The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Industry rehabilitation board soon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 25, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Industry rehabilitation board soon

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JUNE 24. An industries rehabilitation board will be constituted to review industrial sickness and suggest measures to prevent more units from going sick and increase employment generation, the Finance Minister, K. Rosaiah, said while presenting the budget in the Assembly on Wednesday.

Noting that the annual growth in employment had fallen to 1.1 per cent during 1994-2000 from 2.4 per cent in the previous decade, he said the Government attached importance to development of industries in order to create job opportunities. Mr. Rosaiah promised to encourage biotechnology but made no reference to the information technology sector.

When asked about this omission later, the Minister emphasised that there was no change in the Government's policy towards the IT sector or towards economic reforms, except that now they would have a human face.

Dwelling upon infrastructure development, he said 251 km of roads under National Highways would be improved, 111 bridges and culverts constructed and 13,000 km of rural roads taken over by the Government black-topped in the next five years. Kakinada Deep Water, Vodarevu, Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram ports would be developed and special efforts made to expedite work on the international airport in Hyderabad.

Asserting that the Government would implement the 73rd Constitutional amendment in letter and spirit, he said that it had agreed to devolve Rs. 200 crores annually to Panchayat Raj institutions. He said an amount of Rs. 138.12 crores had been allocated for payment of old age pensions to the 19.19-lakh beneficiaries in the State.

The Finance Minister said an amount of Rs. 500 crores had been provided towards subsidy for supply of rice to white-cardholders against Rs. 420 crores during 2003-04. He announced a hefty increase in the Home Department's budget from Rs. 1,343 crores to Rs. 1,568 crores this year. He said the Government proposed to invest adequately in education so that the State could become one of the highest literacy States in the country in the next five years.

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