Visakhapatnam: As soon as the NDA government came to power, land allocations have been made at a fast pace and project works are being started within months, said District Collector MN Harendhira Prasad.

Addressing the Ease of Doing Business regional outreach workshop held at the VMRDA Arena here on Monday, the District Collector mentioned that the main objective of the programme was to bring the reforms implemented by the State government after coming to power in 2024 to the attention of industries.

The programme is aimed at facilitating business and engaging with the industries. Andhra Pradesh has consistently topped the list in terms of ease of doing business, the Collector underlined.

The District Collector stated that from 2024 to 2029, more than 20 policies have been introduced. They include tourism policy, textile policy, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) policy and it shows the commitment of the government. Further, Harendhira Prasad said that in addition to incentives given for early bird users, there will be additional incentives if the projects are developed into a viable project within a specified time frame, that is, within one to one and a half years. “If we look at the single desk portal, many reforms have been made in it, initiatives have been taken to reduce the burden of regulations, and several initiatives have been taken to reduce the burden on those who are currently running a business and those who are starting new ones,” the Collector opined. In the last year, the District Collector informed that about 9 lakh crore investments have been received. These investments are not just on paper, but many projects have been launched, he informed. About the employment generation, he said that about 8 lakh job opportunities will be created.

He expressed confidence that with TCS, Cognizant, ANSR and other IT investments drawn towards Visakhapatnam, not only blue-collar or brown-collar jobs will be created, but thousands of white-collar jobs will also be facilitated.

The District Collector assured that if there are any shortcomings, they will work to resolve them at the earliest. Speaking on the occasion, Additional Director Ramalinga Raju mentioned that the state government was the first in the country to launch the single window system in 2002, and it was transformed into a single desk system in 2015. He informed that so far, 123 licenses and permits were issued under the system related to 23 departments. He said that 435 reforms have been made under the Business Reforms Action Plan by the year 2024-25. Awareness will be created on these during the conference, he added. Visakhapatnam GM (Industries) Adiseshu, Anakapalli GM {Industries) BKP Prasad, Shravan Shipping CompanySambasiva Rao, VASSIWA president Panduranga Prasad, Industry department officials of 8 districts and officials of various departments participated in the programme.