Telangana tops in investment growth And in attracting investments : Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

Telangana tops in investment growth

And in attracting investments

Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

Telangana surpasses all-India growth in attracting investments, says ASSOCHAM-The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. A press release of the organization on 14^th September says that Telangana beats southern peers and surpasses all-India growth in attracting investments and the state’s economy also outperformed national economic growth.

The 29th youngest state in the country Telangana, has beaten its southern counterparts by achieving the highest growth rate of 79 per cent in terms of attracting investments from both domestic and foreign sources across different sectors and surpassed all India growth during financial year 2012 and Financial Year 2017, according to an analysis-cum-study conducted by the Apex industry body ASSOCHAM.

Releasing the findings of a study – “Telangana: Economic Growth and Investment Performance” Mr. DS Rawat, ASSOCHAM National Secretary along with his colleague Mr. Babulal Jain at a press meet held in Hyderabad on 14^th September said Telangana has also surpassed the National average growth rate of about 27 per cent in terms of attracting live investments during the five-year period under analysis. He said Telangana has attracted total outstanding investments worth Rs 5.9 lakh crore as of Financial Year 2017, which rose from Rs 3.3 lakh crore worth of investments attracted by the region as of FY 2012. Telangana accounted for 3.3 per cent share in total investments worth Rs 177 lakh crore attracted by the top industrial States across India as of financial year 2017, highlighted the study by the ASSOCHAM Economic Research Bureau.

Reiterating that Telangana is making good progress after coming into being in 2014, the ASSOCHAM study said the investment growth rate in the newest State during the past three years (2015-17) has been 68.5 per cent compared to the national average of 20.8 per cent.

In terms of year-on-year growth in investment, Telangana (as part of Andhra Pradesh) had seen a 0.6 per cent growth in financial year 2013 and 5.6 per cent in 2014. The growth in investment was 24 per cent in financial year 2015 (after the State is bifurcated), over 22 per cent in 2016 and about 12 per cent in 2017.

The study observed that over a fourth of the total investments attracted by Telangana are in the irrigation sector (28 per cent) as of March 2017. It is followed by non-financial services (25 per cent), electricity (18.5 per cent) and manufacturing (11 per cent). About 370 projects with investments worth about Rs four lakh crore of the total investments attracted by the State are under different stages of implementation, said the study which analyzed multiple growth parameters.

The under-implementation rate of projects was 78 per cent in 2015-16 and has reduced to 66 per cent in 2016-17. Nationally, it remained constant at 54 per cent for the past two years.

The manufacturing sector growth is declining in India despite efforts taking by the Government of India due to automation and this sector contributes about 55 per cent in the total industrial sector Gross Value Added (GVA) in Telangana, revealed ASSOCHAM’s National Secretary General D S Rawat.

The study said the State’s economy accounted for over four per cent of share gross value added (GVA) across India as of March 2017. It said Telangana has outperformed the national average in terms of economic growth. The State recorded 8.5 per cent growth in 2016-17 when compared to the national average of 6.6 per cent during the same period. Agriculture recorded about 15 per cent year-on-year growth in 2016-17 after registering a over six per cent in 2015-16. It had shown a negative growth of ten per cent in 2014-15 due to deficit rainfall.

In services, the State recorded a ten per cent growth in 2016-17 compared to 8.4 per cent (in the region as part of AP) in 2012-13. The State’s industrial growth was 10 per cent in 2015-16 and 4.1 per cent in 2016-17 even as it registered a negative growth of 7.5 cent in 2014-15.

“The State is doing well in terms of growth. However, sustaining the growth will be a challenge and that should be the focus,” said Rawat.

Fast tracking irrigation projects, improving productivity and yield in agriculture through public-private partnerships and developing industrial sector will be key. The State should design policies to lure investments in biotechnology, solar energy, tourism to generate more employment opportunities for the youth, he suggested.

The state has beaten its southern peers by achieving the highest growth rate of 79 per cent in terms of attracting investments followed by AP (50.8 per cent), Kerala (18.9 per cent), Tamil Nadu (11.2 per cent) and Karnataka 0.2 per cent. This is as against an all-India average of 26.6 per cent growth, the report said.

Fast tracking irrigation projects, improving productivity and yield in agriculture through public-private partnerships and developing industrial sector will be key. The State should design policies to lure investments in biotechnology, solar energy, tourism to generate more employment opportunities for the youth, report suggested.