Distinguished dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a matter of great honour for me to stand before you as the first Chief Minister of Telangana the newest State of India. I am indeed very thankful to the organizers of IIM-PACT for inviting me here and giving me an opportunity to speak about the opportunities in my State that are available to investors.
I arrived in Singapore two days ago, and in the last two days I have visited many significant projects in the country and have participated in many important meetings.
The growth story of Singapore is truly remarkable. I am aware that till about 60 years ago Singapore was like any other developing third world country. But the progress it has achieved through strong leadership, visionary policies and collective participation of the people is very inspiring.
After witnessing the best of Singapore, I have no doubt in my mind that the new State of Telangana can also be developed on similar lines. Telangana is the result of decade’s long struggle of people protesting against discrimination and injustice. The new State of Telangana has a lot of catching up to do to fulfill the ambitions of its people. The same zeal and tenacity with which the State was achieved will be channeled into the development of the State.
I am aware that industrialization holds the key for fostering economic growth, creating employment and ushering in prosperity to the people. Industrialization holds the potential for fulfilling the dreams and aspirations of the people of Telangana. My Government has accordingly decided to bring in a new Industrial Policy which will inspire both international and domestic industry groups, investors and entrepreneurs to choose Telangana as their destination of first choice.
The cornerstone of our industrial policy is zero-corruption and zero tolerance to corruption. I personally promise a graft-free and hassle-free industrial regime which will be rated as amongst the best in the world. I am sure this will resonate with all of you here.
With the new Land Acquisition Act in India, acquiring private lands in India has become very difficult now and this is a disadvantage that will be encountered by most other States in India. Large scale industrialization in my opinion is now possible only in those States where Government has clear title lands in its possession for industrial purposes. We in Telangana are truly lucky that we have ample lands throughout the State for industry. Telangana State was previously ruled by the AsafJahi Dynasty–the world famous Nizams of Hyderabad and their able Prime Ministers—the Salar Jungs. The Nizam endowed the State with large extents of land. The State of Telangana is an indirect beneficiary of that endowment. We have identified over three hundred thousand acres of Government land where we are going to develop high quality infrastructure and convert them into modern Industrial Parks. Telangana is a compact state, connected radially by excellent 4-6 lane highways and most of the industrial parks that we will develop will all be within 100 KMs around Hyderabad City. Like Singapore leveraged its advantageous sea port location, Telangana will leverage its land bank for industrial growth. The lands not fit for industry will be used to generate solar power. Every inch of land will be put to productive use.The goal of the State will be to create a plug and play facility for industry.
Most Indian States have a number tedious procedures and processes that an industrialist has to go through before setting up a unit. I am personally aware of the hardships industrialists and investors face in running around various Government offices for simple clearances. I want to change this system completely in the State of Telangana. I can assure you that all industries will now be given the required permissions and clearances through a very effective Automatic Approval System, which will be a step ahead of the traditional single window system. I will personally monitor this approval process through a Chasing Cell in my office. A complete set of applications can be downloaded from our website. When your final investment decision is confirmed, the investors will be received at the airport by the Government Protocol Officer and brought straight to my office. I will personally interact with the industrialist and collect his completed applications and the detailed project report. The Chasing Cell in my office will ensure that within a week all the application papers are scrutinized and final approval accorded. We will also encourage a self-certification system, and all permissions and approvals would be accorded based on the self-certification given. Once the final approval is ready, the investor will be invited back and the set of clearances will be given to him personally by me. No other State in India today follows such an efficient, fast track and transparent system. I am confident that this model of Automatic Approvals will be showcased as an example of a best practice for the ease of doing business in future.
I must mention here that both the industrial land zoning policy and the Automatic Approval Process will be enacted in the legislature so that they have strong legal backing.
My Government is conscious that industries also depend upon the Government for provision of infrastructure facilities particularly water and power. Government has taken a decision recently that all existing and future irrigation projects in the State should earmark 10% of the water exclusively for industrial purposes. Our calculations show that this should be sufficient to provide assured water supply to all the existing and new Industrial Parks. Power is another critical requirement. In the next three years, the new State of Telangana will become self-sufficient in power generation. In the meantime, we have taken steps to ensure that power required by industry is met through the facility of open access power purchase from the power exchange. Non-conventional energy, particularly solar power, will also be an important component in our power supply arrangements. In fact, some of the lands that we are earmarking for industries can also be utilized for setting up solar power generation units. Entrepreneurs present in the room can also see this as a promising business opportunity in the State of Telangana.
To attract industrial investment in the State, all the States in India give various kinds of incentives, mostly in the form of tax rebates and power tariff concessions. I have studied the incentives that are offered by our neighbouring States. Government will come up with a package of incentives that will be much better than what is on offer now by other States in India. We have identified a number of core sectors in which industrial investments will be treated on priority. These include biotechnology and life sciences, IT hardware including bio medical devices, aerospace and defence sector, automobiles, chemicals and plastics, textiles, green technology, mineral based industries and transportation and logistics hubs. We welcome any investment proposal received from these sectors. We are in the process of developing sector specific Industrial Parks for all these sectors at appropriate locations having all the required infrastructure facilities. I am confident that with developed Industrial Parks, a good package of incentives and the best single window system that exists anywhere in India, Telangana will become the most preferred investment destination.
Despite being a new State, there are some significant advantages that the State of Telangana has. Our capital city Hyderabad is now rated on par with the top Metropolises in the country, and in certain respects, even with the best international cities. Hyderabad is the home to a thriving IT, biotechnology and pharma industry. We are home to Genome Valley, the first of its kind and only biotechnology park in India. Some of the top names among the Fortune 500 Pharma and Vaccine Companies are located here. Close to 20% of global vaccine production takes places in Hyderabad. One third of India’s pharma production is in Hyderabad. The aero-space park in Hyderabad will be the only facility in India to begin manufacturing complete aircrafts for Dornier. Hyderabad is also the home to a large number of R&D and other knowledge based institutions. Telangana has a very strong agriculture and agro related activity base. More than one third of India’s poultry industry is located in our State. Telangana is also the largest producer of long staple cotton in India. Telangana is a leader in the production of maize, rice and turmeric. My state is the seed capital of India. Seeds produced in Telangana are exported to African and Asian countries. Telangana has a wide variety of soils suitable for many staple and commercial crops. Because of this unique situation, the International Crop Research Station forthe Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is located just outside Hyderabad. The State of Telangana is ideally suited for exotic fruits and vegetables and other greenhouse agro-products. The forests in Singapore are mostly man-made. Telangana has 26% natural forest coverage and the Government has put in place a serious plan to increase this coverage to 33%. To raise the saplings required, 4000 nurseries are being developed.
Hyderabad has a history of more than 400 years. It has a rich cultural heritage with monuments like the Golconda Fort, the Charminar, the 1000 Pillar Ramappa Temple and traditional handicrafts like Warangal brassware, Nirmal paintings, etched Bidriware and AdilabadDokra figurines. It offers many historical and recreational tourism opportunities. Hyderabad is centrally located in the country and enjoys a wonderful climate all around the year. The rainfall is between 900 to 1000 mm annually. It is in a very stable seismologic zone and this is the reason that a large number of defence research organizations and the nuclear fuel complex are located in and around Hyderabad.The data disaster recovery and management facilities of a number of IT companies are located in Hyderabad. It has a consistently award winning international standard airport to the south of Hyderabad, with another proposed to the north. Hyderabad is also a health hub and medical tourism center for the country with patients coming from Africa, Middle East and even USA for treatment in Hyderabad hospitals. Hyderabad is also a popular destination for international conferences, having hosted the World Bio-Diversity Conference, the Conference of People (COP 11) in October 2013. The World Metropolis Conference of Cities will be held in Hyderabad in October.
Telangana has 24 universities in the state, covering almost every district. These include traditional, technical, agriculture, veterinary and linguistic. Our state is the only state in the country to have a Forest Sciences University, which will start its academic sessions soon. For the technical students our goal is to make sure that every technical student, graduate, diploma or certificate, undergoes practical training with industry before he is allowed to graduate. I strongly believe that this industry-institution partnership to impart practical and employable skills to technical students will be a win-win situation. The Government will support and partner with industry and other training professionals to make technical education more skill oriented.
It is expected that the population of Hyderabad will grow from the present 12 million to 20 million in the next 5 years. An international standard master plan is being prepared to meet the challenges of this growth. This urban growth offers huge opportunities for infrastructure companies as well as those interested in smart city concepts. Other cities like Warangal and Karimnagar will also be developed.
Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana State, has emerged as the premier destination for IT Companies. Hyderabad is the second largest exporter of IT products in India with about Rs. 67000 crores of exports. The Government of India scheme of Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) is coming up in Hyderabad. Over a period of time, Government of India is expected to invest Rs. 10,000 crores in the ITIR. We are proud of what we have achieved and where we are right now. However, we cannot simply rest on our past laurels. While writing code, BPO and call centres are important revenue generators in themselves for the IT Industry, product development and innovation are more important. The future I see for the IT Industry in Hyderabad is one which focuses on the creation of IT products, services and interactive experiences that define new opportunities in the global markets. Our IT professionals should have the skills and knowledge to become accomplished practitioners and leaders of the product development process and emerge as elite innovators. This can only be achieved with the participation of the Industry and Professional Educational Institutions in Government effort and I solicit your cooperation.
My vision for Hyderabad is not simply that of a digital city where the focus is mainly on Information Technology and Communications. My vision is that of a smart city, where the Government will make investments in human and social capital, investments in traditional urban infrastructure like transport, water supply and roads, and modern infrastructure like information technology systems and communication networks, entertainment and leisure. These investments will fuel sustainable economic development and provide a high quality of life for the people of Hyderabad from all socio-economic backgrounds. Hyderabad will become the most livable city in India.Hyderabad and other urban centres of Telangana will be the drivers of economic growth while information technology will be the tool which will transform governance in my State into a people-friendly, corruption free interaction. I firmly believe that a wise leader will create an environment where every citizen has an equal opportunity to progress according to their merit.There will not be any discrimination based on caste, gender or religion.
My goal is to create a brand for Hyderabad and Telangana—a Brand Hyderabad and Brand Telangana that will be recognized, appreciated and applauded all over the world—be it in urban infrastructure, Information Technology, Industry or the quality of life of the ordinary man.
The safety of the people of Hyderabad and Telangana are very important for me. Law and order and the security in the State, especially Hyderabad has been my focus from the time I became the Chief Minister. The Government has recently approved an additional budget of Rs. 350 crores ($60 million) to strengthen security. The environs of the city of Hyderabad will be monitored by 100,000 CCTVs, 10,000 of which are already in place. The policing will be of world class standard with an ultra-modern police control room.
Many of you sitting in this room are entrepreneurs. I am sure that when you passed out from the IIMs, most of you joined a Company and worked there for some years. But after some time you felt like starting your own enterprise and left your parent company. Today you do not want to rest till your own enterprise becomes even bigger and better than the parent Company where you originally worked for. The story of the new State of Telangana is going to be the same. We will not rest until our trajectory of growth surpasses even the best known States in India—we will be bigger and better than the rest. This is the vision for the new State of Telangana. I want all of you to become stakeholders in giving shape to this vision through your partnership with the Government of Telangana.
I am deeply overwhelmed by your warm wishes and hospitality. Our relationship cannot end here after this session. This has to be just a beginning of a long and fruitful relationship and partnership. I invite all of you to visit Telangana and continue this conversation and convert ideas into concrete actions. My officials, Sri K. Pradeep Chandra, Special Chief Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department; Sri JayeshRanjan, VC and MD of the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation; and Sri Harpreet Singh, Secretary Information Technology are here with me and they will answer any questions that you may have.