Telangana Unveils New Industrial Policy – Highlights

Telangana Government Unveils New Industrial Policy Image

Telangana Government Unveils New Industrial Policy Image

One of the major reasons behind the formation of Telangana was to expedite its economic growth. From the look of it, it seems that the state government has already started the work. It has come up with a new industrial policy that looks to provide approvals in the quickest possible time for starting projects in the state. K Chandrasekhar Rao, the Chief Minister, has said that a chasing cell would be instituted in his office in order to look at the progress of different proposals received by the state government. With administrative lethargy as one of the major problems plaguing the country, one feels that this is going to be a major step in the right direction.

What the CM Wants

The policy was introduced on 12 June. During the launch, some leading businessmen such as GM Rao, BV Mohan Reddy, GV Krishna Reddy, and Yogi Deveshwar, who is a prominent figure of the ITC Group, were present there. KCR has already sought the blessings of these prominent businessmen so that Telangana can become a state that is regarded as highly convenient for business ventures. Along with the said names, there were 2000 industrialists from across India as well as the world during the launch of the policy.

How Will the Policy Work?

The new policy has been named Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self-certification System (TS-iPASS). According to the policy guidelines, if any officer is found causing unnecessary delay in processing applications of a project punitive action will be taken against that person. As of now, they will be subjected to a fine of INR 1000 for each day of delay. The CM has also said that the mega projects will be passed in 15 days.
During November 2014, the state assembly of Telangana had ratified an industrial policy framework whereby it had stated that maximum-possible facilities will be provided to the sector and inspection would be reduced to the minimum-possible levels. As per the new policy, investments worth at least INR 200 crore have been classed as mega projects and projects between INR 10 and 200 crore are regarded as large projects. The policy has stated that it will provide permission for both these kinds of projects as well as the medium and small proposals.

The policy also looks to set up six industrial corridors in the state. The initiative has met with unanimous consent from the state assembly. Apart from the critical problem of red-tapism it also looks to deal with corruption in processing business proposals.

The process starts with the business-owners making the online applications and paying the fee, which has been fixed for this purpose. Once this is done, the protocol officers will meet them and take them to the Chief Minister himself. During the meeting KCR will provide them the package that has all the necessary permits. He has himself given assurance that the project is completely free of corruption.

Core Areas

As part of the policy, Telangana Government has demarcated 14 areas as being of high importance – ones where a focused approach needs to be taken. Some of them may be mentioned as below:

• Life sciences
• Textiles
• Pharmaceuticals
• Minerals
• Information technology
• Transportation
• Aerospace
• Logistics
• Automobiles

K Chandrasekhar Rao has also started a solar power policy, which will make sure that single window clearance is provided to solar projects. The state government has also created a land bank with 1.5 lakh acres. This land bank will be used for industrial projects and has been handed over to the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.