Hyderabad: With the two new governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana slowly settling down and showing signs of stability, the industrial sector is of the opinion that the “feel good factor” is returning for industries.
The industrial sector is buoyant and is in a mood for expansion. However, it is waiting for the policies that will be rolled out by both the newly-formed states.
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who holds the industries portfolio, has called the industry associations for a meeting on Tuesday. He plans to seek suggestions from industry bodies for chalking out Telangana’s industrial policy.
At the same time, the Andhra Pradesh industries department is holding deliberations with district industry centres to get district-wise inputs that can be incorporated in the new industrial policy.
The issues in the small and medium industries sector, however, continue. This sector is waiting for the industrial policies to bail them out.
“Many industries are now toying with the idea of expansion. Back-end preparations for expansion are on. Many industries have been keen to expand, but they had dropped the idea due to instability,” said V. Anil Reddy, senior vice-president of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Just six months ago, there was negativity in the industrial sector and customers were unwilling to place big orders. The renewed interest of customers is now being noticed.
“We had seen cancellation of orders over the past one and-a-half years. Additionally, businesses had come at standstill in the last few months before the bifurcation of the state. Customers were doubtful about delivery, and were considering moving to another state. Also, many businessmen had cut down on orders as delivery schedules had gone haywire. The scenario seems to have changed now to some extent. Customers are willing to trust us on delivery,” said steel industry representative M. Keshav.
Industry insiders say that the industrial sector will bounce back after a while, but for things to move forward, the new industrial policies need to be announced.
“We expect that by the end of the financial year, there will be some proposals from the industry’s side. Currently, the departments need to be set in order. A few departments have only senior officials, but not the lower-level staff. This has kept things on standby. According to indications, the new industrial policies are expected around October this year. Depending on the policies, we expect large-scale expansions,” added one official.
