VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy on Friday credited Rs 1124 crore towards incentives for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and textile units across the state. This would benefit 97,423 units and over 12 lakh employees.
The chief minister announced that the YSR Congress government would reimburse Rs 450 crore as electricity charges by giving a rebate in the power bills. “Our government provided a total of Rs 2,086 crore to MSMEs, lending a helping hand in the past 27 months," he said, and added that the YSRC government has paid dues of Rs 1,588 crore, pending from the term of the previous TD government, and we did so without showing any bias.”
The CM released Rs 440 crore to MSMEs and Rs 684 crore to textile and spinning mills, with a provision for a rebate on electricity bills.
So far, the state government had spent a total of Rs 2086 crore on the MSME sector, which includes clearing the pending arrears left behind by the previous government, totalling around Rs 1588 crore.
About 62 per cent of the MSMEs run by the BC, SC, ST and Minorities and 42 per cent units that are operated by women have been benefited from the government’s incentives.
Jagan said the government has been embarking on this course to support MSMEs as well as spinning mills, which are providing employment to over 12 lakh people.
Supporting MSMEs is more like saving the state economy amidst the pandemic crisis, when the world economy is at minus 5.2 per cent, where even the global markets have taken a huge hit due to the Covid19. In the last 27 months, the government introduced over 25 welfare schemes without leaving any scope for discrimination and corruption even in difficult times.
Due to this, the purchasing power has been sustained, eventually leading to the sustainment of the MSME and industrial sectors.
While slamming the previous TD government, the chief minister said there had been a huge hype by way of holding big summits and signing pacts, during the TD term. “They promised industrial incentives, but failed to pay on time and dues piled up for years. These were eventually cleared by the YSRC government.”
Jagan stated that the Opposition has been misleading the public by taking things in a negative way and creating hurdles in the path of development by filing cases in courts and stalling various projects.
He said that in the last 27 months, 68 major industries have invested a capital of Rs 30,175 crore and provided direct employment to 46,199 people. In addition, by investing Rs 34,384 crore, another 62 mega industries have come in, which would provide employment to 76,916 people.
The government had already made law to ensure 75 per cent of the jobs in these units to locals. This will benefit the unemployed youths. This apart, the government is starting the YSR Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) in Kopparthi at a cost of Rs 730.50 crore. This is spread over 801 acres and would attract investment from domestic and global companies of the order of Rs 10,000 crore in electronics manufacturing sector.
These would provide employment to 30,000 people in the next two years. Similarly, YSR Jagananna Mega Industrial Hub is also being set up on 3155 acres in Kopparthi, with an aim of attracting investments worth Rs 25,000 crore and creating jobs for over 75,000 people.
The chief minister said the government has focused attention on providing water, power and roads, which are essential for establishing industries.
He said the government would set up a 10,000mw solar project by inviting investment of Rs 30,000 crore that produces power at a low cost of Rs 2.48 per unit. Free and quality electricity would be provided to farmers for another 30 years, he said.
As part of the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor, the government is developing the Krishnapatnam Green Field Industrial Node in an area of 13,000 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 2139 crore.
