AP emerging as hub of development: CS

To tide over the existing power crisis, State Chief Secretary PK Mohanty on Friday said that the government has decided to achieve an additional capacity of 4000 MW by 2014-15. A Delivering a key note address at the inaugural session of National Economics Conference organised by the Young Economist School (YES) of the University of Hyderabad, he said that fuel shortage was the major constraint for rapid economic development and employment generation. The government is firm on the promotion of green power, particularly solar, to avoid recurrence of the existing fuel crisis and to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

Despite the widening gap between demand and supply, the per capita consumption of power in the State was 1019 units, which has crossed the national average per capita consumption of 879.2 units, even in this critical juncture in the power sector, he explained.

Mohanty, who was also the chairperson of State Energy Conservation Mission (SECM), suggested the young economists to focus on energy efficiency which was the need of the hour to ensure economic development in all sectors. Claiming that the State has become a 'hub of development', he observed that the State was the pioneer for a number of welfare and developmental programmes that were now being replicated across the country.

The official asked young economists to come forward in helping the State to effectively streamline the delivery mechanisms, so that the schemes were implemented more effectively. The economists would play a pivotal role in nation building and shaping the modern society, he felt. The Chief Secretary invited suggestions and feedback, from young economists, on the status of programmes, delivery mechanisms and the modalities to make them even more effective.

The official appealed to the stakeholders of the society to strengthen the hands of the government in making all the schemes fruitful and reach the beneficiaries. The success of the State could be gauged by the fact that the State stood way ahead of the other states in the successful functioning of self-help groups, where 50 per cent of groups in the country were existing here and also the State stood first in receiving a major chunk of around Rs 12,000 crore from the Centre under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for urban development, he remarked.

He said that for the development of the State, the government has been focusing on education, health and infrastructure development, particularly in power and irrigation, according to the release of CEO, SECM. University of Hyderabad Chancellor Ch Hanumantha Rao delivered a stimulating lecture on the evolution of planning in socialist economies and the planning model adopted in India. He further said that inclusive growth is the economic mantra these days and polarising economic beliefs will not help the economy.

University Vice Chancellor Prof. Ramakrishnan Ramaswamy congratulated the YES team for organising the conference� the first for the School of Economics. He emphasised on conserving the holistic environment of the university which boasts of great natural beauty. He said that economics, as a discipline, has a huge stake in devising sustainable models.