Piyush Goyal Calls For MSME, Startup Zones In AP Industrial Corridors

New Delhi: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday directed all officials to earmark dedicated zones for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups within the industrial corridors under development in Andhra Pradesh. After reviewing, the minister also suggested assessing the progress of National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC)-led industrial nodes, an official statement said.

The commerce and industry ministry, however, said the review focused on the development of three major nodes in the state - Krishnapatnam Industrial Area under the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC), Orvakal Industrial Area under the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC), and Kopparthy Industrial Area under the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC).

The minister also asked officials to focus on attracting anchor investors and startups by building innovation-friendly ecosystems within each industrial node. Besides, he called for the creation of a centralised dashboard to enable real-time monitoring of project progress and urged the adoption of advanced testing and quality control mechanisms to ensure world-class infrastructure. “The need to establish dedicated incubators to nurture early-stage enterprises and facilitate a robust startup ecosystem,” he said.