency, Kigali, Rwanda; Ajit Rangnekar, DG -Research and Innovation Circle, Hyderabad, Govt. of Telangana Initiative; T Murlidharan, Chairman-FICCI Telangana State; Nirankar Saxena, Deputy Secretary General, FICCI and Munish Gupta, Advisor- FICCI India Rwanda Innovation Growth Program.

Speaking on the occasion Dr Harsh Vardhan said, India's science and technology achievements have steadfastly triggered India's growth and delivered socio-economic development. The vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is to share our technology and innovations for shared prosperity of our partner nations in Africa. India wishes to also create bilateral and multilateral with likeminded South-South cooperation and partners to forge collaboration to ensure sustainable growth in the developing countries.

The Minister added: I am delighted to note that this year's partner continent is Africa. The Ministry of Science and Technology, in India has been conducting multiple programs in and with Africa, implemented by FICCI's center for innovation, Science and Technology commercialization called FICCI CTAP. For several decades India has provided scholarships to several African students. Researchers and Fellow are invited to specialised institutions. We have helped this model and have established institutions of collaborative research, capacity building and enterprise development.

Just two years ago India began a new initiative, I would like to particularly mention of the first ever and unique technology sharing and transfer program, the India Rwanda Innovation growth Program, that has successfully demonstrated that validated, robust, affordable technology led innovations from India can be adopted and adapted and deployed for triggering sustainable inclusive growth in our strategic partner country of Rwanda. I am delighted to know that in the very first year this pilot program matched 11 enterprises and Institutions from India with 14 enterprises and Institutions in Rwanda.

The program is unique in that it assesses and addresses the needs of the recipient country. In the first year the India Rwanda Program include 100 per cent compostable sanitary that are critical to educating the girl child, women empowerment through livelihood creation and most importantly ensuring female hygiene and health, besides developing a full blown leather park with the entire value chain and the last mile delivery of an affordable high speed broadband that today is a must to fulfill the aspirations of the masses and ensure provision of services to them. India is now proud to scale this program to benefit another important partner Ethiopia. I hope as an extension of these programs we are able to stimulate collaborations in R&D and further innovate to potentially deliver present and future solutions.

T Murlidharan, in his welcome address said, India, Africa, collaboration is a classic example of mutual cooperation. The focus of this Summit is collaboration amongst various stake holders, to address the vital issues of research and most importantly commercialisation. Innovation and R&D are the key drivers of economic growth today. FICCI has established good working relationship with over 45 countries for collaboration in Science and Technology.

The Summit is a significant annual initiative of the FICCI with the core objective of promoting R and D in the field of Science and Technology. It is hosted in a different city every year and this year's venue is Hyderabad. Each year the partner country at the Summit varies, and this year's Partner Countries are the Nations from the African Continent. The Focus sectors of this year's Summit are Agriculture, Health Care, Food Processing and Clean Energy. The Focus sectors are determined on the basis of the Sectors, Partner Countries evince interest in. Large delegations comprising of Ministers and senior officials of Ethopia, Rwanda and Zambia, along with delegates from other African counties are attending the Summit.

The New Indian Express | Feb 22, 2019

FICCI's global R&D summit commences in Hyderabad

Launching the India-Ethiopia Innovation, Technology Transfer & Commercialization Programme along with the Ethiopian government, the Global Research and Development Summit 2019 commenced in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The two-day conclave inaugurated by Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DS & T, Government of India, focussed upon strengthening technology and development ties between India and Africa.

Following the success of the India Rwanda Innovation Growth program started in 2017, the FICCI Association launched a similar programme with the Ethiopian Government this summit. Dr.-Ing. Getahun Mekuria, Minister of Science & Technology, Govt. of the Republic of Ethiopia talked about the several benefits of the scheme including more job opportunities for the people and help Ethiopia move from an agriculture-based to a knowledge-based ecosystem.

Telangana Today | Feb 22, 2019

RICH to set up agri experiential park

In order to give farmers a hands-on experience about the new agriculture technologies, the State is looking to launch an Agriculture Experiential Park. To be set up by Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH), the park to be spread across 5-10 acres of land will be like a tinkering lab for farmers to try out emerging technologies and products in the agriculture space.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Global R&D Summit organised by FICCI and DST, RICH Ajit Rangnekar said, “There are many startups and companies working on cutting-edge technologies in the field of agriculture. However, the adoption is very low as firstly there is not much awareness and secondly because farmers are not sure if the technology will work in their field. Keeping this mind, we are going to set up an Agriculture Experiential Park wherein we will have farmers experience the various technologies and after they are convinced they can use it on a large scale.”

Rangnekar also added that this park will be a combination of tinkering labs and T-Works model for agriculture. RICH has identified partners like agriculture universities and private companies along with State and Central governments to help it in this endeavor and wants the park to come up by end of 2019. In addition to the park, RICH is also working with the government to set up B-Hub wherein startups and entrepreneurs in the field of biotechnology can test their products on a large scale and the space can be shared as well.

The second day of the summit had the Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences speak about the various initiatives taken by the Central government in the space of science and technology. “India is top ranking country in terms of R&D and a survey conducted by DST shows that India is amongst the top 13 countries in terms of share of public sector in R&D along with the US, Russia, UK and others. Over 80 per cent of the R&D spent in India comes from research agencies like DRDO, ISRO, ICAR, Department of Atomic Energy, CSIR. Out of 1,207 scientific institutions present globally, India stands at ninth position and we are third in nano technology. We aim to be among the top 3 nations in science by 2030,” he said.

As part of the summit, the India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme concluded its first year and signed a formal agreement to continue the programme for the second year. In the last one year, the programme saw 14 Rwanda companies form partnerships with 11 Indian companies. In addition, another African country Ethiopia signed its innovation programme with India and plans to demonstrate 50 technology ideas in the next one year.

The Times of India | Jan 31, 2019

Country has no proper data on jobs, needs dedicated job creation ministry: FICCI

Close on the heels of two independent members of the National Statistical Commission (NSC) -- P C Mohanan and J V Meenakshi — quitting over disagreements with the government on issues including delay in releasing the labour force survey, Sandip Somany, newly appointed president of premier industry body, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), on Wednesday said the country does not possess proper jobs data yet and needs a dedicated ministry of job creation to channelise efforts to create jobs.

“Firstly, we believe that the data on jobs is itself not available…Nobody can mathematically or scientifically prove which policies of the government are having what effect on job creation. So our first suggestion is that there should be a department created to take care of statistics on jobs… secondly, we believe, the ministry of labour, ministry of HR … all should be scrapped and there should be one ministry and it should be called ministry of job creation… ,” he said, on the sidelines of FICCI’s national executive committee meeting here.

According to Somany, the country has been generating around 5.5 million jobs per annum as against the required 10.5 to 11 million new jobs per annum. These new jobs also need to cater to around 4.5 to 5 million people who have to be moved from agriculture as there is unemployment as well as underemployment in that sector.

On the agricultural sector, the FICCI president pointed out that instead of handing out doles such as loan waivers, that do not solve the problems of farmers in the long-term, the government must instead focus on strengthening the supply chain by investing in infrastructure such as warehouses and cold chains.

On expectations from the Budget, he said the government must slash corporate tax across the board to 25% as it is one of the highest and also try to do away with taxation for individuals with income below Rs 20 lakh per annum.

The Hindu | Jan 31, 2019

60% of committed investments grounded in TS

Telangana attracted almost $21 billion investment commitments over the last four-and-a-half years, Industries and IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said on Wednesday.

“Though this may be less compared to what some other States got, what is remarkable about Telangana is the conversion ratio. More than 60% [of the committed investment] has materialised,” he told the national executive committee meeting of FICCI here.

The remaining investments were also at an advanced level of implementation, the senior official said, pointing out that a stock-taking was undertaken ahead of the Assembly elections. He expressed confidence over conversion ratio being above 95% in a few years.

Attributing the emergence of Telangana as a preferred destination for investment to the measures initiated by the government such as ease of doing business, a system of time-bound approvals and process of self-certification, he said many investments were by companies that already had invested in the State.

The State government, he told the gathering comprising industrialists from across the country, also introduced a system of penalising officials responsible for delay in approvals.

“On seven occasions, it even deducted penalty from officials. “While we have defaulted… the number is miniscule given we have succeeded in 8,500 cases,” he said.

Land bank

Telangana also supported industries by providing them incentives as well as manpower trained by an agency set up by the State government. The State also had the largest industrial land bank, close to 1.50 lakh acres, strategically located, he said, also highlighting the comfortable power supply situation.

Seeking to highlight the time taken for industries to get clearances in some other States, in some cases running to a few months as opposed to 15 days in Telangana, Mr. Ranjan said e-commerce major Amazon, which is setting up a 3 million sq. ft. tech centre near Gachibowli, was given all the approvals in 11 days.

HSIL Ltd, the company behind Hindware brand that had multiple production facilities in the State, has decided to set up a manufacturing unit for water heater. This is to be set up in joint venture with a French firm.

Stating logistics was one of the 14 priority sectors identified for growth by the State government, Mr. Ranjan said the Adani Group and textile major Welspun Group were in the process of setting up a logistics park each near Hyderabad.

Hospitality firm Oyo plans to expand its tech centre in the city, while IBM has raised its headcount from 2,000 to 12,000, besides increasing the number of facilities in the city, he said.

Deccan Chronicle | Jan 31, 2019

With its friendly policies Telangana sees more investors

While the Adani Group and textile major Welspun Group are in the process of setting up two separate Logistics Parks in the state, the Somani Group has announced its fifth investment in the state, to manufacture glass heaters along with a French company, said IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan at the National Executive Committee Meeting of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday.

He said Telangana continues to attract investment, especially from existing investors due to its investor friendly policies. One example of this, he said, was the efficiency in granting approvals. Amazon, which is building a 3 mn sq ft building in the Financial District got its permissions within 11 days. On seven occasions out of 8,500 plus cases of industrial approvals, an employee was penalised for delay.

On the sidelines of the meet, officials from OYO, revealed details of their interests in Telangana and said that the company had expanded its presence by doubling its strength here and has decided to have all B2B operations executed from Hyderabad, which is the fastest growing facility of OYO.

The meeting was attended by top industrialists and businessmen from across the country. FICCI organises four such National Executive Committee Meetings a year in various regions, and this time it was held in Hyderabad. Among those who attended were Sandip Somany, president, FICCI; Dr Y.V. Reddy, economist and former governor of the RBI; Sangita Reddy, senior vice president, FICCI; T. Muralidharan, co-chair, FICCI, Telangana, and Dilip Chenoy, secretary-general, FICCI.

Topics discussed at the meeting included how the world economy has become bi-polar, with USA and China competing against each other, and the need for India to maintain a cordial relationship with both, and how Telangana has become a congenial destination for investment. In a country having a land crunch, Telangana offers the largest land bank.

The Times of India | Jan 31, 2019

Adani, Welspun to set up logistics parks in Hyd

Gujarat-based infrastructure major Adani group and textile biggie Welspun Group are setting up logistics parks on Hyderabad’s outskirts for which both have acquired land, Jayesh Ranjan, IT and industries principal secretary, Telangana said here on Wednesday.

The Telangana government’s investment friendly policies and Hyderabad’s central geographical location in the country make it an ideal logistics hub, Ranjan said on the sidelines of the industry body FICCI’s national executive committee meeting in the city.

The Welspun group has earmarked 100 acres of land for the dedicated logistics park out of the 600-acre parcel of land that it has acquired in Ranga Reddy district, Ranjan said.

On the other hand, the Adani group has acquired 25 acres a short distance away from the site of its unmanned aerial vehicles manufacturing facility at Shamshabad, which it has set up in joint venture with Israeli player Elbit Systems at an initial investment of $15 million, he said.

The $11 billion turnover Adani group, which has interests in infrastructure, real estate, FMCG and now aerospace and defence, unveiled the 50,000 sft UAV facility at the 20-acre Adani Aerospace Park at Shamshabad in December 2018.

The $2.3 billion turnover Welspun group is pumping in Rs 1,200 crore in setting up an integrated flooring solutions plant in Hyderabad.

dailyhunt | Jan 31, 2019

With its friendly policies Telangana sees more investors

The Hans India | Jan 31, 2019

TS registers 60 percent conversion rate

The Telangana state has so far received investment proposals worth $21 billion in the last four and half years with a 60 per cent conversion rate, said a highly placed official.

Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary, Telangana IT and Industries said the government's 'investment friendly' industrial policy TS iPass, coupled with the fact that the state is geographically located at an ideal place in the country, among others, made it ideal place for investments. Speaking on the sidelines of FICCI’s National Executive meeting here, Jayesh said: “Hyderabad is also becoming an ideal destination for logistics management firms.”

“The Adani Group and textile major Welspun Group are in the process of setting up two separate Logistics Parks here and these parks are attracting the attention of some major global and domestic logistics players.”

He said that along with Amazon which is setting one of its largest fulfillment centres in the world, hospitality firm OYO is also planning to expand some of its B2B activities like wedding and holiday packages at its technology centre here.

Meanwhile, close on the heels of the success of one its platforms ‘IBM Bluemix’ at the Telangana Academy of Skills and Knowledge (TASK), the tech-giant was asked to introduce another platform ‘IBM Watson’ at the earliest, by an official of the Telangana Government.

In response to appreciation of the State government’s initiatives in the IT sector and how they have helped IBM scale up in Hyderabad by an IBM executive, IT secretary Jayesh Ranjan said: “The CE Enterprise Application Development and Deployment on Cloud using ‘IBM Bluemix’ training programme at TASK was one of the most sought after and successful training programmes. It is now the turn of IBM to bring ‘IBM Watson’ to the programme curriculum for the benefits of students at TASK.”

IBM Bluemix is a cloud platform as a service developed by IBM. It supports several programming languages and services as well as integrated DevOps to build, run, deploy and manage applications on the cloud. Bluemix is based on Cloud Foundry open technology and runs on SoftLayer infrastructure.

‘IBM Watson’ is a question-answering computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language, developed in IBM's DeepQA project. Watson was named after IBM's first CEO, industrialist Thomas J Watson

The New Indian Express | Jan 31, 2019

Telangana looking beyond IT and Pharma: Jayesh Ranjan

The Telangana government is looking beyond the IT and Pharma sectors, and focussing on electronics manufacturing, food processing and textiles, said Jayesh Ranjan, the Principal Secretary of Industries and Commerce Department. In a conference hall filled with top business persons, Jayesh Ranjan explained why Telangana is a good destination to do business.

“We want to push three more sectors — electronics manufacturing, food processing and textiles. We have sectoral policies for all these sectors and dedicated officers too. Just like Make in India national programme, we have our own version called as Make in Telangana under which investments in these sectors are looked after by dedicated teams headed by a director,” said Jayesh Ranjan at the FICCI National Executive Committee meeting held here on Wednesday.

The principal secretary said that those who have already invested in the State have invested again for second or third time. Most of the industrialists said they chose Telangana because of the ease of doing business, he said.

Principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan said that Welspun Group and Adani Group are in the process of setting up their logistics in the State.”

“Adani’s Logistics Park will come up close to their aerospace project,” Jayesh Ranjan informed.

Telangana Today | Jan 31, 2019

Many industries expanding in Telangana

Continuing to bet big on Telangana, several companies have committed to increase their investments in the State.

Key among them include Adani Group deciding to foray into logistics; Welspun, which has technical textile manufacturing unit in the State, is also starting a logistics park in about 100 acre, said a senior Government official.

The Logistic Park by the Adani Group will come closer to the unmanned aircraft unit it has announced recently near Shamshabad. “They are starting with 25 acre,” said Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan.

Welspun

The other player is Welspun that has diversified into logistics. It has already set up a technical textile unit in the State. They have also evinced interest in making steel pipes. They have added logistics domain later seeing its potential in the State. We have allotted about 100 acre to them. The official did not quantify the investments that Welspun will make in the logistics segment.

“Both Adani and Welspun have already signed agreements with Telangana for investments in logistics,” Ranjan said at the FICCI national executive committee meeting on Wednesday in Hyderabad.

Amazon

These apart, e-commerce major Amazon will shortly move into its new campus that is coming up near Waverock building in Nanakramguda. The structure, spanning 3 million sqft, will be ready in about two months. The work has been going on for two years now and it is now nearing completion. This is among the big office clusters for it in Asia, he said.

Amazon has already set up its Asia’s largest fulfillment centres near Hyderabad. Players like Flipkart and BigBasket have also set up their warehouses to stay competitive in a segment where shorter delivery schedules are key to customer retention, he said.

Somany Group

In addition, Somany Group, which already has four manufacturing units in the State, has now decided to set up one unit to make glass heaters. This will be together with French partner. The Group in the last four years has invested about Rs 1,500 crore in various manufacturing plants, the official said.

Sandip Somany, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of HSIL and industry body FICCI President, who shared the dais with Ranjan, chose not to comment on the company developments.

IBM

In the Information and Technology segment, big name IBM said its total manpower increased to 12,000 from the 2,000 four years ago. Vivek Katoch, IBM’s representative, present at the meeting, disclosed this while acknowledging the policy support from Telangana State to the industries here.

Dry port planned in the State will also aid logistics sector. “We will decide who will be the anchor industry at the park. There is good response from many players, both global as well as domestic,” the official said.

These are in addition to players like the TVS and Alcargo and others, who are operating in Telangana.

OYO

Growth of OYO Rooms in Hyderabad has been phenomenal. Their first tech office was inaugurated by IT Minister KT Rama Rao one and half years ago. They have expanded at least three fold and they have taken a decision that all new business from be done from Hyderabad.

“We are moving the IT and tech businesses to Hyderabad. Our focus will be on weddings, holiday packages and B2B businesses. They will all be handled from Hyderabad Tech Centre,” said representatives of OYO.

Hyderabad Tech Centre is the only that OYO has outside of Gurgaon. “We are looking to double the workforce strength. This is the fastest growing market. We are not shifting the entire operations, only the IT and Tech operations,” they said.

Investments

Telangana in the last four-and-half years has attracted investments worth $21 billion (about Rs 1.47 lakh crore). The conversion rate – which means they are actually in implementation stage- is 60 per cent but that number will rise with time, Ranjan said.

The Economic Times | Jan 30, 2019

Adani, Welspun to set up Logistics Parks separately in Hyderabad

The Adani Group and textile major Welspun Group are in the process of setting up two separate Logistics Parks here, a senior government official said here Wednesday.

Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary, Telangana IT and Industries, said these parks, to be set up separately by the firms, have attracted the attention of some major global and domestic logistics players.

He said the government's 'investment friendly' industrial policy TS iPass, coupled with the fact that the state is geographically located at an ideal place in the country, among others, made it ideal for logistics management for firms.

The official, speaking on the sidelines of FICCI's National Executive meeting here, said Telangana has so far received investment proposals worth USD 21 billion in the last four and half years with a 60 per cent conversion rate.

Ranjan also said hospitality firm OYO planned to expand some of its B2B activities like wedding and holiday packages at its technology centre here.

The Hindu Business Line | Jan 30, 2019

Telangana receives investments of over $21 bn in 4 years

Telangana State has attracted more than $21 billion in investments over the past four-and-a-half years since its formation in 2014. A significant part of the investment, 90-95 per cent, is likely to be put to use on the ground over the next few years.

Stating this at a FICCI National Council meeting, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries, Telangana, said “a number of new companies and many companies that already operate out of Hyderabad and the state, are seeking to expand.”

The investment flow has been made possible due to the state government’s progressive policies and the innovative TS iPass system, which ensures deemed clearance for various industrial applications within 15 days of making an application.

Ranjan said the policy provides for punitive measures against officials found responsible for delays in extending clearances to industrial applications. “Though I have not been punished as yet for a delay, at least seven officers have been punished for delays, by way of salary cuts of 2-4 days.”

“Having become the No.1 state in Ease of Doing Business within a few years of its formation, we continue to pursue the goals set by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, with the single focus of transforming the state into Bangaru Telangana (Golden Telangana),” he said.

Talking about clearances for industrial units, Ranjan said industries do not have to secure any clearances for commencement of construction works and all clearances would be provided within 15 days of making the application. In case it has not been provided, it would be deemed to have been cleared, he said.

IBM, Welspun, HSIL, Adani, Amazon

Referring to a mega facility of Amazon, which is seeking to build 3 million sq.ft., the official said “the project designs were extremely complicated, and yet we managed to clear them within 11 days.”

Referring to new and upcoming investments, he said HSIL, which has a significant presence in Telangana, has drawn up plans for another manufacturing unit in the state.

The Welspun Group, which had committed investment of about $150 million in a manufacturing unit, is also considering a logistics facility.

The diversified Adani Group, which has set up a facility for unmanned aerial vehicles, has indicated its interest in setting up a logistics unit close to the aerospace park.

Speaking at the event, a senior IBM official said from one facility with about 2,000 employees, it has grown to over 12,000 employees and several facilities in Hyderabad, and the growth momentum would continue. “IBM employees are engaged in cutting-edge research for global operations,” he said.

Responding to IBM’s observations, Ranjan said, “under the state’s skill development initiative, IBM courses were most popular and we expect IBM to add its Watson to the portfolio.”

Deccan Chronicle | Nov 27, 2018

Internet to become fundamental right of people in Andhra Pradesh

Internet will soon become a fundamental right of people in Andhra Pradesh with every household provided with Internet, WiFi, and television facility through fibre grid for just Rs 149 per month, IT and panchayat raj minister Nara Lokesh said here on Monday.

The minister, who attended FICCI women entrepreneurs’ meet here, noted that the state government was resolving issues through real time governance. He gave an example of Titli cyclone in this context and said that all the relief and restoration activity as well as payment of compensation was completed in 25 days.

On the overall development of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Lokesh said that Visakhapatnam was becoming an IT hub with the establishment of Fintech Valley while Rayalaseema districts would turn into a manufacturing hub with automobile majors like Kia Motors already set up their unit in Anantapur, the minister pointed out.

“Anantapur will have the world’s biggest automobile manufacturing facility and the first car of Kia will roll out in just 15 months,” Mr Lokesh declared.

Also, electric vehicles would be used on large scale while the biggest solar power project had already come up in Kurnool, he revealed.

“Thanks to technology, growth in agriculture could be achieved despite deficit rainfall. Though there was a 28.5 per cent deficit in rainfall in 2016, the state achieved 14 per cent growth and 25.6 per cent growth last year in spite of a 13.6 per cent deficit rainfall,” he recalled.

Mr Lokesh noted that women entrepreneurs had been playing a key role in the development of state and the government has come out with policies to encourage industrialists among them.

The New Indian Express | Nov 26, 2018

Three-day Amaravati Air Show concludes

The second edition of the three-day air show held at Berm Park, in which The Global Stars team enthralled the audience with their aerobatic skills, concluded on Sunday. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu felicitated the engineers of the team, France Neil Jeffery and Jones Christopher Peter.

“Amaravati is being developed as an international tourism hub. The State, which is doing well in happiness index, ease of doing business and GSDP, has a vast potential for tourism development,” said Naidu during the valedictory programme of the show.

Amaravati has become the most suitable place for organising such international events, he added. “The Amaravati Air Show was a feast to the eyes of lakhs of people. We organised the Social Media Awards Function and the F1H2O event, and Amaravati won an award in the latter. Efforts are being made to get international recognition for Andhra Pradesh,” he said. The hotel industry and the service sector will also be developed along with the tourism sector and the youth will get more employment opportunities, he added.

The chief minister also presented trophy and cash prizes to the winner and runners up of the country boat rowing competition, held on the second day of the event. Kuchipudi dancers welcomed the chief minister and other officials to the park, flooded with people, with their beautiful performance. “We had so much fun today. I thank the CM for organising the show,” said Lakshmirani, a resident of Labbipet.

The Chief Minister felicitated top dignitaries of Government of Andhra Pradesh, including Traffic Commissioner, Commissioner of Police, top officials of Tourism department and FICCI officials, at the event. Ministers Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Kollu Ravindra, MP Kesineni Srinivas, ZP Chairperson Gadde Anuradha, Mayor Koneru Sridhar, Secretary (I&PR) B Ramanjaneyulu, Tourism Secretary Mukesh Kumar Meena, CEO Himanshu Shukla, Collector B Lakshmikantham, City Police Commissioner Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, Municipal Commissioner J Nivas, Joint Collector II P Babu Rao and others were present at the show.

The Hindu | Nov 26, 2018

Amaravati will be made aworld tourism hub: Naidu

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday said Amaravati had vast potential for tourism development and it would be groomed as an international tourism hub.

Vast potential

Addressing a meeting that marked the valediction of a three-day air show at Punnami Ghat on the banks of the Krishna here, Mr. Naidu said Andhra Pradesh was in the forefront in tourism development, happiness index, ease of doing business and GSDP. He said the capital city of Amaravati would be one of the best places to live in.

Regardless of the help from the Centre, the State would go ahead with the development projects and continue to do well as it had been doing so far.

Pointing to the fact that the Tourism Department had organised three big events in quick succession – Social Media Summit on November 9 and 10, Amaravati F1H2O Grand Prix from November 16 to 18 and the air show from November 23 to 25, he said people of the region had the opportunity to enjoy these events with family and friends. He said the State had vast potential to develop tourist projects that would in turn not only bring investments but also generate employment opportunities for local youth. Growth of the hotel industry and other segments was directly linked to the tourism development, he added. Mr. Naidu said the aerial feats performed by the pilots were so awe-inspiring that he could not stop himself from wishing to be a pilot.

Happening destination

He said the series of big-ticket events hosted in Amaravati was a proof of its evolution as the new capital emerging as a happening destination.

Organised by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority (APTA), in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the air show witnessed a five-member team of Global Stars from the UK perform aerial feats. The pilots, Mark Jefferies, Tom Cassells, Chris Burkett, Steve Carver and Michael Pickin, each of them with 30-40 years of flying experience, had flown more than 100 types of aircraft and won aerobatic championships.

The uniqueness of the Amaravati air show was that it happened on the banks of the Krishna against the general practice of most such shows happening at airports.

Ministers D. Umamaheswara Rao and K. Ravindra, MP Kesineni Srinivas, ZP chairperson G.Anuradha, Mayor Koneru Sridhar, Secretary (I & PR) B. Ramanjaneyulu, Tourism Secretary M.K. Meena, APTA CEO Himanshu Shukla, Collector B. Lakshmikantham, Police Commissioner Ch. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, Municipal Commissioner J. Nivas, and Joint Collector II P. Babu Rao were present.

The Hindu | Nov 21, 2018

From water, action now shifts to the sky

After the high-intensity boat racing on the Krishna upstream of the Prakasam Barrage, the city is going to experience yet another spectacle. This weekend, the city is all set to witness the ‘Amaravati Air Show 2018’ on the banks of Krishna at Punnami Berm Park from Friday to Sunday.

However, this is not the first time the city is going to witness the daredevil stunts by Global Stars Aerobatic Team comprising British champions Mark Jefferies, Tom Cassells, Chris Burkett, Steve Carver and Michael Picking. The same team mesmerised the city in January 2017.

District Collector B. Lakshmikantham, at a press conference here, said the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority in coordination with the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) was organising the event for the second time in the city.

He said all the arrangements had been made for the air show. “The show will be inaugurated by Tourism Minister B. Akhila Priya on Friday and on the last day, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will witness the show,” Mr. Lakshmikantham said.

According to him, the aerobatic display would be between 11 a.m. and 11.15a.m. and 4 p.m. and 4.15 p.m. every day and the aircraft will be stationed at the city airport in Gannavaram.

The team is going to put in four advanced single-seater aerobatic aircraft some which can roll 420 degrees in just a second.

The team will perform aerobatics and synchronised smoke acts for 15 minutes in every display flying at high altitude over the Krishna.

Citizens can also witness the aerobatics display on Wednesday and Thursday as the team practices for 15 minutes in the morning and evening. The Tourism Department is spending over ₹3 crore for the event. The government sanctioned ₹2.85 crore in May and ₹ 80 lakh in October for the event.

Andhra Pradesh State Office

FICCI's Engagement

Timeline

Feb, 2023

Roadshow on Auction of Minor Mineral bearing areas in Andhra Pradesh postponed

Oct, 2020

Webinar on Mind Vs Machine

Sep, 2020

Online Session with Shri Mekapati Goutham Reddy, Hon'ble Minister for Industries, Commerce, and Information Technology, Government of Andhra Pradesh

Aug, 2020

Webinar on New Education Policy (NEP-2020) - A Game Changer For India: A Special Session With Dr. Jagdish Sheth (Padma Bhushan 2020)

Webinar on Government e Marketplace (GeM) Opportunities for MSME's

Jul, 2020

Webinar on Post COVID-19 Challenges and Opportunities in the Pharma & Healthcare

Jun, 2020

Special Online Session with Shri. Karikal Valaven, IAS, Special Chief Secretary, Department of Industries & Commerce, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh

May, 2020

FICCI webinar on Approaches and Strategies to support vegetable farming post COVID-19

Apr, 2020

Webinar on EXIM Trade during the Lockdown of pandemic COVID-19

Mar, 2020

Wings India 2020

Feb, 2020

Seminar on Sweeteners: Innovative Ingredients for a better health

Jun, 2019

FICCI Stakeholder consultation to understand their issues & challenges of Industry Members

Feb, 2019

Global R&D Summit 2019: International Collaboration in Research and Development for Sustainable Growth

Farmer Producer Organisations for Doubling Farmers' Income

Oct, 2018

FICCI PwC LEVELNXT Roadshow in Chennai

FICCI PwC LevelNXT Roadshow in Hyderabad

FICCI PwC LEVELNXT Roadshow in Mumbai

Jun, 2018

XLr8AP Phase 2 Agreement Signing Ceremony between FICCI and Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society, Govt of Andhra Pradesh

Mar, 2018

SERB FICCI Initiative to Promote Industry Relevant R&D with Academia

Oct, 2017

FICCI SEDF & MUFG School Sanitation Project

Apr, 2017

Interactive Meeting on National Pension System (NPS)

Jan, 2017

XLr8 Andhra Pradesh First Cohort Felicitation

Aviation Summit

Dec, 2016

DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Programme 2016: Tirupati Technology Expo

Nov, 2016

Interactive meeting on National Pension System (NPS)

Sep, 2016

Destination Andhra Pradesh - Opportunities in Defence Manufacturing

Mar, 2016

FICCI Delegation Calls-on Sri Chandrababu Naidu, Honorable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

Jan, 2016

Media and Entertainment Business Conclave

Oct, 2015

FICCI KPMG Report launch : Direct Selling; Andhra Pradesh & Telangana - Global Industry Empowering Millions in India

Jun, 2015

Conference Series: Smart Solutions 4 Smart Societies

Jul, 2014

2nd Annual Financial Sector Conclave - Hyderabad (FINSEC 2014)

Copyright & Trademark Enforcement Sensitization Program

Jun, 2014

FICCI Industry Members meeting with Shri. K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Chief Minister of Telangana

Mar, 2014

India Aviation Exhibition and Conference

Feb, 2014

Visit of the Santa Fe, Argentina Delegation to FICCI Hyderabad

Chair

Mr. M Prabhakar Rao

Direct Selling: Andhra Pradesh and Telengana. Global industry, empowering millions in India

FICCI-ICRISAT Report on "Promoting Entrepreneurship in Food Processing Sector for Inclusive Market Oriented Development (IMOD) - Strategies & Support Mechanisms"

FICCI-KPMG Report: Enhancing competitiveness of Indian food chain

FICCI to support state in enhancing energy efficiency in Andhra Pradesh

FICCI to aid Andhra Pradesh in energy conservation

FICCI to help AP build energy efficiency mechanism

FICCI to assist A.P. obtain vitality effectivity targets

FICCI to help A.P. achieve energy efficiency targets

Odisha's tourism festival starts on December 15

Andhra Pradesh will Soon Come Alive on your Screen

Mega Tourism projects to get special status in Andhra's new tourism policy