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SmartMobility inAmaravati

No single development is taking place in Sunrise Andhra Pradesh with-out consideration of Eco-sensitivity and natural resource optimiza-tion. Interim Secretariat at Velagapudi is no exception inincorporating these measures, and eco-friendly smart mobility in Amaravatiwas one of the measures. In a significant step, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently launchedbicycles which can be unlocked digitally using smart cards, at the Secretariat.He rode on one from the 2nd block to his office in the 1st block setting thetone for expansion of the environment-friendly initiative.A total of 24 of these stylish bicycles imported from Germany have beenmade available at three stands on the Secretariat premises, and the idea isto expand this initiative across the Capital region over a period of time.CM instructed the A.P.-Capital Region Development Authority (AP-CRDA)Commissioner Cherukuri Sreedhar to look into the possibility of the estab-lishment of units that could assemble such latest bicycles in order to gener-ate employment and more importantly promote the habit of cycling. All IndiaBicycling Federation Chairman D.V. Manohar promised to extend cooperationin that regard.For the time being, the bicycles can be used by obtaining free membershipand details of the users would be displayed at the stands set up opposite 2ndand 5th blocks and one at the city bus stop outside the Secretariat.

Smart Bike-Smart CM


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C O N T E N T SReady To Cross SwordsWith Centre

Emirates to InvestRs 30,000 Crs in State

Drones to trackinfra projects

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Vizag-Poised ForAll-Round Growth 22

APP to Invest for Paper Plant inCoastal Andhra

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The Chief Minister was upsetthat Andhra Pradesh was metedout raw deal in the last Unionbudget before the generalelections and began pressuriz-ing the Centre to fulfill thepromises made to the State.

Her MagicLives on!

Happening Andhra

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All roads led toVizag Summit

10AnUltimatumtoDSPs

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8Migratory Murmursof Pelican

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Various developments across thestate of Andhra Pradesh.

CM’sSocial Network24

KPMG Book onAP Launched

Andritz to Parner withAqua Feed Solutions

Galla’s StirringSpeechin Lok Sabha

His Highness the AgaKhan at Raj Bhavan

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Kia Motors to roll out carsnext year from Ananthapur


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MARCH 20184

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is known to be a reliable ally in anycoalition, and nobody knows this better than the National Demo-

cratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre. Unless pushed to thecorner, the Chief Minister always preferred to settle any outstanding is-sues through negotiation and discussion. It is in this backdrop that theCM’s public expression of deep dissatisfaction against the Centre’s apa-thy in responding to the rightful entitlements of the state should beseen.

If the ties between the Centre and the State have come under strain, itis not the fault of the government in Amaravati. Nearly four years afterthe ill-conceived bifurcation was thrust on the people, the truncatedstate of Andhra Pradesh found itself at the receiving end of a raw dealin the hands of the Central government. The fond hope of the CM thatPrime Minister Narendra Modi who had promised to turn around thestate from Scam Andhra to Swarna Andhra during the 2014 elections wasbelied to the utter chagrin of the Telugus.

Every time there has been political pressure over the promised SpecialCategory Status (SCS), the Chief Minister had been making efforts to bal-ance the criticism. He took pains to convince the people of the need toaccept a special package that was offered in lieu of SCS. He gave benefitof doubt to the Centre when delays in operationalisation of the pledgesmade in the AP Reorganisation Act were stuck in political red tape. Butunfortunately, all the earnestness and optimism of the Chief Ministerwas met with unexplained coldness during all this time.

The CM has always been clear about his priorities. “The Centre's supportis essential to rebuild the State. That is why I have joined hands with MrModi,” he had told the people in 2014. But if the very purpose of thisfriendship is defeated, and if the state were denied its legitimate rights,then the result is a lack of mutual trust. In demanding justice to AndhraPradesh, Chandrababu Naidu is only asking the Centre to honour its com-mitment. As Chief Minister, it is his bounden duty to reflect his people’sopinion and sentiment.

On that score, as the CM pointed out, there cannot be a compromise. Itis not too late for the Centre to make the wrongs done to the State right.The sooner the central leadership realizes this, the better it is for every-body. May better sense prevail!

Ramesh KandulaEditor

EDITORIAL

CommissionerS Venkateswar IISEditorRamesh Babu KandulaExecutive EditorNaresh NunnaCover PageCM demands justice

Second Cover Smart Bikes in Amaravati

Third CoverMonth in pics

Fourth CoverSunrise AP Advt.

Published by:Information & Public Relations DepartmentGovernment of Andhra PradeshHyderabad - 500 028Ph: 040-23300258

Views expressed by various authors in this issue reflect theirpersonal opinions.

DesignKarthik Beesu

Photos:T.Srinivasa Reddy, VijayawadaPrinted atCaxton Offset Pvt. Ltd.HyderabadEach Issue : Rs 20/-Annual Subscription : Rs 220/-

Email: [email protected]

ANDHRA PRADESHPublished Monthly In English & Telugu

February 2018Volume:13 Issue:10Salivahana Era 1939-40

Printed and Published by Ramesh Babu Kandula on behalf of Director/Commissioner, Information and Public Relations Dept.;Printed at M/s Caxton Offset Pvt. Ltd., 11.5.416/3, Red Hills, Hyderabad - 500 004; Published at Office of Director/Commissioner ,I&PR Dept, Govt of Andhra Pradesh, Samachar Bhavan, AC Guards, Hyderabad - 500028. Editor: Ramesh Babu Kandula.Ph: 040-23300258.

Needed: A Friend in Deed


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MARCH 2018 5

The Asia Paper Pulp (APP), one of the largestpulp and paper companies in the world, hasevinced interest in investing in AndhraPradesh. APP executive director Suresh Kilamand other representatives of the firm called on ChiefMinister N Chandrababu Naidu recently at Secretariatto propose setting up a plant to manufacture 3 tonnesto 5 tonnes of paper a day. APP is one of the largestconglomerates in Indonesia spanning across Banking,Infrastructure, Agribusiness communications, Cookingoil, Palm oil, real estate and telecommunications. Elaborating their plans, Kilam sought a single site of2,500 acres in the coastal area to set up the plant. Re-sponding on APP’s proposal, Dr P Krishnaiah, Execu-

tive Chairman of APIIC, suggested them to look atavailable plots of land in Kakinada, Visakhapatnam,Krishnapatnam and Machilipatnam. The Chief Minister enquired about import and exportpotential, discharge information and the plan ofaction. Kilam said that once land is confirmed, theywill submit a feasibility report in 50 days, and willhave a gestation period of 30 months. The plant willrequire land in a coastal area, produce only packagingpaper, and will have a daily import and export ofmaterials weighing around 30,000 tons. The meeting was facilitated by Andhra PradeshEconomic Development Board. The Chief Ministerassured all the support required.v

APP to Invest for PAPER PLANTin Coastal Andhra

Eyeing the increasing demand forpaper in China market, APP

zeroed in on AP to start opera-tions as it will be the best loca-tion in the East Coast for them totransport raw material to the pro-

posed company and paper toChina.

CM with APP team headed by Suresh Kilam, ED(Marketing)


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6 MARCH 2018

From a new state in 2014 to oneof the fastest growing states inthe country with double-digitGSDP growth rate, AndhraPradesh has made considerableprogress, said Arun M. Kumar, Chair-man & CEO, KPMG India, in his fore-word to KPMG's book titled ‘AndhraPradesh: Leading the Transformation’.Aiming to provide a fair understandingof the state’s transformation journeyand way forward, Klynveld Peat Mar-wick and Goerdeler (KPMG), knowl-edge partner of AP government,published the book, which was re-leased by Vice-President M VenkaiahNaidu in the presence of Chief MinisterNara Chandrababu Naidu, at the CIIPartnership Summit. The report explores the potential ofthe State in key focus areas supportedby a huge demographic dividend avail-

able to be harnessed. "It has been ranked the No. 1 State inIndia on ease of doing business re-forms in 2016 by DIPP, ranked No.1 in2017 in implementation of energy effi-ciency and conservation measures,ranked No.1 in 2015-16 by RBI in at-tracting private sector investment,ranked No.1 in marine exports, rankedNo.1 in barytes production, rankedNo.3 in global shrimp production 41%PA wags, ranked No.3 in 2017 in busi-ness investment potential by NCAERand AP was amongst top 3 states inmanufacturing in FY 2016-17. Theseare the testimonies to conducive busi-ness environment in the State. We be-lieve this report by KPMG in India willprovide an understanding of the Sun-rise State’s progress and investmentpotential,” Arun said, speaking on thereport.

LEADING THE TRANSFORMATION

Happy to launch "AP-leading the transfor-mation'', a book onAP’s journey of trans-formation. Publishedby @KPMG, ourknowledge partnerand will provide in-formation on poten-tial investmentopportunities in AP,across all sectors.

- Chief Minister

Vice-Pesident M Venkaiah Naidu, along with CM and other dignitaries, releasing book- AP- Leading the Transformation

KPMG Book on AP Launched


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The 86- page report detailed how the State is steadily marchingahead to become India's 'Sunrise State'. It is providing a fair un-derstanding of the state's progress and investment potential. Thewell-circulated book presented the enthusiastic investors an op-portunity for forging strong partnerships with AP. As the statenavigates its path to a higher growth trajectory, the report hadcome in handy for a valuable resource for companies — Indianand foreign alike—to find ways in which they can share in the div-idend generated by the state's growth, while making their owncontribution to the economy's transformation.A few excerpts from the foreword of the Chairman (KPMG India):“Andhra Pradesh has had a commendable transformation story.From a new state in 2014 to one of the fastest growing states inthe country with double-digit GSDP growth rate, Andhra Pradeshhas made considerable progress.Vision can be effectively achieved if backed up by robust policyenvironment, efficient action plan and strong governance. AndhraPradesh's efforts are reflected in its robust and forward lookingpolicy framework, development initiatives introduced to achievethe vision and transparentand efficient monitoring ofthe progress.Leveraging on its strategiclocational advantage,Andhra Pradesh has fo-cused on equitable devel-opment by involving alldistricts in its transforma-tion journey. Investmentsare spread across the stateand job opportunities areemerging for people acrossall strata of society. I am happy to note thatthe state has attractedstrategic investments invarious sectors such asauto, electronics, textiles,pharmaceuticals, aero-space and defence, minerals, renewable energy, to name a few.Andhra Pradesh also has many superlatives to its credit - Asia'sbiggest integrated control and command centre, first state in thecountry to implement the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI),first state in South India to offer 24x7 quality and reliable powerto industry— to name a few.”

Committee toRealise ownState ArchivesWhile planning to set up its ownState Archives, State Govern-ment of Andhra Pradesh consti-tuted a bureaucratic committeeas a precursor. The three-member committeecomprises Nagulapalli Srikanth, Principal Sec-retary, General Administration (GAD), Dr.Manmohan Singh, Special Chief Secretary,Land, Endowments and Disaster Manage-ment, and M. Ravi Chandra, Special Chief Sec-retary, Finance.The very idea of the initiative is to have itsown archive entity post bifurcation, and up-date and preserve the historical and latestrecords on iconic projects that are under exe-cution. The committee further constituted afive-member committee of experts seeking in-puts to keep State's glorious history on dis-play. Historical records pertaining to AP are nowlying with the Hyderabad- based combinedentity, the A.P. State Archives and ResearchInstitute. If new State Archives is set up, theycould be returned from the possession ofTelangana. According to the committee, thearchives of Germany, France, and other coun-tries have been studied thoroughly before ar-riving at a conclusion that the A.P. Archivesshould not only be a record of events but alsoa source of inspiration to posterity.

MARCH 2018 7

Happiness of the people of AndhraPradesh is the supreme goal of thegovernment and people’s well-beingand happiness is being put at theforefront of state’s efforts.

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Title page of KPMG report

Nagulapalli Srikanth


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8 MARCH 2018

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, along withKia Motors Corporation President Han WooPark, took part in the Frame Installation of KiaMotors at Yerramanchi village inAnantapuramu district of the state on February 23.Andhra Pradesh is all set to emerge as a major automo-bile hub as South Korea’s Kia Motors is setting up amega manufacturing plant at Yerramanchi villagePenugonda mandal of Anantapur district. Kia Motors isplanning to release its first car in March 2019.Speaking at the event, the Chief Minister expressed hisgratitude to the farmers who gave their lands for the in-

dustry and opined that with the Kia Motors manufactur-ing plant, the face and fate of Anantapuramu districtwould change.Kia Motors entered into an MoU with the Government ofAndhra Pradesh on April 20, 2017, to produce 3 lakhvehicles per year with an investment of Rs 13,000 croreto provide employment opportunity to 11,000 persons,including 4000 direct jobs. “This is a significant step inour efforts to turn Andhra Pradesh into an automobilemanufacturing hub. It is a historic day and the strongbond between AP and Kia will endure,” Naidu had saidat the time.The APIIC allotted 535.50 acres for the main plant, 36acres for the township and 11.20 acres for the trainingcentre.The State is ready to allot 250 acres to 40 allied indus-tries at Gudipalli and Yerramanchi villages. Besides, theState has been making efforts to allot 100 acres for rail-way siding and 48.47 acres for truck terminal.The plant works are being carried out at a brisk pace.The engine shop, body shop, paint shop, seat shop, as-sembly unit, utility centre and power train shop are get-ting ready in the main unit of the plant.Kia Motors said it will roll out first car models from itsupcoming facility in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh by2019. "The company will roll out its first car modelsfrom its upcoming facility in Anantapur in the state bymid-2019. The first India manufacturing facility for thecompany is coming up over 213.7 hectares of land inAndhra Pradesh to produce 3 lakh cars annually, involv-

Kia Motors to roll out cars nextyear from AnanthapuramuCM takes part in Frame Installation

This is a significant step in ourefforts to turn Andhra Pradesh intoan automobile manufacturing hub. Itis a historic day and the strong bondbetween AP and Kia will endure.

“CM inaugurating KIA Motors Frame Installation ceremony


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MARCH 2018 9

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ing an investment of over USD 2 billion," CII said in astatement quoting Kook Hyun Shim, MD & CEO, KiaMotors, India.As many as 40 automobile allied industries will alsobe set up there.Kia plans to produce a strategic compact sedan andcompact SUV especially for the Indian market at thenew plant, which will occupy around 23 millionsquare feet and incorporate facilities for stamping,welding, painting and assembly. The site will also behome to numerous supplier companies’ facilities.The South Korean-based KIA Motors showcased itsthree model cars, which are going to be manufacturedat its plant in Anantapur, at the three-day CII Partner-ship Summit venue.New Range displayed at CII SummitKia showcased its global range of cars Niro, Soul andStinger, which includes electric vehicles, plug-in hy-brids, and sports utility vehicles (SUV). The range alsoincludes the exciting new Stinger sports sedan that at-tracted many sports car lovers. Kia Motors is lookingto replicate its global success in India, as the world’sfastest growing car market. Speaking on the occasion,Industries Minister N Amarnath Reddy said that theState Government is aiming to provide 2 lakh jobs forthe youth in automobile sector. In the last three years,the state government had secured 3.7 billion as in-vestments in automobile sector. Companies like Kia,Hero, Amar Raja, Isuzu and Ashok Leyland had al-ready invested in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Moreautomotive companies will be established in Chittoorregion and an industrial corridor will be created be-tween Anantapur and Nellore, he said.

His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam of the ShiaIsmaili Muslims and founder and chairmanof the Aga Khan Development Network(AKDN) met Governor E S L Narasimhan atRaj Bhavan recently as part of his 10-day official visitto the country at the invitation of the Government ofIndia, marking the 60th anniversary of His Highnessthe Aga Khan's accession to the leadership of the ShiaIsmaili Muslims on July 11, 1957. During his meetingwith Aga Khan, the Governor appreciated the variousdevelopment programmes undertaken by the AgaKhan Development Network and by its partneragencies of Aga Khan Foundation and Aga KhanAgency for Habitat in the States of Andhra Pradeshand Telangana and told him that the programmesshould be inclusive and sustainable. The Governorassured of full cooperation by both the State Govern-ments to the development activities of the Agencies.Aga Khan informed the Governor that their Agencieshave plans for launching various developmentprogrammes in the States of Telangana and AndhraPradesh, in the next five years. Governor informed thevisiting dignitary that the Aga Khan DevelopmentNetwork and its agencies should continue theiractivities on a continuous basis with more inclusiveand sustainable approach.His Highness thanked the Governor for the meeting.Governor felicitated His Highness the Aga Khan bypresenting a memento.v

His Highness the AgaKhan at Raj Bhavan

CM addressing at Kia Motors' Factory premises

The spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, Aga Khan callingon Governor ESL Narasiham


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The Third Sunrise AndhraPradesh Investment Meetand the 24th CII PartnershipSummit held in the City ofDestiny of Visakhapatnam was athumping success in terms of num-ber of delegates attended and thenumber of MoUs signed. As many as734 agreements for investment ofRs.4.39 lakh crore and for generating11 lakh jobs were inked.Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N

Chandrababu Naidu exuded confi-dence that 90 per cent of them wouldbe implemented and all effortswould be made to measure up to theexpectations of investors from theother parts of the country and

abroad who had signed the Memo-randum of Understanding with theState Government. All the clearanceswould also be accorded within 21days and they could begin work onthe 22nd day, he assured them.Among the major projects coming upinclude Reliance Group's over Rs55,000 crore investment to establisha mobile phone unit in the pilgrimcity of Tirupati. It will manufactureone million cell phones and establish

an electronics cluster at Amaravati.The group will invest a great deal inthe oil sector too. Google has signeda MoU to provide connectivity to vil-lages in the State and the Adanigroup will construct a greenfield

port and set up up an SEZ at Bha-vanapadu in Srikakulam district. Be-sides, the LuLu Group has signed anMoU to construct a world-class con-vention centre and shopping mall atthe venue of the Summit in in Har-bour Park area where temporarystructures were now being erectedfor organsing the Summit for thepast three years.The permanent con-vention centre will be in place for theCII Summit at the same place nextyear, the Chief Minister said. Anothersignificant feature was that Singa-pore and Japan agencies had comeforward to assist in the constructionof the new state capital, Amaravati.The CM acknowledged the fact thatSingapore in particular has helped alot from the beginning, drawing upthe necessary plans and thanked Sin-gapore Trade Minister S Iswaranwho attended the valedictory ses-sion. Union Minister for Commerceand Industry Suresh Prabhu opinedthat Andhra Pradesh should nowwork for implementation of all theMoUs and launching the projects. Hepromised all help from the Centreand said that Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi wanted India to become a $5 trillion economy in the next five toseven years and Andhra Pradesh10 MARCH 2018

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Despite veryserious chal-lenges theresidualAndhraPradesh faced,the state couldmove forwardto emerge asone of thefastest grow-ing states inIndia.

ALL ROADS LED toVIZAG SUMMITAP Bags Rs 4.4 Lakh Crore InvestmentCommitment; Inks 734 MoUs

CM addressing Valedictory Session In CII Summit 2018


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MARCH 2018 11

should play a big role in achievingit. State Governor E.S.L Narasimhan,who was the chief guest at thevaledictory session, said he had nodoubts that the State would achievethe targets it had set for itself underleadership of Chandrababu Naiduwho worked like a machine."Because of Nara, Andhra PradeshHamaraa," he remarked. To reel outthe statistics, over 4253 Delegates,across more than 45 countries at-tended the three-day Summit. Theyinclude 280 from abroad, 3673 fromall over India and 300 students keenon setting up startups.Inaugurating the prestigious Part-nership Summit, Vice-President ofIndia M. Venkaiah Naidu said thatIndia has emerged as bright spot ofeconomy, thanks to the reformswhich caught up with the people.The current account deficit (CAD)has come down from 1.5 per cent to0.5 per cent, while the fiscal deficitfrom 5.9 per cent to 3.5 per centwhich reflected the health of the In-dian economy. India would be a tentrillion economy by the year 2030,he stated. As for Andhra Pradesh, hesaid that 20 per cent of the seafoodexports were from the state and

there was lot of scope for investmentin aquaculture and also solar powerwith already 1000 MW installed andanother 1000 MW in the pipeline, topave way for 24-hour uninterruptedpower supply for investors in indus-try, he noted.Coastal Employment ZoneChief Minister N. ChandrababuNaidu on the opening day an-nounced that there were plans forestablishing a Coastal EmploymentZone in the State. During the pastthree-and-a-half years, the State at-tracted as many as 1946 MoUs forinvestment proposals of Rs.13.54lakh crore. So far investments to thetune of Rs.5960 crore were achieved,he disclosed. He also said that hewas planning to reduce energycharges in the State which was thriv-ing on innovation. Union Minister forCommerce and Industry SureshPrabhu who also stayed throughoutthe three-day summit noted at theinaugural function that despite veryserious challenges the residualAndhra Pradesh faced, it could moveforward to emerge as one of thefastest growing states in India. Onthe MoU reached in the automobile

sector between Automotive Compo-nent Manufacturers Association ofIndia,Society of Indian AuthomobileManufacturers and AP EconomicDevelopment Board, he said Indianauto components were rated as thebest in the world.Chairman of Adania Group GautamAdani said his group would investRs.9000 crore in AP during the nextfive years. Secretary of the Depart-ment of Industrial Policy and Promo-tion in the Union Ministry ofCommerce and Industry Ramesh Ab-hishek, Confederation of Indian In-dustry (CII) president SobhanaKamianeni,and CII Director GeneralChandrajit Banerjee spoke duringthe inaugural funciton.As many as 8 Plenary Sessions and 2Special Plenary Sessions were organ-ized during the summit. The topicswere Sunrise Andhra Pradesh, theReform Calculus: Promoting Ease ofDoing Business, ‘World Trade on theComeback Trail in the Midst of TradeAgreements Facing Turbulence’, ‘Fu-ture Sectors: Can India lead Industry4.0’, ‘The Matrix of Skills: LeveragingIndia’s Workforce’, Redefining theGlobal value Chain: The challenges ofIntegrating SMEs from DevelopingWorld’, ‘Connectivity and Communi-cation: Fast Tracking InfrastructureDevelopment and Financing’, and‘Starship Enterprise: The Universe ofStartups’. There were also specialplenary sessions held on Technolo-gies for Tomorrow, Interaction witha Social Icon – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji,and three Country Sessions of SouthKorea, Japan and Singapore. In addi-tion, there were 8 State SectorSessions on Automotive, Tourism,Aerospace and Defense, Textiles, Re-newable Energy, Medical Equipment,Food Processing and Electronicswith the participation of expertsfrom the respective fields. What thespecial was the 15 Chief Minister’sbilateral meetings with TradeMinisters/ Trade Delegations from

CM presenting a memento to Singapore Minister of Trade and Industry S. Eswaran


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MARCH 201812

Morocco, UAE, Thailand, Japan, United States, Australia,Czech Republic, Myanmar, Spain, Finland, Belgium, SriLanka, Mauritius, Singapore, and Korea. ChandrababuNaidu also held 40 bilateral meetings with industry lead-ers from major companies like Mahindra Group, EsselGroup, Reliance, Grasim Industries, Adani Group, Diageo,Aegis, Toray (Japan), Lixil (Japan), West Energy Systems,Dasan (Korea), Autogrid, Tata,Amway, Vedanta. Two books werealso launched during the summit --Report on “Andhra Pradesh – Lead-ing the transformation” by KPMGand Investor and Facilitation Hand-book by Department of Industries &Commerce. Foundation stones werelaid for the International ConventionCenter, Hotel and Shopping mall byLulu Group at Visakhapatnam, In-dian Institute of Foreign Trade(IIFT), Kakinada and Indian Instituteof Packaging, also to come up at Kak-inada. Andhra Pradesh PavilionAndhra Pradesh Pavilion showcasedthe state as top investment destina-tion in India across various sectors.The pavilion highlighted Real TimeGovernance, Amaravati, Food Pro-cessing, Blockchain & Fintech,Skilling, Tourism, Pharmaceuticals,Textiles, Irrigation and APIIC. Vice-President of Republic of MauritiusParamasivam Pillay Vayyapuri was asurprise guest on for the valedictoryfunction. He had come to meet theChief Minister and invite him to Mau-ritius and assist the Telugu culturalcouncil to be set up there. Lokesh cynosure of all eyesIT and Panchayat Raj Minister NaraLokesh was the cynosure of all eyesat the Partnership Summit. Heproved to be a chip of the old blocwhen he adroitly handled a plenarysession on `Starship Enterprise TheUniverse of startups' on the final day,stunning experts like Co-Founder ofInfosys and chairman of Axilor Ven-tures S. Gopalakrishnan who moder-ated the programme in whichFounder and CEO of AutoGrid Inc,USA Amit Narayan, Managing Part-

ner of Emergent Ventures-USA Ankur Jain, Founder andCEO of Plant-e from The Netherlands Marjolein Helder,Co-founder of Village Energy-Australia Ben Hamilton, Co-founder of Zappresh Deepanshu Manchanda, and MissionDirector-ATAL Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog R. Ra-manan spoke.- B. Prabhakara Sarma

FORM IV (see Rule 8)Statement about ownership and other particulars of the ‘AndhraPradesh’ English Monthly Hyderabad as required under rule 8 of theRegistration of News Paper (Central) Rules, 1956.1. Place of Publication : Hyderabad2. Periodicity of Publication : Monthly3. Printer’s Name : Ramesh Babu KandulaOn behalf of Commissioner, I&PR(for Government of A.P.)Whether Citizen of India? : YesAddress : Samachar Bhavan, A.C. Guards,Masabtank, Hyderabad – 500 028.4. Publisher’s Name : Ramesh Babu KandulaOn behalf of Commissioner, I&PR(for Government of A.P.)Whether Citizen of India? : Yes Address : Samachar Bhavan, A.C. Guards,Masabtank, Hyderabad – 500 028.5. Editor’s Name : Ramesh Babu KandulaOn behalf of Commissioner, I&PR(for Government of A.P.)Whether Citizen of India? : YesAddress : Samachar Bhavan, A.C. Guards,Masabtank, Hyderabad – 500 028. 6. Name & Address of : Commissioner,Individuals who own the Information & Public Relations Newspaper Department, Govt. of A.P. A.C. Guards, Masabtank, Hyderabad – 500 028.I, Ramesh Babu Kandula, hereby declare that the particulars givenabove are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.Date : 01-03-2018 Sd/-Ramesh Babu Kandula (Publisher)


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Various proposals were dis-cussed and approved at theAndhra Pradesh cabinetmeeting chaired by ChiefMinister N Chandrababu Naidu. Dur-ing the meeting, held recently atstate secretariat, the cabinet ap-proved for the formation of AP Con-tent Corporation. It will be asubsidiary of AP State Fibernet Lim-ited, whose registered office will besituated in the NTR AdministrativeBlock, Pandit Nehru Bus station,Vijayawada. The implementation ofthe subsidiary will be in the creationof content for news, rural VAS, em-ployment, infotainment, education,entertainment, health, utility, andgovernance.Water ResourcesDepartmentFor enhancing the Special Imprestamount from Rs 150 crores to Rs160 crores with the SuperintendingEngineer, Polavaram Irrigation Proj-ect Headworks Circle,Dowlaiswaram, orders issued by theWater Resources Department wereratified. The Cabinet accorded sanc-tion of Rs. 4.7 crores to J. Sreeniva-sulu Reddy, Contractor as full andfinal settlement of the claim towardsthe construction of Gorakallu bypasscanal structure.Women, Children, Differently Abled& Senior Citizens Department

The Cabinet also approved the set-ting up of a Special Purpose Vehiclewith TATA Trusts, for the productionof Balamrutham and other ready-to-eat food for children, pregnant andlactating women. This will also pro-vide scope for manufacturing a rangeof products to suit the requirementsof Severely Under Weight (SUW), Se-vere Acute Malnutrition (SAM), Mod-erate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) andalso Anaemic Pregnant and LactatingWomen.The SPV will be set up on PPP modeon the lines of AP Food, under Sec-tion 8 (Not for Profit), CompaniesAct. It will take care of the end-to-end process of setting up of a factory,sourcing of raw materials, produc-tion, distribution and other opera-tions of the unit.The objective of the government is tofacilitate necessary infrastructure bypooling in private and governmentresources and to bring in better effi-ciencies in the unit by inviting pri-vate sector participation.Finance Department8 posts will be created in SriPrasanna Venkateswara Swamy Tem-ple, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam,Appalayagunta with effect from June11th, 2008, for regularizing the serv-ices of the taken over staff as per theorders of the High Court. The total fi-

nancial implication of the approval isRs. 22,53,672 per annum.General AdministrationDepartmentThe Andhra Pradesh Police (Re-forms) (Amendment) Ordinance,2017, will be repealed, and be re-placed by the Bill, which will beplaced before the Legislative Assem-bly and Legislative Council.MA & UD Department.A total of 5 lakh houses will be takenup for construction and completionby 2019, at a total cost of Rs. 38,265crores. Under AHP PMAY – Urban,the government of India will bear Rs.7,500 crores, the government of APwill bear Rs. 13,035 crores and bene-ficiaries will bear Rs. 17,730.88crores.Planning DepartmentFor the preparation of Comprehen-sive Development Strategy and theConsultancy fees to Mission Experts,Rs. 1.2 crores plus taxes will be di-rected to the IL&FS clusters. Thiswas presented to the Council of Min-isters on the request of Malyadri Sri-ram, MP, Bapatla and the JointSecretary of ‘Members of ParliamentAlliance for Collective Transforma-tion’. This proposal was approvedunder the condition that they submitan implementation report to thePlanning Department.

CABINETAPPROVESCONTENTCORPORATION

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Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has beenupset at the way Andhra Pradesh was metedout a raw deal in the last Union budget be-fore the general elections. Feeling let downby an ally, the CM came out openly with his dissatis-faction at the non-coooperative attitude of the Cen-tral Government. Not only did the Centre fail to keepits promise of granting a special package in lieu ofthe much awaited special category status (SCS), but italso did not honour the several commitments madein the AP Reorganisation Act. He laid bare the lameexcuses offered by the Centre for not giving SCS toAndhra Pradesh, and questioned the rationale be-hind extending the tenure for SCS beneficiary states

by 10, 20 and 30 years.‘Did the 14th Finance Commission say AndhraPradesh should not be granted SCS? In fact, the Com-mission members clarified that they never said so,”recalled Chandrababu Naidu on the Centre’s double-speak. If the SCS could be extended to others, therewas no reason why it should not be accorded toAndhra Pradesh, he said, and challenged the Centrefor a debate on the issue.Cry In WildernessIn the past four years, the Chief Minister made asmany as 28 trips to Delhi with the sole purpose ofachieving what is due to the state. He regularly metthe central ministers and the Prime Minister seekingeither the SCS or the special package promised to AP.But his pleas fell on deaf ears. As a last ditch effort,he again met the Prime Minister just before the re-cent Union Budget and submitted a detailed memo-randum to him hoping that something would bedone to the State. However, there was nothing in thebudget for AP and the people felt cheated as it hadbecome clear what the Centre had promised provedto be all empty talk.While thousands of crores of rupees was granted tosub-urban train projects in Bangalore and Maharash-tra, there was no mention of the Visakhapatnam rail-way zone, nor the other pending projects. Obviously,it sent wrong signals to the prople who were expect-ing the Centre to come out with something to cheerin the budget. The Chief Minister lamented that de-

Ready To Cross SWORDS WITH CENTRE“Just because we have been observingrestraint by virtue of being an ally, itdoesn’t mean we condone injustice. Dis-criminatory policy cannot be tolerated. Icannot compromise on interests of theState, and am ready for any battle for thesake of my people and development ofmy State,” Chief Minister ChandrababuNaidu told the Centre in no uncertainterms.

CM Resents Neglect


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spite the state being a victim of bi-furcation blues, it was not allottedeven one-tenth of what was doledout to the rich states like Maha-rashtra. The situation was all themore alarming because it was thelast full-fledged budget before the2019 general elections. As soon asit was found out that there wasnothing provided for AP in thebudget, the Chief Minister immedi-ately held a tele-conference withthe party MPs in Delhi andexpressed his disappointment overthe attitude of the Centre. He alsodiscussed with them the futreaction programme and how to goabout it in the Parliament.Apartheid Of SortsAfter bifurcation of the State, a re-port was sent to the Centre that APfaced a deficit of Rs.16,000 crore.But so far, only Rs 3,950 crore werereleased to the state. But on thecontrary, Himachal Pradish is get-ting Rs 8,000 crore annually from

the Centre. The hill state was fac-ing debts accumulated to the tuneof Rs 45,000 crore over the last fewyears and the Centre was extend-ing its helping hand every year.When such was the case, why simi-lar assistance to AP was not ex-tended is baffling. Also, at the timeof bifurcation, the then Prime Min-ister had promised in the RajyaSabha the seven backward districtsin North Andhra and Rayalaseemaa special plan on the lines of Kora-put-Bolangir-Kalahandi of Odishastate, and a special package similarto Madhya Pradesh and Bundelk-hand of Uttar Pradesh. However,while KBK and Bundelkhad pack-ages contained Rs 6,000 croreeach, the Andhra districts weregiven only Rs 1050 crore. This isnothing but apartheid of sorts andChandrababu is fretting and fum-ing over the raw deal meted out tohis State. He is determined tobring pressure on the Centre grad-ually but treading cautiously not to

snap ties with the Centre lest themajor projects like Polavaram andAmaravati capital should be jeop-ardized.“Andhra Pradesh is like an infant.We have to nurse it with care. Thatdoes not mean we will compro-mise on people’s interests. If in-evitable, we can take drasticdecisions. Then people will alsounderstand us,” were his words re-flecting his mature approach fortackling the issue.He also told the MPs that one hasto search where one has lost whichmeans that the fight will be takento Delhi and the Parliament. On thecordial relations AP maintainedwith the Centre, he recalled thatAP stood by the Centre throughthick and thin – during demoneti-zation and other issues. Since thestate was the loser during bifurca-tion of AP, it should be providedjustice, he points out.Can’t Hide FactsFacts cannot be hidden nor sup-pressed and the Chief Minister hasraised some of the issues fre-quently.• How many kilometers of high-ways were laid in the State since2014-15? Only Rs 6,000 crorewas spent on roads. Most of thenational highways are laid withprivate participation and theCentre would not spend from itspocket. It says Rs 20,000 crorewas being given to Amaravati Ex-pressway. The State has to spendRs 8,500 crore for land acquisi-tion alone. And it will incur afurther Rs 8,000 crore for creat-ing other basic infrastructural

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Dressed as a ‘tantrik’ and armed with a wooden pellet rattle, Chittoor MP Siva Prasad joinedhis party colleagues protesting outside Parliament


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facilities. • The revenue deficit issue was discussed twicein the first year. Centre says AP will get only Rs4000 crore. It will not include the amount spenton the loan waiver, pensions and PRC. Evenafter this, it initially stated AP would get Rs7500 crore. • Centre deferred payment of Rs 8500 crore paidtowards loan waiver. Does it not come underRevenue Deficit? Why doesn’t it set up a com-mittee to find out for itself what AP should getin excess of the Rs 7500 crore?• The Centre can constitute a committee with thechairman of 14th Finance Commission. UnionFinance Minister says that would work out aformula on revenue deficit. He could as wellhave told the people what exactly it is.• There is no clarity on 19 aspects of the Reor-ganisation Act. The CM, who got tired of histrips to Delhi, demands the Centre to spell outas to when it will implement the promises inthe bifurcation Act.• When crores of money is given to Bangaore andMumbai suburban train projects, how could itforget the Vijayawada and Visakhapatnammetro rail projects? Can’t one dream of con-structing a good capital city? Did the Centre notsay that a better capital than Delhi would bebuilt for AP?• Polavaram, Amaravati, revenue deficit, specialpackage and railway zone –these are the mostimportant isues for AP. They talk of everythingexcept these.• Centre promised to take up Polavaram as na-tional project. It is estimated to cost Rs 33,000crore for relief and rehabilitation works. Centreis not clear on this. It has to bridge the hugegap between the amount spent by the State onPolavaram and what it has given so far.• They talk about a report that Kadapa steel plantis not feasible. Why did they not inform usabout it so far?• They say Defence department and ISRO opposeDugarajapatnam port. We showed Ramayapat-nam as an alternative. Why don’t they mentionabout it?

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidufelicitated the participants of a Joint Certificate Pro-gramme called ‘Digital Transformation in Public Gov-ernance’ at the e-Pragati officers ‘graduationceremony. The e-Pragati scheme is a joint venture by the Gov-ernment of Andhra Pradesh and Indian School of Business(ISB). Cheif Minister Naidu attended the graduation ceremonyof 96 officers from 51 departments that was held in Amaravati.The ceremony was also attended by IT Minister Nara Lokesh,Civil Supplies Minister Prathipati Pulla Rao, Welfare MinisterNakka Ananda Babu, Dean of ISB, Professor Raj Srivastava andExecutive Director of SRITNE Professor Deepa Mani.’ In hiswelcome remarks, N. Balasubramanyam, CEO of e-Pragati de-tailed the journey of the idea of an integrated platform for alldepartments of the government. He lauded the Chief Minister'svision of a citizen-centric governance model. In his address, IT Minister Nara Lokesh urged officials of all de-partments to participate in this transition to seamless, paper-less and real-time governance. The Chief Minister congratulated all the participating officers,and lauded the efforts of the faculty at ISB, which ensuredmore than 90% attendance for lessons that were taught usingcase studies, technological tools and other non-traditionalmethods of teaching. He also spoke about the goal of ensuring that every family inAP will have one digitally literate person. “Technology is con-stantly changing, and I want the people of my state to haveeasy access to it.”v

Citizen- CentricGovernance Modelof CM Lauded


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Guntur MP Jayadev Galla displayed the much-needed political aggression in his 16-minutespeech in Lok Sabha on the raw deal metedout for Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget.Pointing out the enormous delay and apathy dis-played by the Centre in fulfilling its obligations underAP Bifurcation Act, Jayadev demanded Union FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley and Prime Minister NarendraModi an explanation to the people of AP. Gallapowerfully articulated the deep sense of betrayal feltby the people of the state at the inexplicable cold atti-tude of the Centre. He cautioned the Centre againstthe prolonged neglect of the State and its require-ments at its own peril. Excerpts from his emotional speech that won

great appreciation for him from all the quarters:Sir, I do understand about trust an essential requirementfor any partnership to continue. I also think that I cansafely say that India has not seen her last days ofcoalition governments. What message do you want tosend to your allies and potential allies mr. Prime Min-ister. Your allies are feeling neglected, betrayed andhumiliated as are the five core people of AndhraPradesh. We demand an explanation. In the budgetthere’s no mention of Amaravati, Polavaram, Railwayzone, deficit budget, special package, not to mentionthe other commitments made in the AP Reorganiza-tion Act and the assurances made on the floor of theRaja Sabha by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singhji, without which this bill would not have beenpassed and therefore should be considered sacro-sanct. Some of your party leaders are trying to con-vince you that some how your party can grow inAndhra Pradesh by breaking the promises and weak-ening the Telugu Desham party.Seasoned admirers of the Congress president con-vinced her as well in 2014 of an ill-advised strategyand paid a very dear price from being the strongeststate unit in the country for the Congress, it went tozero out of 25 MPs and zero out of 175 MLAs whereit’s likely to stay for a very long time. The Congressthought that, by betraying the people of AndhraPradesh it would ensure a win in Telangana and theTRS would merge with it. The Congress also had ex-pected, because of a secret deal between them andthe YSRCP, they would win in AP and would also sup-port them if not merge. The people of AP are no foolsand the Congress was wiped out in both the statesand YSRCP devious plans were understood by thepeople. Please don’t be of the opinion that the BJPwill fare any better if it treads the wrong path. TheYSRCP is now again trying to fool the people of AP.They are praising the budget cozying up to the cen-tral government, shifting the blame from the centralgovernment and the BJP to the AP government and tothe TDP. The people of AP are no fools. They knowthat the YSRCP needs to support whoever is in power

Galla’s Stirring Speech in Lok Sabha

You Owe an Explanation To AP, Mr PM!

MARCH 2018 17


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in the centre in order to keep theirleader out of jail. Today it may beyou, tomorrow it may not. And whatis the message you will send to thecountry by supporting the partywhose founder and president is theposter boy of corruption in India. Ifyou think that the YSRCP would makea better alliance partner in AP itwould be a serious lapse of judge-ment and morality. There’s a sayingsir you can fool some of the people allof the time, you can fool all of thepeople some of the time, but youcan’t fool all of the people all of thetime. And Let me assure you Mr.Prime Minister, the TDP and the peo-ple of Andhra Pradesh are certainlyno fools. We demand an explanation.Our CM has visited Delhi 29 times.He’s met the Prime Minister, financeminister, home minister multipletimes and every concerned ministerto get the promises and assurancesfulfilled. He has submitted reportafter report. The latest report beinghere Sir, you can see how detailedthis report is. This is not the first re-port. So many reports have beengiven to every department. It’s ashame. It’s shameful for the govern-ment to still say they’re waiting forinformation or that they’re still ex-amining the situation.Sir, there are 19 items just in the APreorganisation act alone that are yetto be fulfilled. I’m not going to coverall of them. I’m only going to focus onfive main items from that because ofthe paucity of time. But there are 19items just in the reorganization actalone. These include, I won’t go intodetail, but let me read them out. Spe-cial category state, bridging the re-source gap, Polavaram project,formation of a railway zone, financialassistance to Amaravathi, establish-ment of Green field crude refineryand petro chemical complex, Insti-tutes of national importance, forma-tion of Dugarajapatnam port atNellore, increase of seats in AP state

assembly, anomalies in tax matters,steel plant in Cuddapah district, es-tablishment of Vizag Chennai indus-trial corridor, Vishakhapatnam andVijayawada Metro rapid rail and roadconnectivity to Amaravati, develop-ment assistant to backward districts,payment of power dues by Discom,appointment of schedule nine institu-tions, appointment of schedule teninstitutions and the formation of theGreyhound training center.Just in the AP reorganisation actalone Sir, not to mention other assur-ances made to us sir. Where’s thebudget for fulfilling your promisesand assurances? Where is it in thebudget? how do you plan to do it?Coming to the special package, I wishto remind the honorable finance min-ister, what he had said on 7 Septem-ber 2016 while announcing thespecial financial package to the stateof AP sir. He said the government ofIndia will support AP to the hilt. Sirthat was in September 2016. Nothinghas been done since then . The gov-ernment cannot take our patience forgranted. Not allocating and not evenmentioning about the special finan-cial package to AP in this budget isinjustice and is deceiving the peopleof Andhra Pradesh. Secondly, whenthe finance minister came to Amara-vathi to lay the foundation stone foradministrative city , the CM of AP re-quested for exemption of capitalgains tax till the first sale of the de-veloped land in the Capital Region.Sir, this falls in my parliamentaryconstituency. The F-M assured thathe would consider this request sym-pathetically but the exemption hasbeen given only for two years. So I re-quest that it should be given for thatuntil the first sale is made whichwe’ve made this request over andover again. But we want a confirma-tion sir . Thirdly, the house is awarethat AP has been given the financialpackage due to immense loss that ithas suffered after bifurcation. The

house is also very well aware that thefinancial packages with differentnomenclatures were announced tovarious states and regions earlier andwe also know the fate of those an-nouncements sir. So looking at thepast experience the people of AP arevery apprehensive that this financialpackage may also meet the same fatehence there have been numerous de-mands from various quarters andalso from our CM for giving legisla-tive backing to the entire financialpackage announced on September 6,2016 and also to implement thepackage in a fixed time frame in viewof the above.I demand the Finance Ministerthrough this house to immediatelyreleased a financial package an-nounced and also give legislativebacking to the special financial pack-age to legitimize the announcementsmade by the Finance Minister. I’msure he would reply to this when hereplies to the debate sir. Coming toassurances given during bifurcation,the government of India promised togive equal amount that the specialcategory status would get as a specialpackage. So I don’t want to go intothe special category status issue rightnow. Secondly, the PM (the thenPrime Minister) also had assured onthe floor of Rajya Sabha , special de-velopment package would be given toseven backward districts of Ray-alseema and north coastal Andhraand it will be on the lines of the Kora-put, Kalahandi special plan in Odishaand the Bundelkhand special packagein Madhya Pradesh and UP. But so far,the government of India has givenjust 1050 crores or 50 crores per dis-trict every year for three years, whilethe package given to KBK and Bun-delkhand is 6000 crores, only 1050crores is given to AP and even this 50crores is stopping after this year sir.We want that package Sir, not a pit-tance to our backward districts sir.Coming to Polavaram, the govern-


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ment of AP has submitted a revisedproposal of 54,000 crores as for the2014-15 estimates. Out of this nearly30 thousand crores are meant forcompensation to be paid for land ac-quisition and R&R. So i only requestthe FM and PM to approve the revisedestimates of Polavaram at the earliestsir.Sir, coming to the railway zone andalso the Vizag and Vijayawada Metro,the Honorable Finance Ministry hasannounced allocation of 17,000 crorefor the Bangalore Metro and approved51,000 crores for the Mumbai subur-ban railway network but there’s nomention about the Metro in Vishakha-patnam or in Vijayawada. It is obviousthat the FM’s announcement for Ban-galore is because there are assemblyelections in Karnataka and not in AP.How is it justified sir? Does it notmean that you’re deviating from yourown path of talking only a “Vikas” andthere would not be any politics on de-velopmental issues. Yesterday, the Honourable railwayminister made a statement in theother house, in the Rajya Sabha, onthe railway zone. He said and I quote –“changing the zone and the contoursof any zone involves consultationswith a lot of other states. After we fin-ished the consultation with all thestates, we’ll find out a viable methodby which there is no dispute. Thisshould have been done by now sir.Why are we hearing this up four yearslater? Why we still hearing this sir?You know this is not something that Iexpect from a senior leader likeMr.Piyush Goyal sir. This should havebeen done. This statement by the Hon-orable railway minister is understoodby the people of AP as delaying tacticsas a railway zone is part of the AP re-organization Act which this govern-ment is supposed to implement.Sir, coming to our new capital of Ama-ravathi, section 94( 3) of the AP reor-ganization Act says the centralgovernment shall provide special fi-

nancial support for the creation of es-sential facilities in the new capital ofthe successor state of Andhra Pradeshincluding Raj Bhavan, High Court, Gov-ernment Secretariat, Legislative As-sembly, Legislative Council and suchother essential infrastructure. It is the“central government shall provide” Sir,not “may provide” but “shall provide”.Provisional estimates indicate re-quirement of 1.2 lakh crores for theconstruction of the new capital ofAmaravathi but just for the essentialinfrastructure including the Raj Bha-van, Secretariat, High Court, Legisla-tive Assembly, and Council, the landdevelopment is estimated to costaround 42,935 crores over the nextfive years. But in the last three years,you provided 500 crores in 2014-15,550 crores in 2015-16, 450 crores in2016-17. Nothing more has beengiven. 1000 crores of this has beengiven for specific projects in Vi-jayawada and Guntur undergrounddrainage, not even for the capital city.So, I request the finance minister torelease at least 10,000 crores annuallyso that in the next four to five years,the 42,935 crores can be given to con-struct our Raj bhavan, Secretariat,High Court, assembly and the infra-structure around that. The FinanceMinister made a statement in RajaSabha and said that he has directedthe expenditure secretary to sit withofficials from AP and finalize aboutthe deficit budget. Officials from APhave reached today and would be dis-cussing with the expenditures secre-tary and others. So I will speak aboutthis only after the out come of thosemeetings. But that is definitely an areaof concern to us sir.Sir, coming to the allocation to vari-ous institutions mandated to be set upin AP as per the AP reorganisation act,they are pittance sir in this budget.With such paltry allocations everyyear, it would take 10 to 30 years forthese institutions to become a reality.Just to give an example of this, the an-

nounced setting up of AIIMS in Amar-avathi in our new capital, which alsohappens to be my parliamentary con-stituency Sir, the estimated cost is1618 crores. But so far not even a sin-gle penny has been allocated this year.Some money given to AIIMS in variousstates , but there’s no specific mentionabout AIIMS in AP sir. May be againbecause elections are not coming upin AP. So, in the same way I have fig-ures for every institution and alloca-tions to other such as the Vizag steelplant, the Dredging Corporation ofIndia, the Hindustan shipyard, theVizag Port Trust where allocations areminiscule. The overall allocationsmade to AP comes to 1814 crores andit is no exaggeration when I say thatthe telugu movie BAHUBALI’ collec-tions are more than the funds allo-cated to our states. If the people of APgave zero seats to the Congress forpassing the AP reorganization Act,imagine what they would think aboutthe BJP for not even fulfilling the mini-mum requirements contained in thisact.We demand an explanation, failingwhich we have no option than to con-sider you are acting in bad faith. Letme repeat, we will have no optionthan to consider you acting in badfaith and will certainly have to recon-sider why are we in this relationship.I’m sure you will understand, as willyour other allies and potential allieswithin this very critical election year.This is your last chance to fulfill yourpromises and assurances and to main-tain the Alliance Dharma which wehave maintained till now very pa-tiently. It gives us no joy to be in thisposition and to deliver this message toa friend in an ally but you have givenus no other option and no otherchoice. It’s now or never . We still havebelief and trust in the finance ministerand Prime Minister but we demand acomprehensive explanation and letme remind you again, the people of APare no fools.v


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The one-day visit of Chief Minister N Chan-drababu Naidu to Dubai to attract investments,on February 8 scored a major investment withthe Emirates Group. The CM held discussionswith Emirates Group, Phoenix Group and Sharaff Group.The Emirates Group signed a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh Economic De-velopment Board (EDB). The Emirates Group intends toinvest Rs 30,000 crore in the State. Setting up a Mainte-nance Repair and Overhaul (MRO), an aviation trainingcentre and a manufacturing unit of in-flight consum-ables are some of the areas in which the group is plan-ning to invest. The MoU was signed the presence of theCM and Emirates Group Chairman and CEO SheikhAhmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Indian Ambassador toUAE Navdeep Suri was also present at the meeting.At another meeting, Phoenix Group CEO Gaurav Dhavansaid they would launch work on mega integrated ricemill at Samalkota in East Godavari district by April. Therice mill, with a capacity of 3 lakh tonnes per annum,will be the biggest in the world if the plans materialise.The group intends to release 1 lakh metric tonnes ricein the Indian market and 2 lakh metric tonnes in the in-ternational market. The mill can generate employmentto 200 to 400 people.The group was focusing extensively on the Indian mar-ket. Naidu explained the innovative methods that were

being adopted in AP in the field of agriculture.The CM also met Sharaff Group Vice-Chairman Shara-fuddin Mohammad Hussain. The group representativessaid their executives visited the State to explore invest-ment opportunities and have seen some land parcelsfor a food processing zone. They expressed concernover land prices and the Union government’s policiesregarding food processing industry. Naidu assuredthem that the State government would give all clear-ances at the earliest. “The Union government policiescan be always worked on to serve the best of everyone’sinterest,” he said. Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakr-ishnudu, Government Advisor (Communications)Parakala Prabhakar, Special Chief Secretary SatishChandra, Principal Secretary G. Sai Prasad, PrincipalSecretary (Energy) Ajay Jain, and APEDB CEO Jasthi Kr-ishna Kishore accompanied the Chief Minister.Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu met Fasi Akhtar,CEO of Sigfox, a leading IoT ( Internet of Things) con-nectivity provider in Dubai. Sigfox is a French companydealing in IoT devices and they specialize in developinglow power consuming devices and base stations. TheChief Minister told the officials that, “We are going forIoT on a large scale and we need this technology at areasonable cost.” “You can visit AP and may design andmanufacture in the state itself”, added the Chief Minis-ter.Naidu met the officials from Conares, a steel manufac-turing and engineering firm based out of Dubai. BharatBhatia, CEO of Conares informed the Chief Minister thatthey are the largest steel makers in UAE and export toUS, UK and Europe in large quantities.He also met officials from Kaaf Investments, a Dubaibased investment group. They informed the Chief Min-ister that they can create a $300 Million fund for AI inAP and they can also get entrepreneurs to fund projectsin APThe officials from Dixon Technologies held discussions

Emirates to InvestRs 30000 Crs in StateMEGA INTEGRATED RICEMILL at Samalkot likely

CM presenting a memento to Sharafuddin Mohammad Hussain,Vice Chairman of Sharaff Group.


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with the CM as a part of his day long tour of Dubai. SunilVachnani, Chairman, Dixon Technologies informed theChief Minister they currently have an electronic goodsbusiness in Tirupati which deals in fridges, washing ma-chines, television etc. He was also informed that DixonTechnologies currently has 2 lakh sq.ft.of space built readyfor factory in Tirupati and already employs around 500people and are planning to extend it to 2000 people. Theofficials from Dixon Technologies requested the Chief Min-ister for allotment of land for their expansion in the stateand thanked him for the support extended by the govern-ment till now. The Chief Minister directed the officials totake care of the needs of Dixon Technologies and providethem with any assistance requiredThe Chief Minister asked officials of DP world, which oper-ates 78 marine and inland terminals in 40 countries, to setup a Special Economic Zone in AP. The group provides mar-itime services, logistics and ancillary services. He met withSultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, RajJit Singh Walia, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and GauravKhanna, Vice President – Corporate Finance & Business De-velopment. The Chairman said that Indian ports must re-move bottlenecks in the supply chain and build logisticsand industrial parks. “Ports all over the world grew be-cause of these facilities”, he said. He also said that one oftheir representatives is visiting India, and will be asked toextend his trip to meet a team from Government of AP. The

Chief Minister asked them to explore at least three suitablelocations to establish logistics parks, and take a decision in3 months.Another bilateral was held with Mohammed Ahmed Al Za-rooni, the Director General of Dubai Airport Free Zone Au-thority (DAFZA), Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai SiliconOasis Authority (DSOA) ad Director of Dubai AerospaceEnterprise (DAE).They discussed the multinational effort to set up theAeroCity project in AP, with KPMG as the consultant, andsome financiers from Saudi Arabia. They will submit a de-tailed project report within three months.CM also addressed Partnership Summit 2018 Road Show inDubai. “I was the Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradeshfor 9 years, and my work is there for everybody to see, in-cluding Cyberabad”, said Chief Minister ChandrababuNaidu, opening his speech in the Partnership Summit 2018Road Show held in Dubai. He explained that the state wasleading the country in Ease of Doing Business, and that thestate partnered with Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policyto strengthen our EoDB more. He said that the focus areasof the state were Agri and food processing, Aerospace andDefence, Energy, IT, Life Sciences, Leather, empoweringMSMEs amongst others.Pointing out that the state had been able to develop astrong industrial ecosystem, he said that Kia, Isuzu, Heroand Apollo tyres have alreadycome into our state. SiemensGamesha and Suzlinbetc in theenergy sector have also set upbase. Foxconn has also investedin AP. He urged the companieswho are interested in agri-pro-cessing to come to AP, promisinggood potential, opportunitiesand all required facilities. “Dubaithrived in spite of heavy adverseconditions, and so will we. APhas several conducivefactors. Our climate, water avail-ability, power supply, touristattractions and a lot of heritageare our strengths,” he said. “Wewill take the responsibility ofhandholding and acceleratingyour investment process in ourstate,” he assured.MARCH 2018 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM 21

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Visakhapatnam is famous for its beautifulbeaches and natural harbour which attracttourists from all parts of the globe. The coast-line and the beach are susceptible to erosionand therefore, Visakhapatnam Port Trust makes it apoint to organize beach nourishment programme everyyear. In fact, the entire coastline from Nakapalli toBheemunipatnam in Visakhapatnam district is prone toerosion. This year, the beach nourishment which beganon February 6 will continue for one full month till Marchfirst week to pump an estimated thre lakh cubic metresof sand, according to VPT chairman MT Krishna Babu.Last year, the VPT had called for a global tender forbeach nourishment for a period of three years and theDredging Corporation of India (DCI) had bagged it for Rs40 crore. Around 1.05 lakh cubic metres of sand waspumped at a cost of Rs 11.09 crore and this year, the costmay go up to Rs 18.37 crore. A survey was conductedalong the 974-km coastline of Andhra Pradesh. And ashigh as 210 km was identified as danger zones inVisakhapatnam. There are a number of structures on thesea-shore which face the risk of increasing erosion. TheKurusura Submarine Museum is a vulnerable spot. Thisyear, the VPT will be pumping the sand near the subma-rine museum as recommended by NIOT. The Nether-lands-based institute Deltares, an independent institutespecialising in research in water and sub-surface, isgiven the contract to prepare a DPR on methods to arrestbeach erosion. The entire project cost is estimated tocost Rs 150 crore. Deltares will provide the engineering

design, tender estimates and technical support and thereport is expected to be ready by January next year.ENCORE Excercise Like the port, the Eastern Naval Command is anothergreat institution that showcases the greatness of the city.It conducted the ENC Operational Readiness Exercise(ENCORE), Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Ex-ercise on the Eastern Seaboard during February. Themonth-long exercise saw participation of over 40 shipsand submarines including those ships from the WesternNaval Command, Andaman & Nicobar Command and In-dian Coast Guard and assorted naval and IAF aircraft in-cluding Fighters, Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance(LRMP) aircraft, Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and AirEarly Warning (AEW), Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW)helicopters. The exercise was conducted in phases to testvarious facets of war-fighting capabilities of the combatunits including Special Forces of ENC to respond to giventhreat situations. The Tactical Phase that saw intense ac-tion by both the opposing forces helping to validate op-erational war fighting concepts and provided valuablelessons to sharpen combat skills. The exercise was con-ducted in real time covering a vast expanse of IndianOcean Region (IOR) notwithstanding the rough weatherdue to super cyclone Cebile in the Southern IOR.According to a spokesman of the Navy here, ENCORE as-sumes great significance in the backdrop of current secu-rity scenario. The exercise provided an apt-opportunity

Vizag-Poised For All-Round Growth

Beach nourishment works at RK Beach


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to test the combat capability of theENC and refine action plans and con-tingencies for operations in complexmaritime conflict zone.Waltair Division ongrowth pathThe third major institution in Vizagis the Waltair Division of East CoastRailway. Waltair which is likely to beheadquarters of the proposed newrailway zone for Andhra Pradesh,during period from April to Decem-ber-2017, achieved growth in freightloading of 4%, over all earninggrowth by 8% and improvement ofoperating ratio by 4% even thoughthere was reduction in passengertraffic by 2% due to various reasons.Visakhapatnam also stood as No.1 inSwachchta station. The division isprogressing well on the infrastruc-ture development front with 24Level crossing eliminated, 40 km. ofdouble lines laid, 2 long loops, Non-Interlocking done at SimhachalmNorth and Intermediate block sta-tion in record time of 15 days , re-built the damaged bridge 249 in KKLine in record time of 58 days, 85Km of Rail Renewal done and doingthe renewal works in 5 or 7 km inrecord time, WiFi at 14 stations in-cluding 10 stations in tribal areascommissioned, Works commis-sioned for wagon POH work shop,augmentation of Diesel Loco Shedfor HHP locos, Central FOB atVisakhapatnam railway station par-tially commissioned for the conven-ience of passengers. Another featherin the cap of the division is the LocoShed at Visakhapatnam got ISO9000, 14000, 18001 certificationwhich is the only shed in IndianRailways that got all the three certi-fications at the same time. Also, for

the convenience of passengers theDivision has run 410 special trainsduring special occasions, the specialtrain between Visakhapatnam-Jag-dalpur extended up to Kirandul toprovide connectivity to the hinter-land, 975 bio toilets provided intrains, Visakhapatnam Railway sta-tion was made 100% digital pay-ment enabled station and a creativeart gallery provided for the conven-ience of the public, for improvementof the station the Division got com-mitment of Rs 72 lakh from HPCLunder Corporate Social Responsibil-ity, according to Divisional RailwayManager of Waltair Mukul SaranMathur. Besides the three great or-ganizations serving the city fornearly a century, Visakhapatnam isalso making strides into the modernage with a centre of excellence witha full-fledged lab and incubation fa-cilities to promote Internet of Things(IoT) coming up in the cityshortly. Senior Director in the UnionMinistry of Electronics B.K. Murthywho was in the city in Februrary,said the first such centre came up inBangalore and three other placeshad been chosen - Visakhapatnam,Gandhinagar and Gurgaon. Mentor-ing facilities and at least 20-25 start-ups would be provided in the centreand public sector undertakings likethe steel plant, the HPCL and HSLand also private sector units couldjoin. The centre will be establishedin the public-private partnershipmode, with the participation of theCentral and State Governments aswell as the industry, which all speaksof the rapid strikes the Smart City ofVisakhapatnam is making in thepath of progress.- B P Sarma

Andritz to Parner inAqua Feed SolutionsThe officials of Austrian com-pany, Andritz, a byname in thefield of animal feed and re-newable energy called on the ChiefMinister N Chandrababu Naidu todiscuss a possible investment in thearea, concerned. Richard Hickey, Director Sales, AsiaPacific - Feed and Biofuel Technolo-gies (FBT) and P. Angamuthu, VicePresident – FBT, representedAndritz and they were accompaniedby N. Hari Kiran, Managing Director,NG Feeds Pvt. Ltd. – Fish & ShrimpFeed Manufacturers and Secretaryto the CM. Andritz invited the CM forthe inauguration of their project inArugolanu Village, Krishna district.It was their project, which was firstaqua feed project with completelyEuropean technology. They investedin the project with NGFPL. Theconstruction started in April 2017,and there will be an inauguration inMarch. They explained CM how they haverecently expanded their operationsto plants and services for hy-dropower stations, the pulp andpaper industry, the metal workingand steel industries and thesolid/liquid separation in the mu-nicipal and industrial sectors. Theyshowed interest to become partnersin Aqua Feed solutions. “We prepare more proposals andcarry the discussion forward,” theytold the CM. Receiving their proposals positively,the CM asked them to finalize a pro-posal soon, so that an MoU can besigned accordingly.

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Another feather in the cap of the division is the Loco Shedat Visakhapatnam got ISO 9000, 14000, 18001 certificationwhich is the only shed in Indian Railways that got all thethree certifications at the same time.


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Sridevi is gone, rather abruptly; but her magicwill live on. She made an unforgettable imprinton Tamil and Hindi cinema, but, it is in hermother-tongue, Telugu, that she’s done themaximum number of films. She has over 300films to her credit in the five decades that she has beenacting, and 83 of those films were in Telugu. One of thecutest roles that she played was as NTR’s granddaughterin Badi Panthulu (1972). Sridevi would go on to act asNTR’s love interest in many films. She was also pairedwith ANR in flims like Premabhishekam (1981). The he-roes might have changed; but she remained constant on

the screen with new generation of protagonists. She wenton to play roles beside Sobhan Babu, Kamal Hassan, Chi-ranjeevi, Venkatesh and Nagarjuna. The magic sheweaved in the film Padaharella Vayasu, a remake of Tamilfilm 16 Vayathinile (1977) is still afresh in the minds ofviewers of the generation. As the British The Guardiansaid in its tribute, “Sridevi’s face was her fortune: beau-tiful, with a cherubic guilelessness that enabled her toplay romance, musicals, drama, comedy and indeed ac-tion”. No wonder, she straddled across states and lan-guages to rule the screen as the first superstar actress.

Her Magic Lives on!1963 2018

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Tawker's Gardens,Royapettah.7-7-1909. My dear Munisubrahmanyam,Yours of the 3rd inst. I am sorry that I couldnot secure a place for you at Vizianagaram. TheRipon High School scheme collapsed. I wishedvery much that you should settle at Viziana-garam. Let us hope that opportunities willoccur. The Cocanada tutorship is not a bad job.But two years bond is an inconvenient thing. Ithink it is advisable to take it up. If a better(place) offers itself, we can easily induce theCollege Committee to release you from thebond. About reviews, you will have seen thewretched theft that Mr. (Venkanna) wrote inThe Hindu. He copies the first paragraph fromthe Times of India. Shall stay on here till the15th inst. at least. Yours affectionately,

P.S.: There is not one person that I know whoknows to review a Telugu book. That is why Iasked you. You have critical acumen and com-mand over the terminology of criticism.There was a scholar by name D. Narasaiah whoused to edit a bright little weekly. "The Peo-ple's Friend" now defunct. He was a native ofNellore. Is he living? If so give me his address.He had a wonderful command of English.Please see him. Admiralty House,Mylapore,31-7-1909My dear Munisubrahmanyam,Thanks for your card. We leave on next Friday.Your present place is n a bad start and Co-canada is not a bad place either. It is an impor-tant commercial centre and let me add, ofletters also. Climate is pleasant. I shall intro-duce you to the Zamindar of Polavaram andother friends. Please make the acquaintancefirst of ¿±ouó¤³¢ ç‹VŸ²ˆjáT« >±sÁT (Kasibhotla Brah-mayya) of €sÁ«eTÔá uË~ó“ (Arya Mata Bodhini).(He) promised a review of my book. I sentcopies to the editresses of the two ladies maga-zines of Cocanada.A review by dŸsÁdŸÇÜ (Saraswathi). I enclose a let-ter of introduction to D. SivaRao Pantulu wholives with the Zamindar of Polavaram. He is theson-in-law of my uncle. He is a literary man.When you meet him tell him to send a copy tothe Editor of sÁ$ (Ravi) I have sent 200 copiesto the Manager of the Saraswathi office for salein Cocanada. The reviews must state where thebook is available. Did you read reviews in theMail or The Hindu and the Telugu papers ofMadras? The sales are slack. I suppose for oneman who buys, twenty borrow and read. Ourcountry is poor.Yours etc.

Literary reminiscences Of

GURAZADA APPARAO PANTULU

- Ongole Munisubrahmanyam

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CM Chandrababu Naidu is an active social mediauser. Many of you have been actively followinghis activities with admiration. Here are a fewsnapshots from his Twitter account and thoseon him.

chief minister’ssocial network


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Energy sector is one of themajor sectors getting con-sistent boosting not only ininking MoUs, but also in thegrounding of the projects. In CIIpartnership summit- 2016, thetotal number of committed proj-ects in Energy sector stand at 24and the conversion rate was at62.5 per cent. Of the committedprojects, 15 units have gone intoproduction, two units are at ad-vanced state and remainingseven units are at preliminarystage. However, in 2017, most ofthe projects remained at prelim-inary stages. In recently con-cluded CII Partnership summit-2018, discussions around renew-able energy took centre stage, asAP signed 38 MoUs worth overRs 78,935 crore for a host of proj-ects in this area. Another signifi-cant point to note is a paradigmshift from conventional to alter-native forms of energy. New sta-tistics aver that renewableenergy is no longer a fringeplayer but a main source of en-ergy, particularly wind and solar.

Snapshot


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For the past couple of months, there were mur-murs in Telugu cinema that the tussle betweenTelugu Film Producers and Digital ServiceProviders (DSP) like UFO, QUBE and others,could turn into a full-blown battle. In the lastweek of February, when the talks failed between the twoparties, that’s precisely what seems to have happened.Now, the ad-hoc committee comprising prominent pro-ducers has urged everyone in the industry to not givetheir content to the existing DSPs. This means, from thefirst week of March onwards, there won’t be any new filmreleases in Telugu unless a compromise is reached be-tween the two.This tussle has its origins in the evolution of digital cin-ema, and the transition that Tollywood made from print

to digital cinema several years ago.In the past, when movies were shoton film and screened, each printcost was close to Rs 60,000-70,000.However, once the industry em-braced the digital medium, the costfell drastically and stabilised ataround Rs 20,000-25,000. But,there was a catch. Since the projec-tors and other equipment had to bechanged in every single cinema hallacross Andhra Pradesh and Telan-gana, many theatre owners hesi-tated to make massive investments,which was to the tune of over Rs 25lakhs. This is precisely where Digi-tial Service Providers came to theirrescue and installed all the neces-sary equipment on their own. In re-turn, the DSPs were allowed tocharge VPF (Virtual Print Fee) fromthe distributors and producers tofacilitate a film’s screening. In Hol-lywood, when VPF was introducedin the mid 2000s, the notion was that it would cease toexist in 5 years. A similar agreement was made in Indianfilm industry too; however, it didn’t quite turn out asplanned. More than 8-9 years after the transition to digi-tal cinema happened, VPF still continues to be a majorcost that distributors and producers need to incur to re-lease the film.In December, 2017, a team of producers began negotiat-ing with DSPs to change the terms, which led to VPFs urg-ing them to come up with a list of demands. Eventually,the producers reportedly gave them a list of close to 100theatres from ‘C’ centres, mostly from rural areas, wherethe VPF needs to be drastically reduced because the rev-enue from these centres isn’t high. However, there was noclarity over the list of theatres and in their own research,28

ANULTIMATUM

toDSPs

The producers’ council hasdemanded Digital Service

Providers like UFO, QUBE to putan end to exorbitant prices

levied on them for screening afilm. But there’s a lot more tothis than what meets the eye.Who's Going to Blink

First Now?


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MARCH 2018

DSPs found anomalies since the revenue from severalcentres was substantial. On top of it, the two parties dis-agreed over how the revenue from advertising is beingshared disproportionately. In the initial days of digitalcinema, the ad revenue wasn’t high enough for everyoneto stand upright and take notice. However, when DSPs in-troduced metrics to measure the impact of ads, severalnational brands came onboard and it shot up the revenuefrom advertisements. This, in turn, hasn’t gone down wellwith a section of the producers who wanted DSPs toscreen their trailers for free. Suresh Babu, producer, has been at the forefront of thisfight against DSPs and he opined that it’s a wrong moveby DSPs to keep charging for equipment, projection tech-nology, and VPF long after the 5-year deadline hadpassed. “How can a third party come in between tocharge us for all this which is fundamental to the func-tioning of a cinema hall? In near future, there might evenbe a chance to someone would come forth to install a newsound system and we’ll end up coughing up money in-stead to help them recover their initial costs. This isn’t theway to be in the business when all of us are interdepen-dent,” he said couple of months ago. A similar stance was,reportedly, taken by several other producers who wantedDSPs to give up their claim on bulk of the ad-revenue. Inlate February, when the two parties met once again, the

producers shocked the DSPs by asking them for a com-plete removal of VPF component, even though the latterwas ready to slash down the VPF costs by nearly 30%-40%. The issue became more complicated when UFO andQUBE announced a merger in November, 2017, whichgave them a wider reach and a bigger chunk of the ad-revenue across single screen theatres in India. A sectionof film industry held on to a belief that this consolidationin DSP sector will put them on a back foot in future if theyhave to renegotiate on the pricing model. On top of it,with Tamil film producers too announcing their supportto Telugu film producers, the odds are stacked againstDSPs.However, it’s not as rosy as it seems, especially whenthere are rumours that the Telugu film producers are set-ting the stage for a new digital service provider to enterthe market. While there’s no stopping anyone from com-peting with UFO or QUBE, two of the biggest players inthe market, there are major issues to be sorted out beforea new player in the market becomes the preferred DSP.As of now, UFO and QUBE have become a default choicebecause of their reliability and stringent anti-piracymeasures that the companies have taken up. Moreover,both the companies have repeatedly tried to drive homethe point that their technology meets the standards setby Hollywood-based studios, which means that any con-tent uploaded on their servers can be screened in anypart of the world. For several other smaller players in themarket, this is going to be a big challenge, especially inthe wake of piracy of content on few occasions in thepast. “QUBE, which is predominantly based in South Indiahas a strong workforce in every nook and corner of Telan-gana and Andhra Pradesh to meet the demands from theexhibitors, whenever there’s a maintenance issue. If ashow is cancelled for whatever reason, it results in a bigloss of revenue for all parties, and the company has beenworking hard to ensure that everything functionssmoothly,” a source close to the company said. Now that the Telugu film industry has refused to come toan agreement with DSPs, there’s a big question mark onhow long it can continue to stand on its decision to notrelease any new films. Although there are no big releasestill mid-March, this summer is action-packed for Telugucinema with films like Rangasthalam, Bharath Ane Nenu,Naa Peru Surya, Kaala, Mahanati, Savyasachi, KrisharjunaYuddham, Naa Nuvve, MLA, Saakshyam lined up for re-lease in April-May. The dilemma is, no one knows whosecourt the ball is in. Now, it’s a matter of who’s going tosuccumb to the pressure from all sides and call for atruce. - Hemanth Kumar C R

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Amazing Andhra Pradesh

Migratory Murmurs of PelicanKolleru Bird Sanctuary


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how to reachAtapaka Sanctuary is located in the Kaikalur mandal of Krishnadistrict. Situated at the border of the district, it is 85 KM from Vi-jayawada, but only 25 KM from Eluru, head quarters of West Go-davari. Being one of the major cities of Andhra Pradesh and alsobeing one of the biggest railway junctions of India, Vijayawada hasmany a source of connectivity through road, rail and also airways.Eluru is also well connected through road and railway modes oftransport.accommodationEither Vijayawada, or Eluru are major cities of coastal Andhra,they have good number of hotels for accommodation.

If you desire immensely to travel toa time when human and wildlifelived in harmony, either look for atime-machine, or simply travel 25KM from Eluru to Atapaka Bird Sanctu-ary by road. Don't follow the GPS onyour smartphone, but be ready to getmisled by the locals to travel on thepicturesque sub-lanes along the vastKolleru lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the country.Atapaka Bird Sanctuary in KolleruLake, is an avian paradise, as flocks ofPelicans, Painted Storks and Stilts mi-grate to Kolleru lake from thousands ofmiles for their annual sojourn to nestand breed. Especially over 5,000 spot-billed pelicans from various countriesreach Kolleru lake every year duringwinter by travelling over 3500 km.Apart from Pelicans, large-whistlingTeals, spot-billed Ducks, River Terns,Black-Winged Stilt, Painted Storks,Glossy Ibis, White Ibis, Herons, Egrets,Cormorants are the regular guests.Starting from November, the avian so-journers form into couples and startarranging nests on some particulartrees, including Penneru (SingaporeCherry), Thati (Palmyra) and NallaThumma ( Black Babool), on a tiny is-land in the sanctuary. If Painted Storksfind no space for arranging nests onthe sanctuary premises, they maketemporary arrangements outside thesanctuary and within the lake. Amidthousands of winged guests and resi-dent breeders at the sanctuary, WhitePelicans is a special attraction for thevisitors, whether they are tourists,wildlife enthusiasts, amateur bird-watchers, or professional ornitholo-gists. The migratory birds are alsoknown as Rosy Pelican and AmericanWhite Pelican. After Kolleru Operationin 2006, Pelicans visiting the sanctuaryhave become consistent. Spot-billed

pelicans started arriving at Ata-paka this season from October,2017.First-ever Pelican FestivalWith an objective of attracting na-tional and international touristsand also to emphasize the impor-tance of protecting birds andwildlife, Andhra Pradesh TourismDepartment recently organised thefirst-ever Pelican Festival at Ata-paka Bird Sanctuary. 'Pelican BirdFestival-2018’ received an over-whelming public response provid-ing new boost to the Kolleruregion. Scores of visitors includinglocals, tourists, thousands ofartists and students participatedwith pomp and gaiety in the one-day event. Tourism ministerBhuma Akhila Priya, along withdistrict collector B Lakshmikan-tham, inaugurated the festival andled the huge rally by the locals ofneighbouring villages. It was or-ganised with big scale as film

artistes, noted singers, includingFilm star Daggubati Venkatesh,singers Vandemataram Srinivas,took part in cultural programmesorganised on the occasion. Accord-ing to the Akhila Priya, the Pelicanfestival would be an annual event.Other AttractionsThe visitors could climb the birds’watchtower to have a completeview of the birds’ paradise in theWildlife Sanctuary. EnvironmentEducation Centre is located on thebanks of lake. Boat riding facility isanother attraction to the visitors,particularly the students. APtourism boats are available, asthey enable the tourists to travelthrough the water bodies withinthe lake and listen closely to thevoices of the migrated wingedbeauties. Kolleti Kota temple oflocal Goddess Peddintilamma isjust half an hour boat journeythrough Kolleru lake.

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CSIR Centre In AmaravatiThe Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)has come forward to establish the Centre for Scaling upand Demonstration of Relevant CSIR Technologies atAmaravati. CSIR Director General Girish Sahni along withsenior scientists called on Chief Minister N. Chan-drababu Naidu at the Secretariat recently. Sahni told theChief Minister that the CSIR was one of the biggest re-search and development organisations in the country.The CSIR would submit the Detailed Project Report(DPR) to the government in the next couple of months.The project would be implemented in association withthe State government, he said.

85th Convocation Of AU In March The 85th convocation of Andhra University is scheduledto be held in March. Candidates who have completedtheir courses during the academic year 2015-2016would be eligible for the award of degree or diploma inthis edition of the convocation. Apart from this, Ph.Dand M.Phil degrees would be awarded to the candidateswho would be completing the programme before Feb-ruary 24. Those who are going to receive prizes and goldmedals would be informed separately.

Surgeon Selected For FellowshipGuntur based joint replacement surgeon and director ofSai Bhaskar Hospitals, Busireddy Narendra Reddy hasbeen selected for an international fellowship. Dr. Naren-dra Reddy has recently attended Orthopedic SurgeonsSociety seminar held at Indonesia and Bangladesh. Inthe seminar on Orthoplasty held at Bangladesh, Dr.Reddy spoke on advances on joint replacement surgery.He said that joint replacement surgery is beginning toget popular in Bangladesh and there is a 500 beddedhospital in Dhaka, the biggest in Saarc countries.

Writer Munipalle Passes AwayA campus of National Institute of Disaster Management,

was inaugurated at HRD Institute at Bapatla recently.The basic unit comprising of administrative, academicand secretarial support staff, will organise and coordi-nate all training activities of Southern Campus in collab-oration with APSDMA and other State GovernmentInstitutions, said D. Chakrapani, Director General of theAP Human Resource Development Institute. NIDM’sSouthern campus would be focusing more on groundlevel issues, district and local planning, last mile connec-tivity and mainstreaming disaster management into de-velopment related issues as are relevant to the region,he said.

Vizag Artist Wins Laurels In GreeceVizag based artist Ravi Kattakuri has created a niche forhimself in the international circuits. Known for hisunique style of bright artworks with the characteristicfeminine face, Ravi was recently invited for the LakkosInternational Art and Culture Exchange Programme inHeraklion, Greece. He was the only artist from the coun-try and among the selected few artists from across theglobe for the three weeks art residency programme.Ravi displayed three canvas works, 25 paintings onpaper and also made a public art work in the course ofthe programme last month. The artist who graduatedfrom the Department of Fine Arts in Andhra University,pursued his MFA from Viswa Bharati University, Shanti-niketan.

APPSC Signs Mou With UniversitiesThe Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC)has signed an MoU with universities in the State on re-cruitment of Assistant Professors. Commission SecretaryY.V.S.T. Sai signed the agreement with Registrars of therespective universities. Chairman, Vice-Chairman andSecretary of the AP State Counsel of Higher Educationwere present. According to the agreement, APPSC willconduct a written test for recruitment to the post of As-sistant Professor when a request is received and extendthe merit list to the university concerned. Thereafter,the universities will conduct interview for selection. The

HAPPENING AP

Well-known Telugu cinema comedian Gundu HanumanthaRao passed away with kidney-related ailments in Hyderabadin the early hours of February 19. He was 61. He is survivedby a son. Born in Vijayawada on October 10, 1956, Gundudabbled in theatre from a young age. The first role he es-sayed on stage was in a play called Ravana Brahma in Vi-jayawada. He got a big break when filmmaker Jandhyalaoffered him a role in Aaha Na Pellanta where he played agroom’s father who is hard of hearing. He has acted in over400 movies. But it was his roles in TV serials like Amrutamwhich earned him acclaim and awards including threeNandi awards.

Gundu Hanumantha Rao

Comedian Gundu Passes Away


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State government has entrusted this additional duty tothe APPSC to improve the quality of selection process.

Sarin New Director Of APFSLThe government has appointed Rajendra Kumar Sarin asDirector of Andhra Pradesh State Forensic Science Labo-ratory (APFSL) for a period of two years from the date oftaking charge. According to the GO RT No. 100, Sarinwould work under the supervision of the DGP (M.Malakondaiah) and Advisor, Forensics and Allied PoliceSupport Services (K.P.C. Gandhi). Meanwhile, the gov-ernment accorded permission for appointing 10 lab as-sistants in the APFSL headquarters on outsourcing basis.

Vizag Port Figures Among Top ThreeVisakhapatnam Port has been ranked among top threeperforming major ports in the country along with JNPTand Kamarajar ports. Visakhapatnam Port has beenplaced in ‘good’ category in the index benchmarking theperformance of major ports was introduced as part of astudy conducted by Dun & Bradstreet for the Ministry ofCommerce and Industry. The performance index is de-veloped by combining qualitative perception of stake-holders including customer satisfaction withquantitative outcomes like cargo volumes and physicalefficiency.

From VMC School To IIITsAs many as 16 students who completed Class X fromMunicipal Corporation schools secured seats in IIITsacross the State. All the students who scored GPA be-tween 9.5 and 10 out of 10 in the recent SSC examina-tions secured seats in IIIT Nuzvid, IIIT Srikakulam and IIITOngole.

Officials Study Traffic System In JapanAn official team from Guntur and Krishna districtswound up its week-long visit of Japan recently. CollectorKona Sasidhar, Superintendent of Police, Guntur Urban,Ch. Vijaya Rao and Municipal Commissioner C. Anu-radha from Guntur and Principal Secretary, Energy, AjayJain, Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada, GautamSawang and Municipal Commissioner of Vijayawada J.

Nivas and CRDA Commissioner Ch. Sreedhar visited im-portant cities in Japan and interacted with various min-isterial delegations.

RINL Crosses Another MilestoneWith the recent commissioning of caster at a cost of Rs.220 crore in the Steel Melt Shop-2 of the Visakhapat-nam Steel Plant, the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited(RINL) has achieved a production capacity of 7.3 milliontonne. The modernisation project was taken up at a costof Rs. 4,000 crore. The modern caster-4 has a capacityto produce one million tonne rounds and blooms. Thecaster-4 consists of 1x5 strand bloom-cum-round cast-ing machine. The rounds capacity is up to 510 diame-ters. It will help meet the raw material requirement ofRINL’s forged wheel plant coming up at Raebareli at acost of around Rs. 1,700 crore. RINL will also supplyrounds and blooms produced from caster-4 to othercustomers.

Special Darshan Quota IncreasedThe TTD resolved to enhance the online quota of Rs.300 special entry darshan ticket till April 15. The deci-sion has been taken as the period between Februaryand mid-April is considered to be slack, when theturnout of pilgrims is generally moderate. The TTD de-cided to make 17,000 tickets available in addition to theexisting quota of 1.25 lakh per week. While 4,000 ticketswould be made available additionally on Friday andSunday in a week, the first three days would see an in-crease of about 3,000 tickets.

Kuchipudi Exponent DeadEminent Kuchipudi exponent and guru Pasumarti Sitara-maiah died on February 9 at his residence in Visakhap-atnam after a brief illness. He was 95 and is survived bywife Hymavati, three sons and three daughters. Born atKuchipudi, home for the dance tradition that took thename after it, he began learning dance at the age offive. He was a disciple of Chinta Venkataramaiah andVedantam Raghavaiah. A recipient of Central SangeetNataka Academy award in 2004, he was quite famousfor his ‘ghatam’ dance. v

Ashwani Rana, Head of Connectivity Policy (India and South Asia)at Facebook, offered to extend cooperation to the Government

of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) in providing Internet services to its peoplethrough the fiber grid. In a meeting with Minister of Information Tech-nology and Panchayat Raj Nara Lokesh at the Secretariat recently,Rana said Facebook was keen on doing pilot projects in AndhraPradesh like in e-commerce and other emerging areas in the worldof the Internet. Facebook would impart training on women entrepre-neurs in the villages on how to market their products through onlineplatforms. Online safety would be another focal point of the socialmedia and networking giant, he added. Lokesh said A.P. was in theforefront of providing access to the Internet up to the last milethrough the fiber grid project and that the government would drawupon the Facebook’s expertise in multiple domains.

Lokesh with Ashwani Rana

FB To Support Digital Initiatives


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34 MARCH 2018

Following up with a bilateral meeting during theWorld Economic Forum in Davos in January, theChief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met with offi-cials of Bayer, a German multinational companyand one of the oldest agro chemicals, crop sciencesand pharmaceuticals company in the world. The objective oftheir proposal was to bring all stakeholders together, and pro-vide the farmers with access to market and technology forwater, nutrition and economic management. Impressed with the objective of the firm, the CM told the offi-cials to focus on small and marginal farmers. The CM was alsokeen on their proposal to bring leading innovation in chemi-cal and biological crop protection with aid of technology anddigital farming. “We want technological penetration in agriculture. We alsohave many systems in place for soil testing, use of drones andCCTV and other aspects of Internet of Things,” he said. He also said that they can explore Madanapalle for tomatocultivation and the district Chittoor for mango cultivation. Theofficials said that they are keen to take the project forwardand will revert with more specifics regarding the scale, re-quirements and past experience. Srinath Bala, Chief Marketing Officer, Peter R. Mueller, Head ofRegion APAC 2 (South Asia), Rajvi S. Rathi, Vice President –Public and Government Affairs, represented Bayer Crop-Science Limited.

AP to organisethree-day HappyCities Summit Urban Transformation to Global Livingwill be the theme for the Happy CitiesSummit to be held from April 10th to12th, at A-1 Convention Center, Vi-jayawada. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidureviewed themes, designs and plans for the or-ganization of the Happy Cities Summit at theSecretariat recently. The Chief Minister also re-viewed the status of the construction of roadsaround the capital region and directed officialsto complete all the works on road constructionsby monsoon.Officials from Dassault Systems presented theirVirtual 3D city proposal. The Chief Minister wasinformed that the implementation of the Virtual3D system would help in providing live data ofall the happenings in the city to the Govern-ment database and can be used to show real-time visuals. This system would be helpful for monitoringand surveillance purposes. The Virtual 3D sys-tem would also help in planning and prepara-tion for any impending natural disasters andcan provide the government with live data onpeople’s opinions and pulse using real- timetracking.“I want the designs and visualizations to be fu-turistic. Take the best modules available fromall over the world and simulate it in real time,”said the CM.He wanted the ‘exciting project’ must be built ina way that gives scopes for future development.The Chief Minister also asked officials fromDassault Systems to prepare a demo of Virtual3D City so that it can be demonstrated at theHappy Cities Summit in April.

Bayer to CooperateAP in digital farming

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IN PICS

Pic 1: Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu launched Tele ophthalmology services throughout AP. A total of 115 CMe-eye centres were launched under public private partnership (PPP) mode.

Pic 2: CM advised the representatives of Majlis-ul-Ulama, who called on him, not to read any religious overtures inhis statement on Surya Aradhana (worshiping Sun).

Pic 3: Ex Cricketer VVS Laxman Meets CM in Secretariat recently.

Pic 4: CM released a book `Mana Telugu Peddalu’ penned by I&PR Additional Director Malladi Krishnanand at Sec-retariat.

Pic 5: CM monitored screens connected to the surveillance cameras to check arrangements for devotees at Sri-sailam and Srikalahasti Temples during Maha Shivaratri Festival.

Pic 6: As part of his regular monitoring, CM reviewed the works at the site of Polavaram project.

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