New industrial policy to ensure industrialisation across Telangana, says top official

The Telangana government is confident that its industrial policy, awaiting cabinet approval, will help spread industrialisation across the 10 districts of the new state, a top official says.

"We have identified 10 to 12 core sectors which will include some of the obvious ones like pharmaceutical, aerospace and food processing. The idea is to have two large industrial parks for each sector over a period of time," says K. Pradeep Chandra, Special Chief Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Telangana. "Think of this as 20 industrial parks spread over the nine districts of Telangana (excluding Hyderabad - the tenth and the capital). Each district will get two to three parks and this way industrialisation will be spread across the state," he added.

Chandra was earlier the principal secretary handling industrial promotion for united Andhra Pradesh. There are big names coming to Telangana as was the case with an undivided Andhra Pradesh earlier, according to Chandra. "Back then, we got in the Sri City project, Pepsi to Andhra Pradesh. Now we have Coke planning to invest Rs 1,000 crore in Telangana. The process is on to identify land for this project. Similarly, while Cadbury went to Andhra Pradesh then, we now have ITC planning to invest in food processing and cookie-making in Telangana. Like Isuzu Motors went to Andhra Pradesh earlier, we are now talking to Mahindras to expand and establish their new tractor facility here."

The Tata group plans to manufacture Dornier aircraft, in association with RUAG Aviation, in the state. "While Tata Advanced Systems with RUAG Aviation planned to manufacture the Dornier 228 fuselage and wing in Hyderabad, it is now likely that they may make the entire Dornier aircraft here," says Chandra.

The landscape has changed for industry in Telangana, asserts Chandra. "The statements made by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao that industry would get top priority is making a huge difference. He has also assured availability of land and water. Though power supply is an immediate problem, we hope to overcome it in a year or so," he says.

The Telangana government has begun a survey to identify land that can be offered to new industries in the state, says Chandra. "A process is on to identify, district-wise, land that is suitable for industrialisation and the initial survey report is very good. Hopefully by the end of this year the entire survey will be done and around 200,000 acres could become available for industrialisation."

Chandra says the state government is also considering specific projects such as setting up a pharmaceutical city near Hyderabad and a cotton hub in Warangal district, the largest producer of long-staple cotton.