Tirupati: The district may be home to several institutions of higher education, but educated youth are increasingly migrating to other places in search of jobs due to lack of opportunities at home. Around 70 per cent of the district's population is dependent on agriculture. In the absence of major industries, the youth are shifting base to Bengaluru and Chennai in search of a better future.
The district headquarters is at Chittoor, but the temple city of Tirupati is home to many well regarded educational institutions, such as Sri Venkateswara University; the first women’s university of the state, Sri Padmavathi Mahila Viswavidyalayam; Rastriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth; SV Vedic University; the government-run Sri Venkateswara Medical College, the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences-run Sri Padmavathi Medical College for Women; and central educational institutions, such as, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and others, besides several government and private engineering colleges located across the district.
All these institutions are producing thousands of graduates and post-graduates each passing year, but with no big companies or industries based in the district, there are no employment opportunities readily available to them. The district’s major industry is Amararaja Batteries, which provides a few thousand jobs to the local youth. The other major industrial hub is Sri City, located in Satyavedu mandal, which is a source of jobs too, but several industries that are establishing units at the SEZ, have their head offices based in Chennai and other cities and its presence has not stopped the youth from looking for opportunities in other states.
According to A. Manjunath, president, Tirupati Chamber of Commerce, the state government is not concentrating on industrial development in the district. Many policies of the government and hike in electricity tariffs have led to several existing industries closing, he said. He appealed to state to come forward to ensure industrial development in the district.
