It would be a cake walk for industries in TS

HYDERABAD: Several industry leaders, who have met Telangana CM KCR, have shared with him that delays in obtaining permissions and clearances to set up units constitute the biggest hurdle they face anywhere.

Such delays cause economic loss not only to the company, but the nation. While other chief ministers would have looked at streamlining the system, proposing a single window, setting deadlines and issuing strict instructions, exploring online clearances, KCR is of the view that the very need for permissions and clearances from the government should be removed if there are difficulties, said Jayesh Ranjan, Commissioner, Industries, Commerce & Export Promotion, Government of Telangana.

'There will be self-certification by the companies that they will abide by rules and laws laid down by the government. There is a penalty clause too. Since the penalties are high, companies will not dare to violate the set rules. When the government is trusting companies, they will follow the rules.

If the activity is non-polluting, clearances are not required. If the activity involves pollution, then it would need State Pollution Control Board approval.' Ranjan added, 'The Telangana government has decided to review the Industrial Policy which was earlier created for the composite Andhra Pradesh.

radarLooking at new aspirations from the new State, the government is planning to roll out several new initiatives and features. The government has already reviewed the incentives being offered by other states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat so that the incentives to be offered in our State are competitive.'

Telangana is offering a large land bank for industries. Any piece of land that has been identified as not suitable for agriculture would be offered first to the industry.

'We had been able to accumulate a land bank of 2.5 lakh acres for the industry,' he added. The industrial lands would be used to create individual industrial parks.

Industry wish-list
-Raising productivity of workforce
-Promoting organised sector manufacturing
-Creating Indian multinational companies
-Rejuvenating MSMEs
-Simplifying rules and regulations
-Eliminating inspector Raj
-Making available economic and quality power 24 X 7
-Srengthening industrial local authorities
-Making available required skilled personnel
-Giving special incentives for industrial units employing more than 500 employees
-Offering incentives for garment and handicrafts manufacturing units employing over 500 women
-Creating State level 'Manufacturing Competiveness'
councils for achieving higher manufacturing growth

The Chief Minister is impressed by the Chinese 'plug-and-play' model. Infrastructure (roads, water, drains and other facilities) will be fully created before the land is allotted to the industry so that when the industry is ready to set up units, the required facilities are in place.

In its Industrial Policy, the Telangana government has identified about a dozen sectors on which the State can focus in future, be it availability of minerals or having legacy in certain sectors. Industrial parks will be created for specific sectors. Hyderabad and other districts, where certain sectors can be encouraged, will receive the needed support by the soon-to-be-announced Industrial Policy.

When asked if the government was planning anything specific for pharmaceuticals - an area where Hyderabad has significant strength, Ranjan said, 'Pharmaceuticals has been identified among the 12 priority sectors in the Industrial Policy.

The State government has identified about six locations, of which one would be chosen to develop a new pharmaceuticals city, which could be developed in an area of 3,000 acres or more. If there are any polluting units in Hyderabad, they would be asked to move their units to the proposed Pharma City.'

Recognising the importance of power for industries in general and manufacturing in particular, the government is taking measures to become self-sufficient first and power surplus in future by tapping thermal, solar and other forms of energy.

Industries are also being encouraged to implement energy efficiency measures. In the next three years, the State will see a lot of improvement with regard to availability of power for the industry.

Rajiv Sharma, chief secretary to Government of Telangana, said, 'Incentives will follow after the Industrial Policy is announced for companies implementing energy efficiency.

We are primarily focusing on enabling ease of doing business, incentivising setting up of industries, creating a single-window system for all the clearances under one roof, helping industry with easy availability of land, besides offering supporting on other aspects of infrastructure such as water, communications and other necessary facilities.'

Sharing expectations of the industry, Vanitha Datla, chairperson of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Telangana, said, 'We would expect emphasis on manufacturing in the Industrial Policy that the State will announce soon. We have presented a wish list to attract core manufacturing to the State.

Once the manufacturing activity improves, employment will be generated and several smaller entrepreneurs can also set up shop.' Suresh Chitturi, chairman at CII- Andhra Pradesh, said, 'If there are incentives that AP is going to offer to industry which are more attractive, it would be a challenge to Telangana to attract industries.

The entrepreneurial eco system will also be critical to attract investments. States should enable industry with power supply, ease of doing business, quick permissions, labour laws, stability of policy and the behaviour of local officials would matter a lot if the industry has to be attracted.

The initiatives that the government wants to take should happen immediately as those initiatives would take time for implementation and industry can't lose time. Adjoining districts of Hyderabad need to be tapped by the government.'

When asked how labour laws should be, Chitturi, managing director of Srinivasa Hatcheries, said, 'The current labour laws are designed to protect the people who have jobs, but are not designed to create more jobs. External forces can make it difficult for industry if labour laws are not streamlined. Rajasthan has done a good job in implementing job laws that have helped create more jobs.'

The CII, in its recommendations to political parties' election manifesto for Telangana in March this year, sought key deliverables for the manufacturing sector that included raising productivity of workforce, promoting organised sector manufacturing, creating Indian multinational companies, rejuvenating MSMEs, simplifying rules and regulations, eliminating inspector Raj, making available economic and quality power 24 X 7, strengthening industrial local authorities, making available required skilled personnel, offering special incentives for industrial units employing more than 500 employees and for garment and handicrafts manufacturing units employing more than 500 women besides creating State level 'Manufacturing Competiveness' councils on the lines of National Manufacturing Council for achieving higher manufacturing growth.

The manufacturing sector plays vital role in reviving the economic growth. Presently, the manufacturing sector constitutes 12 per cent of the GSDP, which needs to grow at 17 per cent for creating employment opportunities. It is believed that each one percent increase in manufacturing growth creates 20-30 million additional jobs directly or indirectly.