Analysis: Two lakh jobs before elections!

Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy wanted at least two lakh more employment opportunities to be created during the next two years. The State Assembly elections are due in May 2009.

The Chief Minister told officials "you must do anything and everything to achieve this target. You must be able to create two lakh job opportunities in the manufacturing sector alone. This is possible the way it is growing in Andhra Pradesh.

There is an industrial buoyancy and investment boom in the State and we must fully make use of it and I am sure this could be easily achieved".

He also asked the finance departm/ent to immediately clear all the incentives and concessions assured to the new industries as stipulated in the industrial and investment policy.

The Chief Minister was reviewing the achievements, targets, mega industries on the pipeline, status of the projects which signed the MoUs, employment created etc. by the industries department with top officials at Secretariat.

While the total projects grounded during 2004-07 is 6092, it was only 5046 during 2001-04, while the total investments for these units during 2004-07 is Rs.10,571 crore, it was only Rs. 4524 crore, the employment created during 2004-07 is 1,28,296 while it was only 94,691 during 2001-04. The Chief Minister appreciated the achievements and said this could be continued in the coming years too.

Major sectors implemented in the last three years are iron & steel, sponge iron, paper, cotton yarn, cement, ceramics, food processing etc. Small scale industries grounded in the last three years are mainly electrical and electronic goods, food, agro, marine produces, cotton textiles, jute produces, paper, pulp and publishing, leather produces, chemicals including bulk drugs, rubber, plastics, petroleum & coal tar products, non-metallic mineral, basic metals & alloy industries, power generation etc.

Large & medium industries implemented during the last 3 years as on May 07 total to Rs.8,999 crores with employment potential of 44,620. Large & medium industries under execution is worth Rs.19,200 crores and employment created 38,118, Mega Projects under initial stages is worth Rs.78,838 crores with an employment potential of 1,72,901, the officials said.

Employment created in manufacturing sector during the last three years was 1,19,887 while it was expected to the around 2 lakhs in the next two years. Employment likely to be created through Special Economic Zones in the next five years including IT/ITES will be around 5,50,000. The investment subsidy given to industry during 2004-07 is around 6,913.96 crores.