AP has turned into symbol of Ease of Doing Business, says Jagan

Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday said Andhra Pradesh has turned into a symbol of ease of doing business by ensuring approvals at rapid speed.

He was addressing a meeting after laying the foundation stone for Assago Industries, a fast-growing biofuel producing company's greenfield plant being established with an investment of Rs.270 crore at APIIC Industrial Park, Gummalladoddi in East Godavari.

The plant will have grain-based zero liquid discharge with a capacity of 200 KLPD. It will provide jobs to 400 indirectly and 100 directly. Rice, peanuts, corn, sugarcane, and sorghum are the main crops grown in Andhra Pradesh and of all these crops, rice residues take the top slot for bioethanol production.

In 2021, the Centre had allocated about three lakh tonnes of rice procured by the Food Corporation of India for ethanol production. It has been estimated that a national target of 20% ethanol-blended fuel will help reduce dependence on crude oil imports by 2025. Currently, ethanol blending in fuel stands at 8.04% in 2020-21.

Incorporated in August 2021 in Delhi, Assago Industries (P) Ltd. is focused on biofuel and its related services and byproducts.

The Chief Minister said after meeting the project proponents at the meeting of World Economic Forum at Davos about six months ago, it took six months to get land and all the approvals so as to lay the foundation stone in a record time. He thanked Assago Industries MD Ashish Gurnani and his father, Tech Mahindra MD C.P. Gurnani, for their interest to invest in Andhra Pradesh and promised them that he was just a call away to sort out any issue in future.

The Chief Minister told them that the State Government is attracting investments due to its proactive initiatives and made certain legislations to provide 75% jobs to locals. He said Assago's greenfield not only ensures zero pollution but also will produce a protein rich cattle feed.

IT and Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath mentioned how the industrialisation process is being accelerated under the leadership of the Chief Minister and criticised the Opposition parties for trying to put spokes in the efforts of the government to bring investments. In an oblique reference to TDP senior leader Yanamala Ramakrishnudu's recent criticism of the industrial policy, he said they have no courage to accept facts on development being achieved in the State. He cited how Ramakrishnudu wrote a letter to the Government of India against sanction of a bulk drug park in East Godavari district with an investment of Rs.1,000 crore on infrastructure development.