ap mag english march 2016 issue

AP

jug

ger

nA

ug

ht

ro

lls

on

....

Andhra Pradesh

achieved a gr

owth rate of 1

0.5 percent in

the Gross Sta

te Domestic Pr

oduct (GSDP)

in the current

fiscal year des

pite the severe

con-straint

s posed by the

unjust divisio

n of the State. D

is-closing

the commend

able growth r

ate of the stat

e rate at

the Collectors

' Conference h

eld in Vijayawa

da, Chief

Minister N Cha

ndrababu Naid

u asked distric

t Collectors

to focus on in

clusive growth

to achieve a 1

5 per cent tar

-get in 2

016-17. He, ho

wever, caution

ed on the nee

d forinclusiv

e growth.

“Inclusive gro

wth is very im

portant and p

er capita in-

come should a

lso increase. E

conomic ineq

ualities have

to be reduced.

Long-term su

stainability is

vital. Your

focus should b

e on this,” Nai

du said.

“Andhra Prade

sh started-off

with a revenu

e deficit of

about Rs 16,00

0 crore follow

ing the bifurca

tion of the

state in 2014.

Still we could

achieve a grow

th rate of

8.39 per cent i

n 2014-15 and

increase it to

10.5 per cent

in 2015-16. Fo

r the next yea

r, our target is

a 15 per cent

growth in the

GSDP,” he said

.

C O N T E N T SIFR 2016: A Scintil-lating Show

CM makes strongpitch in Mumbai

Empowering women - Creating Entrepreneurs

20

13

14

Expedite Rail Zone forAP: State’s plea

18

LargestFDI in APpowercomplex

5

The IFR 2016, whileshowcasing theprowess of the IndianNavy, has broughttogether navies fromacross the globe toIndian shores.

No Power Cuts:Chill Out This

Summer in AP!

Happening Andhra

24

632

SnapshotIndustrial Strengths of

Andhra Pradesh

34AP turninginto aMedicalHub

26

8 State to create databaseof all R&B roads

28

Various developments across thestate of Andhra Pradesh.

Amazing AP:Festival of RiverKrishna30

Rs 1,000 crore healthcarecity in Amaravati

Chief Minister’sSocial Network

Amrut scheme todevelop 30 towns in AP

INS Viraat to bedeveloped as tourismcentre

29

177

Fulfil our dire needs: CMwrites to PM

MARCH 20164 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

emerging as a 'Powerful' state!It is indeed a great matter of pride for the economically battlingState of Andhra Pradesh to have clocked an impressive growth rateof 10.5 per cent in the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in thecurrent fiscal year, despite, as the Chief Minister himself put it "se-vere constraints".

Creditable, again as the visionary CM explained, because the Statestarted off with a revenue deficit of Rs 16,000 crore in the wake ofthe bifurcation.

While it is entirely due to the Chief Minister's relentless pursuit ofdevelopment goals that has made this rather admirable feat possi-ble - especially given that the national growth rate is lagging at 7.6percent - the Chief Minister has not lost sight of the need to ensurethat the common man should benefit from these fruits of develop-ment.

"Inclusive growth is very important", he advised the administrationat the recent Collectors' conclave, emphasising the need to reduceeconomic inequalities at the end of the day.

It is again heartening to note that Andhra Pradesh is now settingits sights on making the State not only power surplus one but alsoan electricity selling one. The 2,640 MW Sembcorp GayatriThermal Power Complex got up at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore at Kr-ishnapatnam in Nellore is another feather in the cap, as it is thelargest foreign direct investment–driven project on a single site inthe thermal energy sector in India to date.

It may not be yet a time to celebrate; but certainly an occasion tolook ahead with heads held high!

Ramesh Babu KandulaEditor

EDITORIAL

CommissionerDr P Krishna MohanEditorRamesh Babu KandulaExecutive EditorNaresh Nunna

Cover PageIFR 2016 at Vizag

Second CoverCollectors’ Conference at Vijayawada

Third CoverCM in various programmes

Fourth CoverAPIIC Advt on Sunrise State

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

Printed atCaxton Offset Pvt. Ltd.HyderabadEach Issue : Rs 5/-Annual Subscription : Rs 50/-www.andhrapradeshmagazine.orgEmail: [email protected]

ANDHRA PRADESHPublished Monthly In English & Telugu

March 2016Volume:9 Issue:9Salivahana Era 1937

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.

MARCH 2016 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG 5

Gayatri Energy Venturesalong with JV partnerSembcorp Industrieslaunched the 2,640 MWpower complex in Nellore district ofAndhra Pradesh.The Sembcorp Gayatri ThermalPower Complex, the Rs. 20,000-croreproject, was inaugurated by ChiefMinister N Chandrababu Naidu,Union Minister for Urban Develop-ment M Venkaiah Naidu and Singa-pore Minister for Trade and IndustryS Iswaran near Krishnapatnam port.This is the largest foreign directinvestment project in AndhraPradesh.

Built at a total project cost of USD 3billion (Rs 20,000 crore) the powercomplex is the largest foreign directinvestment-driven project on asingle site in the thermal energysector in India to date. The complex houses two 1,320 MWsupercritical coal-fired power plants.The first power plant—ThermalPowertech Corporation India Ltd—was successfully completed andcommenced full operation in Sep-tember 2015. The second powerplant—NCC Power projects—isexpected to be fully operational in2016.With this new power complex,

Sembcorp now has a total of 3,500MW of thermal and renewable en-ergy capacity in India, according to acompany statement.Singapore Minister for Trade and In-dustry S Iswaran noted that Semb-corp's thermal power plant projectis a major investment that makes fulluse of its capabilities in the energysector and complements its other in-vestments in the wind and solar en-ergy sub-sector.Sembcorp said the power complexuses technology that will lower itsenvironmental impact. These in-clude a covered conveyor systemwhich transports coal seamlesslyfrom the coast to the complex, aswell as supercritical technology. Union Minister of State withindependent charge for Power andCoal Piyush Goyal, Union Minister ofState with independent charge forEnvironment and Forests PrakashJavadekar and Union Minister ofState for Science and Technology YSChowdary were present on theoccasion. Gayatri Group Chairmanand Rajya Sabha memberT Subbarami Reddy presided overthe inauguration ceremony. Captainsof industry, including GVK Groupfounder chairman G V KrishnaReddy, Apollo Group chairmanPratap C.Reddy, Navayuga Groupchairman C V Rao, NASSCOMchairman BVR Mohan Reddy, andothers were also present.With this new power complex, Sem-bcorp now has a total of 3,500 MWof thermal and renewable energycapacity in India, according to acompany statement. The huge complex will enable Nel-lore to become India’s largest powercapacity generation centre in asingle district, officials said.

LARGEST FDI IN AP POWER COMPLEX

v

Singapore Minister S Iswaran being felicitated by CM during the launch of mega power complex

6 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG MARCH 2016

Taking a giant leap in health-care, Andhra Pradesh gov-ernment signed aMemorandum of Under-standing with the Indo-UK Institute ofHealth (IUIH). A delegation from theUnited Kingdom met Andhra PradeshChief Minister N Chandrababu Naiduhere in Visakhapatnam. This comes insuccession of the signing of an MoUduring the Prime Minister NarendraModi’s visit to Britain last year. According to MoU, a mega hospitalwith an expenditure of Rs 1,000 croreand 1000 bed capacity will be built inAmaravati, Andhra Pradesh capitalcity. Affiliated with the hospital, Med-ical College, medical-related depart-ments, research and traininginstitutions will also be set up. Thestate government will give a hundredacres of land to build the Health CareCity. The foundation stone for themega project regarded as “Health CareCity” will be held in July. Speaking on the occasion, the ChiefMinister affirmed that AndhraPradesh will emerge as a healthcaredestination of the world. IUIH delega-

tion expressed willingness to theChief Minister’s suggestion to makeAmaravati headquarters for their 11medical projects in the country. The Chief Minister stressed on makingmedical services available to commonpeople at reasonable prices. Hepointed how costly healthcare is inadvanced countries like the UnitedStates. In order to change this, I wantto make Amaravati a mega healthcarecity, that provides affordable medicalservices to all, he added. He also expressed confidence that ifquality medical services are offered atreasonable prices, patients from theUnited States will visit Amaravati fortreatment. He added that the govern-ment is giving a fillip to the healthcaresector similar to the IT sector. “Apart from world-class infrastruc-ture, I aim to make Amaravati an edu-cation and medical hub,” he said. TheChief Minister added that AndhraPradesh will play a key role in bring-ing India to the second position inmedical tourism, after Thailand. In this regard, the Chief Ministerinformed that Amaravati is already

making strides in health and educa-tion sectors. Apart from renowned in-stitutes like Amity, NRM, Oxford,Cambridge evincing interest in Amar-avati, the city will also have AIIMS.That apart, Shetty Group from Dubaihas also come forward to con-struct a large hospital, he said. Meanwhile, IUIH Chairman MikeParker said, “We are setting up 11mega medical units with an expendi-ture of Rs 10,000 crore in 11 citiesacross India”. He said that the con-struction of the mega hospital in Ama-ravati will be completed in 36 months.He has also agreed to rope in leadingmedical institutions and universitiesaround the world for establishing theHealth Care City in Amaravati. Deputy Chief Minister NimmakayalaChinarajappa, Ganta Srinivasa Rao,Advisor (Communications) DrParakala Prabhakar were present.Members of the UK delegation wereAndrew McAllister, British DeputyHigh Commissioner in Hyderabad,Mike Nithavrianakis.

Rs 1,000 crore

healthcaRe city in amaRavati

v


INSViraat, the world’soldest aircraft car-rier, will be con-verted into a hotel after it isdecommissioned from service laterthis year.The Indian Navy has decided tohand over the aging aircraft carrierto the Andhra Pradesh government,Chief Minister N ChandrababuNaidu. Naidu received this assur-ance from defence authorities onthe sidelines of the internationalfleet review at Visakhapatnam.The Andhra Pradesh governmentwill convert Viraat into a 500-roomhotel or resort.A final decision on where Viraatwould be located has not been takenyet but it is likely to be in Visakhap-atnam, an official in the chief minis-ter’s office said. Naidu expectsViraat to draw more tourists to thestate that also has the country’s onlysubmarine museum in Visakhapat-nam.INS Kursura, a Soviet-built decom-missioned submarine was con-verted into a museum atRamakrishna Mission beach inVisakhapatnam in 2002, during the

earlier tenure of Naidu. The firstsubmarine museum in South Asiareceived 270,000 visitors a year in2010, according to VisakhapatnamUrban Development Authority,which maintains the museum ship.Viraat is currently on its last opera-tional tour of duty and participatedin the International Fleet Review inVisakhapatnam together with 100other ships from 51 countries.The 28,700-tonne aircraft carrierwill retire after 57 years of service,including 29 years in the IndianNavy. The British-built Centaur car-rier was inducted into the IndianNavy on 12 May 1987.Viraat, the last British ship servingthe Indian Navy, is the flagship ofthe Western Naval Command. It cancarry up to 26 fighter aircraft andhelicopters, including 16 Sea Harri-ers and helicopters such as SeaKings, and Chetaks.It is one of the two aircraft carriersof the Navy. The other INS Vikrama-ditya became the flagship of the In-dian Navy after it was inducted in2013.Commander C.G. Raju, public rela-tions officer of the Eastern Naval

Command, said Viraat will be de-commissioned in 2016.The defence ministry has ap-proached different state govern-ments with coastline to takeresponsibility of the aging carrier.Defence minister Manohar Parrikarproposed to hand over Viraat forRs.1 if the state government waswilling to take responsibility of itsupkeep.Viraat, however, is not the first car-rier to be proposed as a tourismdestination. INS Vikrant, India’s firstaircraft carrier was converted into amuseum ship in Mumbai after it wasdecommissioned in 1997. The Ma-harashtra government maintainedthe museum from 2001 to 2012 butit was closed down due to safetyconcerns.Motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto Ltd.recently introduced a bike named‘V’ that contains metal sourced fromVikrant. Bajaj bought the scrapmetal of Vikrant to make the 150-ccmotorcycle. The first bikes made ofscrap metal sourced from Vikrantwent into production in Februaryand are likely to be released inMarch.

Ins Viraatto bedevelopedas tourismcentre

v


w At the outset, I wish to express mysincere thanks and gratitude forthe financial and institutional sup-port we have been receiving fromyour government. Through we re-ceived Rs 3,153 crores (2,303crores to partly bridge the re-source gap, Rs 350 crores for thedevelopment of seven backwarddistricts, and Rs 500 crores for theconstruction of new capital city)during 2014-15 financial year, wereceived only Rs 700 crores (Rs350 crores for the development ofseven backward districts and Rs350 crores for Amaravati develop-ment) during the current year sofar. w You are aware that no State in ourcountry is more dependent on thegenerosity of the central govern-ment for its financial health thanAndhra Pradesh. You know betterthan anyone else that irrational re-organisation of Andhra PradeshState by the UPA Government with-out concern for the economic andfinancial consequences has left

Andhra Pradesh with a revenuedeficit of Rs 16,079 crores in thefirst ten months of its existence.While I am grateful for your mag-nanimity and personal commit-ment to help our State, there areseveral provisions in the AP Reor-ganisation Act 2014 and the assur-ances of the then Prime Minister ofIndia to the Parliament that haveremained unfulfilled.w My State at this moment is in direneed of resources to bridge therevenue deficit, fulfil the develop-ment needs of the state and meetthe expectations of the people. Weare experiencing serious financialstress and unless Government ofIndia comes to our rescue, it wouldbe difficult to tide over the crisis. Irequest you to release the fundsdue to the State at the earliest andorder for adequate provision in the2016-17 Budget. w Sir, your categorical assurance that‘all provisions of the AP Reorgani-sation Act would be implemented

in letter and spirit’ has inspiredconfidence amongst the people ofmy State that the pain and damagecaused by the State’s bifurcationwould be assuaged and a new eraof development and progresswould be launched. I am confidentthat you would create the muchneeded level playing field, fulfil thecommitments made with referenceto the Reorganisation Act, and cre-ate the ecosystem essential for sus-tainable development by providingsubstantial financial package.w At this juncture, I request you totake measures that would reassurethe people of Andhra Pradesh thatthe NDA government is committedto all round development ofAndhra Pradesh by creating the en-vironment that would facilitate re-alisation of its full potential foreconomic growth and launch onthe path of sustainable develop-ment. In this background, I requestyour kind consideration of the fol-lowing issues and generous action.

FulfilourdireneedsChief MinisterChandrababu Naiduwrites to PM NarendraModi, requesting allpossible asstance tothe State in theBudget 2016.


grant to bridge the resourcegap

w The Section 46 (2) of APR Act 2014has ordained that the “Central gov-ernment shall provide appropriategrants having regard to the re-sources available to the successorState of AP for 2014-15.” In addi-tion, the Hon’ble Prime Ministerhad assured the Parliament that“the resource gap that may arise inthe successor state of AP in thevery first year, especially duringthe period between the appointedday and the acceptance of the 14Finance Commission recommenda-tions by the Government of India,will be compensated in the regularUnion Budget 2014-15.”w Notwithstanding this provision, wereceived an adhoc grant of Rs2,303 Crores, though the Account-ant-General of Andhra Pradeshcertified that the revenue deficitfor the period from June 02, 2014to March 31, 2015, was Rs 16,079crores. We request that the re-maining Rs 13,776 crores due to usmay please be released at the earli-est. Assistance to rayalaseema &north Coastal Districts

w The Section 46 (3) of APR Act 2014states, “The Central Governmentshall, while considering the specialdevelopment package for the suc-cessor State of Andhra Pradesh,provide adequate incentives, inparticular for Rayalaseema andnorth coastal regions of that State”.Further, the Section 94 (3) of theAct has ordained, “the Central Gov-ernment shall support the pro-grammes for the development ofbackward areas in the successorStates, including expansion ofphysical and social Infrastructure.”The Hon’ble Prime Minister as-sured that a “Special DevelopmentPackage for backward regions ofAP, in particular Rayalaseema andNorth Coastal districts, will be on

the lines of Koraput-Bolongir-Kala-handi special package and the Bun-delkhand Special Package in MP &UP”. w All economic and human develop-ment indicators reveal that thethree north coastal districts andfour Rayalaseema districts arecloser to the Special CategoryStates rather than the other South-ern States. At present, these dis-tricts lack economic growthengines and have substantiallypoor infrastructure and thereforeare unable to attract investmentsand kick-start the virtuous cycle ofdevelopment. Central governmentwas kind enough to provide Rs 50Crores for each of the seven dis-tricts last year and another Rs 50Crores this financial year, whichhas helped us launch major devel-opment initiatives for sustainabledevelopment of these districts. w In order to sustain the develop-ment momentum in these sevenbackward districts and to helpAndhra Pradesh achieve holisticand inclusive development by ad-dressing intra-state inequities, andenable Andhra Pradesh to catch upwith the national mainstream andcontribute to the national growthmomentum, I request you to pro-vide annual development grant ofRs 200 Crores to each of the sevendistricts every year for four years. Assistance to Amaravati De-velopmentw Section 94 (3) of the APR Act 2014has assured that Government ofIndia would provide “special finan-cial support for the creation of es-sential facilities in the new capitalof Andhra Pradesh State, including,the Raj Bhawan, High Court, Gov-ernment Secretariat, LegislativeAssembly, Legislative Council, andsuch other essential infrastruc-ture”. w I thank you for releasing Rs 850crores to launch the construction

of Amaravati, and Rs 1,000 croresfor construction of water supplyand drainage system in Vijayawadaand Guntur Corporations. w I would like to inform you that pro-visional estimates indicate that itwould require about one lakhtwenty thousand crores to con-struct Amaravati City over the nexttwo decades. The essential infra-structure, including the RajBhawan, Secretariat, High Court,Legislative Assembly and Councilalong with trunk infrastructureand land development is estimatedto cost around Rs 42,935 croresover the next five years. w Amaravati, in order to become theeconomic growth engine, would re-quire rail and road connectivitywith all districts, especially Ray-alaseema districts. In addition, theAP Reorganisation Act has assuredMetro Rail projects to Visakhapat-nam, and Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali Metropolitan area. I requestyou to provide the necessary finan-cial assistance and technical sup-port required for commissioningthese projects ahead of 2018-2019. w I request you to approve a grant offour thousand crore Rupees (Rs4,000 crores) in the 2016-17Budget for financing governmentbuildings and other essential infra-structure for Amaravati and anamount of Rs 2,000 crores for con-struction of Metro project in Vi-jayawada. We intend to raiseresources for construction of capi-tal city through innovative means,including floating of Amaravati De-velopment Bonds. I request that allinvestment in Amaravati infra-structure be exempted from taxa-tion and the State government bepermitted to seek financing fromthe National Infrastructure Invest-ment Fund and raise Zero CouponBonds and Tax-Free Bonds. w You would agree that the new cityshould be an economic power-house rather than be a simple gov-


While bridging the resource gap is critical to achieve the much-needed financialstability and help embark on development trajectory, the State would requirefinancial and institutional assistance from the Central government to attractinvestments, stimulate industrial development and revitalise the economy.

ernment centre. This would re-quire good infrastructure andrapid industrial investment, bothof which require appropriate in-centive regime. Therefore, we re-quest that the following incentivesbe sanctioned for all industrial in-vestments in the Amaravati City re-gion: a) 100% excise dutyexemption for a period of 10 yearsfrom the date of commencement ofcommercial production; b) 100%income tax exemption for the ini-tial period of five years and there-after 30% for companies and 25%for other than companies for a fur-ther period of five years from thedate of commencement of com-mercial production; and c) Capitalinvestment subsidy @ 15% of theirinvestment in plant & machinery,subject to a ceiling of one crore Ru-pees. Incentives for Industrial De-velopmentw Section 94 (1) of the AP Reorgani-sation Act 2014 states that “theCentral government shall take ap-propriate fiscal measures, includ-ing tax incentives, to promoteindustrialization and economicgrowth in both the States”. Simi-larly, Section 46 (3) of the Act hasenjoined, “the Central Governmentshall, while considering the specialdevelopment package for the suc-cessor State of Andhra Pradesh,provide adequate incentives, inparticular for Rayalaseema andnorth coastal regions of that State”.The Prime Minister had assuredthat “Appropriate fiscal measures,including tax incentives to promote

industrialization and economicgrowth will be provided to AndhraPradesh. The incentives will bealong the lines extended to someother states.”w While bridging the resource gap iscritical to achieve the much-needed financial stability and helpembark on development trajectory,the State would require financialand institutional assistance fromthe Central government to attractinvestments, stimulate industrialdevelopment and revitalise theeconomy. I thank you for providing15% additional accelerated depre-ciation and 15% additional invest-ment allowance. Though theannouncement was made in theUnion Budget 2015-16, the notifi-cation has not been issued so far.You may kindly order for the issueof notification without furtherdelay. w These incentives, you would agree,are not adequate to attract sub-stantial investments. Above all,these concessions are far short ofwhat has been granted to the otherStates in earlier instances. Uttarak-hand and Himachal were grantedcent per cent CENVAT, Income Taxand Service Tax waiver for tenyears. Therefore, we once again re-quest you to sanction incentives onpar with what had been granted toother similarly placed States inearlier occasions. special Category status

w The Hon’ble Prime Minister had as-sured the Parliament that “for thepurposes of central assistance,

Special Category Status will be ex-tended to the successor State ofAndhra Pradesh for a period of fiveyears. This will put the state’s fi-nances on a firmer footing”. w Although the Fourteenth FinanceCommission did not make a dis-tinction between the Special Cate-gory and General Category Stateswhile determining the norms fordevolution, it did take into accountthe cost disability and fiscal capac-ity of the States for special dispen-sation. It is crystal clear - from the14 FC Report - that AP would bethe only State, other than the Spe-cial Category States, that wouldhave subsisting revenue gap evenin 2019-20, and potentially, after-wards. Even states that have beentraditionally fragile from the fiscalstability angle would have a rev-enue surplus after 42% devolutionstarting 2015-16 FY. w Andhra Pradesh eminently quali-fies for special category status byvirtue of non-viable nature of thestate finances, which has been con-firmed by the 14th Finance Com-mission, and the economic andinfrastructure backwardness. Theeconomic and human developmentindicators of three north Coastaland four Rayalaseema districts arecloser to the special categorystates than other States. Moreover,Andhra Pradesh is highly vulnera-ble to natural hazards and climaticchanges. w In the area of education and liter-acy, Andhra Pradesh with a literacyrate of 67.67%, ranks 31 of 35states and union territories, justabove Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh,


The case for considering Andhra Pradesh on par with Special Category States forthe purpose of central allocations and externally assisted project (EAP) financinghas become stronger following Central Government’s decision to disconnecttwelve central schemes from central assistance.

Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The fe-male literacy rate for AndhraPradesh is even lower at 60%,compared to the all-India averageof 64.6%. Additionally, the dropoutrates at the elementary and sec-ondary levels are high – at 19.06%and 24.63% respectively. w In the area of healthcare, the per-formance of the state in terms ofinfant mortality, maternal mortal-ity, weight at birth, and nutritionstatus is suboptimal. The InfantMortality Rate is particularly high,at 39 deaths per 1000 live births.In addition, there are gaps in thehealth care services delivery, man-agement of health information sys-tem, and poorly developed referralsystems. There are also deficits interms of hospitals and human re-sources, which are mostly concen-trated in Hyderabad.Notwithstanding out strong com-mitment to address these issues,we are unable to make substantialprogress for want of financial re-sources. w Further, the case for consideringAndhra Pradesh on par with Spe-cial Category States for the pur-pose of central allocations andexternally assisted project (EAP)financing has become stronger fol-lowing Central Government’s deci-sion to disconnect twelve centralschemes from central assistanceand transfer the revenue expendi-ture of another thirteen schemesto the States. The fiscal situation ofAP Government would not permitfinancing these twenty-fiveschemes during the next five years. w Therefore, considering the reasons

outlined above, I request you todeclare Andhra Pradesh as a Spe-cial Category State. While theprocess for declaration of the Stateis under progress, immediate ben-efit may please be extended toAndhra Pradesh by transferring allCentral Assistance to State PlanSchemes and Externally AidedProject (EAP) assistance as grantto the extent of 90 per cent withthe State contributing the remain-ing 10 per cent on par with theSpecial Category States. You mayplease instruct the Ministry of Fi-nance to increase the EAP pipelinesubstantially. Polavaram Irrigation Project

w Section 90 of the AP Reorganiza-tion Act declared the ‘PolavaramIrrigation Project to be a NationalProject’ and made it incumbent onthe Union Government to completethis project. In this context, we re-quest the Central Government toreimburse the expenditure in-curred by the State Government inrelation to this project. The StateGovernment spent Rs 439.48Crores in 2014-15, of which Rs 345Crores was reimbursed with a bal-ance of Rs 94.48 Crores to be reim-bursed. In 2015-16, the StateGovernment has spent Rs.2,466.29 Crores until end of De-cember 2015, which is yet to be re-imbursed. Probable expenditureon the project during the last quar-ter of the current financial year islikely to be around Rs 1,400Crores. w I request the Union Government toreimburse an amount of Rs

2,560.77 Crores that has alreadybeen spent and the amount likelyto be spent in the last quarter ofthe year. We are committed to get-ting the first phase of PolavaramIrrigation Project completed byMarch 2018. I request you to pro-vide Rs 4,000 crores in 2016-17Budget for the Polavaram project.Institutions for Progress andDevelopment (schedule XIII)

w The Section 93 of the Act statesthat the ‘Central Government shalltake all necessary measures asenumerated in the ThirteenthSchedule for the progress and sus-tainable development of the suc-cessor States’. Of the 11institutions of higher learning, Ithank you for the sanction of IIT,IIM, IIIT, IISER, NIT, AIIMS, Agricul-tural University, and the NationalInstitute of Disaster Management(NIDM). I request you to providenecessary budget provision for allthese institutions during the 2016-17 financial year and accord sanc-tion for Central and TribalUniversities. w Further, all investments assured bythe Andhra Pradesh Reorganisa-tion Act 2014, in the XIII Schedule,may be approved at the earliestand necessary budget provisionmade. These investments includeinter alia, Railway Zone for AndhraPradesh, Steel Plant at Kadapa,Metro Rail for Vijayawada,Visakhapatnam, and Amaravati,HPCL Refinery & Cracker Unit, andRoad and Rail connectivity be-tween Amaravati region and other


parts of Andhra Pradesh. Assistance for training andresearch Institutionsw You are aware that my State haslost access to more than one hun-dred institutions of research, devel-opment and training along withseveral other premier institutionsby virtue of their inclusion in theSchedule X of the Andhra PradeshReorganisation Act 2014 and theirphysical location in the TelanganaState. Of the 143 institutions in-cluded in the Schedule X of the Act,123 are located in and around Hy-derabad City. In addition, severalcentral public sector undertakingslike BHEL, defence research insti-tutions, research and development

institutes like CCMB and DNA Fin-ger Printing Institute that provideemployment to lakhs of familieshave all devolved to TelanganaState by virtue of their location inand around Hyderabad city. w No amount of money would ade-quately compensate the loss ofthese vital institutions that werebuilt and nurtured over severaldecades. Nevertheless, in order tohelp Andhra Pradesh establishsome of these key institutions, I re-quest you to kindly constitute acommittee of Government of Indiato assess the appropriate cost ofreplication of key institutions inthe State of Andhra Pradesh andprovide required grants. In addi-tion, you may kindly facilitate the

establishment of defence and aero-space industries in Andhra PradeshState, apart from setting up SAIL,BHEL and DRDO institutions. AP reorganisation ActAmendement w I request you to instruct the Min-istry of Home Affairs to expediteaction to amend Section 26 of APReorganisation Act 2014 to in-crease the number of LegislativeAssembly seats to 225 from thecurrent 175. This would benefitboth Andhra Pradesh and Telan-gana and should be acceptable toall political parties. Similarly, Sec-tions 50 and 51 require amend-ment to correct the anomalyrelating to the recovery of tax ar-rears, which would entail a loss ofaround Rs 3,000 crores to AndhraPradesh.w Finally, I express my sincere thanksand gratitude for the support ex-tended by you and your Ministersto my State during the difficultpost-reorganisation phase. Thoughthe bifurcation of the state has im-posed tremendous strain on theState finances and thrown up anumber of challenges, the peopleAndhra Pradesh are determined toconvert every challenge into an op-portunity for creating all roundprosperity for the people of thestate and the country. In this con-text, I request your gracious sup-port by releasing the funds due tous and order for appropriate provi-sions in the Budget to help acceler-ate and sustain the growthmomentum.

v

Though the bifurcation of the state has imposed tremendous strain on the Statefinances and thrown up a number of challenges, the people Andhra Pradesh aredetermined to convert every challenge into an opportunity for creating all roundprosperity for the people of the state and the country.


CM MAKES STRONGPITCH IN MUMBAI

Chief Minister ChandrababuNaidu made a strong pitchfor drawing investmentsinto Andhra Pradesh at theMake In India Week in Mumbai,highlighting the untapped 974-kmof coastline of the state as futurebusiness potential. In his presentation, Naidu spokeabout how industrial zones in re-gions near to coastal and inlandports, integrated ports capitalizingon technology and communicationand Development of supportiveport infrastructure in order to be-come an export oriented economyhave turned out to be key develop-ment strategies of Asian economiessuch as China, Singapore, SouthKorea and Taiwan.India must create CEZs which at-tract large labour intensive firmsthat are linked to world markets,he said adding that Visakhapat-nam-Chennai CEZ can act asIndia’s gateway to east.Explaining the CEZ development

strategy of Andhra Pradesh, he saidthat transit time from China/ Sin-gapore is about 2-3 days shortervia AP vis-à-vis West Coast. Statingthat AP has several advantages onthis front,including 974 km longcoastline, large available industrialland bank, 2nd rank by World Bankin Ease of Doing Business, 6 exist-ing ports with 6 more in develop-ment, 24X7 quality power andindustrial water availability andfocus on synergistic initiatives onsocial infrastructure (skill develop-ment), tourism, and industry to en-sure integrated development, theCM said.The state is providing thrust toManufacturing Sector throughVizag – Chennai Industrial Corridor& Chennai-Bengaluru IndustrialCorridor.“I had several brainstorming ses-sions with experts and we have de-cided to take up ports andcoastline development in a bigway,” the CM said.

He also said he wanted to make hisstate, which is currently at secondposition in the World Bank ratings,number one in ease of doing busi-ness. He elaborated on the effortsof developing new state capitalAmaravati and sought help fromthe Centre.Union Transport minister NitinGadkari who was present at theevent said he would cooperate withthe state on developing infrastruc-ture.In a summit on Andra Pradesh,Naidu talked about the develop-ment potential of the state in vari-ous sectors. “Despite being a newstate, our Global System of TradePreferences (GSTP) growth is indouble digits at 10.5 per cent,while India’s growth is 7.3 per cent.We rank second in ease of doingbusiness, as we give permissionsfor industries within 21 daysthrough a single-window systemand next year we aim to gain num-ber one position,” Naidu said.v


Chief MinisterChandrababu Naidubelieves that Self-helpGroups (SHGs) are hisbiggest strength. They can makeinclusive growth possible througha campaign (Pedarikam PaiGelupu). He, spearheadedinitiatives in bringing downpoverty levels through the dy-namic participation of women ofSelf-Help Groups and envisioned toenrol at least one woman in everyfamily in a Self Help Group.Every single breakthrough is like abrick of hope. When you measuretheir work through numbers, itmight not seem ‘big enough’ – like

18 women Auto drivers in Anan-thapur District. These womenenthusiasts hail from BukkarayaSamudram, Ananthapur Mandals,most of them studied 7th – 10thClass. Husbands are small farmers,Agriculture Labour, Auto RickshawDriver, Masons and other skilledpeople. The transformation powerthat those 18 have gives otherwomen immense hope. District Rural Development Agency(DRDA) in association with RUDE-SETI, Ananthapur trained womenin Auto Rickshaw driving on 15thAugust ‘2015 for 45 days. RuralDevelopment Trust (RDT), NGOsupported the initiative by sparing

trainers from their driving schooland Bajaj Auto spared 2 AutosRickshaws under the company’sCSR for training. District Collectorthrough news paper advertise-ment invited applications from in-terested candidates willing tolearn auto rickshaw driving. 30members filed applications but 25women turned-up for trainingclasses. During training learninglicense was processed and 40 daysof successful completion of train-ing, trainees were given perma-nent license for auto rickshawdriving. Bajaj Auto came forwardto supply 4 Seater Autos forRs.1.50 lakh and 7 Seater for Rs

EMPOWERING WOMEN -CREATING ENTREPRENEURS“There is enough to pull them down but there are also enough triggers ofhope!” – Success story of Women Auto Drivers in Ananthapur District.


1.70 lakhs. Trainees were paid Rs200/- per day as wage compensa-tion and training was conducted inan Off-campus mode. Besides train-ing women in auto rickshaw drivingself defence training was also im-parted and the trainees were ex-posed to RTO, Police and othersenior officers to elicit support fromDistrict Administration. Traineeswere encouraged to contribute Rs25,000/- and balance amount issecured as loan from banks. ***There’s a silent, resilient spirit thatexists around the world. It’s thespirit that lets women make friendsout of strangers, that leads womento fight against barriers and spear-head businesses that help hundredsin their community. Here is thestory of a SHERO, broke genderstereo types and preferred to drivean auto rickshaw to make a living,coming from a small village in Anan-thapur District.Ontimiddi Nallamma aged 35 years,a matriculate from open school anda mother of two daughters hailsfrom Hanumanthuru in AtmakurMandal narrates her experience...w For undergoing training, her hus-band paid travel cost from Nativeplace to Ananthapur (to and frocharges) for the first 15 days oftraining. She pledged her goldearrings to meet the travel costfor the second 15 days of training.w Village Organisation (Cluster ofSHGs), Papam Pally Village pro-vided Rs 25,000/- as loan to meetself contribution as matching forrising bank loan from State Bankof India, Ananthapur for purchaseof Auto Rickshaww Male Auto Drivers commented asto why women steal their tradi-tional business and her reply is“Namaste! Anna”.w She maintains speed limit of 40-50 km only as she knows that

speed thrills, that kills!w Male students don’t prefer herauto as there is no tape recorderfor entertaining passengers withmusic.w Employees prefer my auto espe-cially women employees andwives of male employees.w Her husband is a mason and helpsher daily by cleaning the Auto be-fore she starts the journey. “Myneighbours comment that I amexploiting my husband’s inno-cence”- Even my children said thatwhy I am not giving auto rickshawto their father and train him indriving as they feel that auto rick-shaw driving is a superior workcompared to masonry work- inher own words.

w She stated that she can sensemen’s attitude before they get intothe Auto. w Women encourage her and preferher auto rickshaw to men andthey even say that “if we don’t en-courage women auto drivers, whoelse will”!!w Local Dy. Supdt. Of Police gave hismobile number and provided freeaccess to all women auto rickshawdrivers at times of need for helpfrom police.w She earns Rs 500-600 per dayafter meeting the cost of dieseland other expenses. w EMI is fixed at Rs 4,000/- and shehas already paid 4 instalmentsregularly.w Some DRDA employees travelled


in her auto just to test herdriving skills.w State Bank of India gave KhakiShirt besides providing loan forpurchasing auto rickshaw.***The State Bank of India, Ananta-pur, recently extended auto loansto 11 women who were trained indriving by RUDESETI , an agencythat helps the rural unemployedacquire vocational skills.C. Naga Lakshmi, 39, is an exampleof a self-driven woman -- in moreways than one -- as she who alsoowns her own vehicle,. w Nagalakshmi, whose husband isa labourer, and has her daughterin her Intermediate and son inClass IX, said that in spite of thetraining she had received indriving, she could not earnenough to meet her children'seducational expenses nor buyher own auto rickshaw. The 10other women, who had alsobeen similarly trained, said thatthey would now be able to carryout repairs and maintenance onthe autos and clear their dueseasily from the income gener-ated. If the vehicles were nottheir own, they would have hadto pay rent to the three-wheelerowners.w Ms Sk. Shashabi, 28, a mother oftwo, whose husband was a car-penter, recalled that her familyincome was earlier Rs 7,000 permonth and she had found it diffi-cult to make ends meet everymonth. But now she was confi-dent of earning Rs 800 per dayon an average. "I am very happyas I will be able to supplementmy husband's income and ourstandard of living will improve,"she said w Smt. Pardesi Chandrakala,Mother of 2 Children hailingfrom Ammavari peta Village isan expert in Karate. As a part ofthe training curriculum Self De-fence Techniques and Karate

was taught to the Women AutoDrivers. “My two Daughters arestudying 12th Standard and Iwanted to buy them a TwoWheeler for commuting” shesays.w Smt. Ganta Saraswathi and Has-math bee are widows and Ms.Shahina who is not married, feelthat training in effective commu-nication, grooming is equallyimportant. In their own words“Getting a permanent driving li-cense is a proud movement intheir life and it is irreversibleachievement”.In Bukkaraya Samudram Mandal,Women Auto Rickshaw Driverstake agriculture labour passengersto the fields on the rural roughweather routes. In Ananthapurtown, women Auto Rickshaw Driv-ers seek their own space in Bus &Railway Stations to safeguard theiridentity. ***Woman auto drivers becomeowners - “They are all confidentand raring to go,” Success storyof women SHGs in VijayawadaMunicipal Corporation.70 Women SHG Members fromVijayawada were trained by Garap-ati Kanumilli Charities andPeople’s Welfare Society, trainingpartners of Mission for theElimination of Poverty in Munici-pal Area (MEPMA), VijayawadaMunicipal Corporation in the 8acre premises in Nulakapeta, atcity fringes of Vijayawada, in AutoRickshaw Driving. “Initially myfamily was against the idea of autodriving but since this being agovernment sponsored pro-gramme, they accepted. Myhusband is also supporting,” saysSwarna during the training.In the Driving test conducted byRTO Authority, 49 women passedthe test and secured auto rickshawdriving License. Punjab NationalBank in Vijayawada sanctioned Rs1.85 lakhs loan for purchasing

Auto Rickshaw. Amaravathi will be the green capi-tal of Andhra Pradesh and in orderto reduce air pollution in Vi-jayawada Municipal Corporation,CNG Autos were sanctioned in De-cember 2015. An auto costs Rs.1.90 lakhs ofwhich 7% interest subsidy on bankloans is provided by State Govern-ment and the rest was loan to bepaid in 40 monthly instalments ofRs.4, 500 each. Punjab NationalBank & Other Banks providedloans for purchase of Autos.Women contributed Rs 25,000/-as their share.K. Dhanalaxmi, 32 years old says“It is like self-employment. Womentoday are making a mark in everyfield and auto field is no exception.Government is providing loans forpurchasing auto and drivinglicences also, hence I joined theprogramme”.Chief Minister N ChandrababuNaidu launched She-Autos in Vi-jayawada on 4th December, 2015.He distributed 49 auto-rickshawsto the women who were trained indriving. “The scheme would notonly help provide security towomen passengers when theytravel at unusual hours, but alsowould help women drivers tostand on their feet and increasetheir family income. I'd like to seemore women take up such chal-lenges and excel in every field. Ibelieve that empowerment ofwomen leads to greater develop-ment of societies” said Naidu.The unbound energy and strengththat comes from this sense of sis-terhood is unmatched and espe-cially, it is reflected on the faces ofthose who fight against marginali-sation and discrimina-tion to create betterlives for themselvesand their children.C S RAMA LAkSHMIIFS(Rtd.), Advisor, SERP, Govt. of AP


Union Minister for Communication and Informa-tion Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad saidAndhra Pradesh would be developed as amajor electronics hub, and announced several initia-tives planned in this direction. "Andhra Pradesh would become a major electronicsmanufacturing hub, as four electronics clusters havealready been sanctioned for the state, and the fifthone is in process," Prasad said. The Minister was speaking after laying the foundationstone for the (Society for Applied Microwave Elec-tronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) Centrefor Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E3) atVisakhapatnam. "The SAMEER, a Centre for Electromagnetic Environ-mental Effects, is an autonomous R&D institutionunder the Department of Electronics and Informationand Technology ( DEITY), Ministry of Communicationand Information Technology ( MCIT). It is one of themost advanced institutions of the Government ofIndia," he said. The organisation, headquartered at Mumbai, operatesthrough four other centres in Chennai, Kolkata, Guwa-hati and Visakhapatnam, he said. The permanent building of the institution would beconstructed in an area of 15 acres in Gambhiram vil-lage in Anandapuram mandal of the district, he said. Prasad said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chan-drababu Naidu's request to set up Information Tech-nology and Investment Region (ITIR) in the statewould be considered after the Union government for-mulates the ITIR policy. Multi-Product seZ in nelloreThe Centre has given environment clearance to a Rs114 crore project that seeks to set up a multi-productSpecial Economic Zone (SEZ) in Nellore district,Andhra Pradesh.The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corpo-ration Ltd (APIIC) will develop the proposed SEZ proj-ect over an area of 1,032.27 hectares at Naidupet inNellore. The project will provide direct and indirectjobs to 40,000 people.

Andhra Pradesh will spend Rs 2,637 crore on theambitious Atal Mission for Rejuvenation andUrban Transformation (Amrut) over a period offive years. Of this, the Centre will bear Rs 1,318 crore.The scheme will be implemented in 30 towns across thestate. The local bodies will contribute Rs 791 crore astheir share.Amrut is meant for towns with a population of above onelakh.Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Kakinada, Eluru, Vi-jayawada, Guntur, Nellore, Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapaand Tirupati municipal corporations will be coveredunder the scheme.Big municipalities including Vizianagaram, Machilipat-nam, Tenali, Ongole, Nandyal, Adoni, Proddatur, Chittoor,Hindupur, Bhimavaram, Madanapalle, Guntakal, Srikaku-lam, Dharmavaram, Gudivada, Narasaraopet, Tadipatri,Tadepalligudem and Chilakaluripet will also benefitunder Amrut.The government will lay emphasis on infrastructureprojects including water supply, sewerage, storm waterdrains and urban transport. Development of greenspaces and parks are also included. The Union government has already issued guidelines on the scheme.The parameters set by the Centre are e-governance, pro-fessionalisation of the municipal cadre, augmenting dou-ble entry accounting, chalking out urban plans and citylevel plans using GIS maps, devolution of funds, review ofbuildings by-laws, municipal tax and fee improvement,improvement in levy and collection of user charges,credit rating, energy and water audit and participation inSwachh Bharat.According to officials, AP is finalising the plan to imple-ment the scheme. A state-level high powered steeringcommittee (SHPSC) will be formed to monitor the proj-ect implementation. v

Andhra Pradeshemerging as electronicsmanufacturing hub

Amrut scheme todevelop 30 towns in AP

v


Chief Minister N ChandrababuNaidu, during his meetingwith Union Railway MinisterSuresh Prabhu, underlinedthe need to expedite the process forthe formation of new railway zone inAndhra Pradesh. During his whirlwind tour to NewDelhi on the eve of the Union Budgetpreparation, Naidu reminded his ear-lier letter to the Railway Minister ex-pedite the action required forformation of new Railway zone in theSuccessor State of Andhra Pradesh atVisakhapatnam bringing the four divi-sions viz., Visakhapatnam, Vi-

jayawada, Guntur and Guntakal in APunder the purview of Visakhapatnamzone. He also reminded the Railway Minis-ter his earlier correspondence to pro-vide adequate funds for the on-goingRailway projects of Andhra Pradeshwhich include for new Survey forConstruction of new lines, Rail freightcorridors to Vijayawada, Develop-ment of Railway Stations under PPPand also proposed for Modernization& Up gradation of Railway Stationsand proposed Rail connectivity in re-gions affected by the Left Wing Ex-tremism (LWE).The CM also made a plea for expedit-ing the Nadikudi – Srikalahasti Rail-way as the State Government has alsotaken up Land Acquisition process onpriority basis. He also recalled thepending promises which include thenew Railway lines Kakinada – Pitha-puram, Kotipalli – Narasapur, Guntur– Guntakal Doubling Railway line,Gooty – Dharamavaram, Sin-garayakonda – Kanigiri, and the Rail-way University in AP, Setting up offacilities for Coach Midlife rehabilita-tion workshop at Kurnool town andRail Connectivity to the new capitalcity Amaravati. The Chief Minister wanted adequatebudget provision in the ensuing Rail-way budget for the Financial year2016-17 for all these pending works.extend Aid to rural DevelopmentDuring his visit, Chief Minister Chan-drababu Naidu met Union Rural De-velopmenet Minister ChaudharyBirender Singh and sought support

EXPEDITE RAIL ZONE FOR AP:CM’s PleA to suresh PrAbhu

v

The Chief Ministermade a trip to Delhi

to meet severalUnion Ministers to

get a better deal forAP. However, the

Railway and GeneralBudgets have not

lived up expectationsfor the people of the

State.


for the expansion of amenities such asdrinking water, individual household la-trines, and access roads to the remoterural areas of Andhra Pradesh.rail budget DisappointsThe railway budget for the fiscal year2016-17 left AP highly disappointed asthere was no mention of separate rail-way zone for the reorganised state inthe budget, a promise made in the APReorganisation Act, 2014.Though the budget made allocations forthe ongoing rail projects in AP, itpoured cold water on the hopes ofAndhra people, who were eagerly wait-ing for announcement of a separate rail-way zone for the state. Even though,Naidu had sought several new rail proj-ects for the state during his recentmeeting with the railway minister, therailway budget has not been forthcom-ing on these. It is to be seen whethersome of these will be accorded inphases.Projects sanctioned in railwaybudget 2016w Doubling works between Guntur-Guntakal with an estimated cost of R.4000 crore.w Development of the Tiruchanur rail-way station (conversion of C class to Bclass station) to reduce the conges-tion of Tirupati railway station at acost of Rs 10 crorew Augmentation of the MEMU rakemaintenance facility at Rajahmundryat a cost of Rs 7.2 crorebudget Allocations to the rail-way lines under constructionw Rs. 200 crore for Kotipalli- Narsapu-ram linew Rs. 50 crore for Pithapuram- Kaki-nada linew Rs 100 crore for Nandyal- Erragundlaline, which is to be finished by thisyear.w Rs 110 crore for Jaggayyapet-Mel-lacheruvu-Janpahad linew Funds sanctioned to survey the pro-posed rail links:w Rs 68 lakh for doubling of Mahbubna-gar-Dhone line (175 km)

w Rs 36 lakh for doubling of Nallapadu-Bibinagar line (243 km)w Rs 10 lakh for railway line connectingAmravati-Vijayawada-Gunturw Rs. 13 lakh for Narsapur- Machilipat-nam line (85 km)w Rs. 10 lakh for Darsi- Narsaraopet line(65 km)w Rs. 17 lakh for Kambham- Ongole line(115 km)w Rs. 18 lakh for Chittor- Kuppam line(118 km)

w Rs. 23 lakh for Obulavaripalem- Vayal-padu line (150 km)w Rs. 17 lakh for Tuni- Kottavalasa viaNarsipatnam line (112 km)other allocationsw Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor(DFC) from Kharagpur to Vijayawadathrough East coastal states was sanc-tioned under PPP mode.w Beautification of Railway station ofTirupati, pilgrim centre.

v

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 Publications : Monthly3. Printer’s Name : Ramesh Babu KandulaOn behalf of Commissioner, I&PR(on behalf of State Govt.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(on behalf of State Govt.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&PRon behalf of State Govt.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, 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 : 01-03-2016 Sd/-Ramesh Babu Kandula (Publisher)

v

IFR 2016A SCINTILLATINGSHOW

Andhra Pradesh in general andVisakhapatnam in particular,hogged the limelight when theInternational Fleet Review2016 was conducted with thumpingsuccess from February 4 to 8, 2016.At the eleventh Fleet Review after Inde-pendence and only the second with par-ticipation of foreign navies, thePresident of India and the SupremeCommander of the armed forces PranabMukherjee reviewed the Fleet compris-ing naval warships from Indian as wellas frontline foreign navies on February6 morning.The last time IFR was held in India wasin January 2001, off Mumbai with theparticipation from 29 countries. But thepresent one held on much larger scalethan ever done before with delegatesfrom over 50 countries participating.The event earned the country wide-spread appreciation and goodwill.After a 21-Gun salute and ceremonialGuard of Honour, the President em-barked INS Sumitra, an indigenouslybuilt Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel(NOPV) designated as the ‘PresidentialYacht’. The President was received bythe Prime Minister Narendra Modi, De-fence Minister Manohar Parrikar andChief of Naval Staff RK Dhowan. ThePresident’s Yacht weaved through the70 ships at anchorage off Visakhapat-nam port which was followed by a spec-tacular fly-past conducted as a part ofthe static review of the Fleet. During thefinal stage of the review, a mobile col-umn of warships and submarines car-ried out high speed steam pastalongside the Presidential yacht.Addressing the Fleet during the Review,the President noted that the IFR 2016,while showcasing the prowess of the In-dian Navy, has brought together naviesfrom across the globe here on Indianshores, signifying India’s common de-sire to use the seas to promote peace,cooperation and friendship, as also todevelop partnerships for a secure mar-itime future.In addition to 65 Indian Naval warshipsand three Indian Naval Submarines, theReview also included 24 foreign ships,

two ships from the Indian Coast Guardand three from Mercantile Marine. Sev-eral enthralling waterfront activities bysail boats, water skiing, display by Ma-rine Commandos (MARCOS) and heli-copter demonstrations held the peoplespell bound.As the presidential yacht passed be-tween the review anchor columns, eachship dressed in full regalia, saluted thePresident. Each ship was manned byher ship’s company, dressed in whiteceremonial uniform.In a moment that stood still in time,white caps were doffed in unison in a

grand salutation. The resounding‘Three Jais’ by the ships’ crew echoedover the waves at the IFR which pro-vided a great opportunity for the IndianNavy to show its might even while dis-playing the spirit of camaraderie andbonhomie, Along the way, the Presidentalso witnessed demonstrations in theform of breathtaking fly-past by NavalAir Arm and a daring display by the eliteMarine Commandos. The fly-past com-prised 15 formations of 45 aircraft in-cluding two formations from the IndianCoast Guard. It also showcased the lat-est acquisitions of the Indian Navy suchMARCH 2016 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG 21

as MiG 29K, Long Range MR aircraft P8Iand AEW helicopter KM-31 with thepeople watching in awe.Advantage IndiaThe President of India being theSupreme Commander of the ArmedForces, once in his/her term, reviewsthe Indian Naval Fleet as part of the‘President’s Fleet Review’ (PFR). Thisreview aimed at assuring the country ofthe Indian Navy’s preparedness, highmorale and discipline. Many leading na-tions of the world used the opportunityprovided by the Fleet Review to en-hance mutual trust and confidence withtheir maritime neighbours and partnersby inviting their ships to participate inthe review. Normally called ‘Interna-tional Fleet Review’ (IFR), this event al-lowed the host nation an occasion todisplay its maritime capabilities and the‘bridges of friendship’ and trust it hasbuilt with other maritime nations.Mr. Mukherjee described IFR as impos-ing international parade of ships and itwas India’s desire to use the seas to pro-mote peace, cooperation and friendshipas also develop partnerships for a se-cure maritime future as the blue com-mons link one another, true to thetheme of IFR `United ThroughOceans’.India’s huge aircraft carrier INSVikramaditya and INS Virat, the world’soldest aircraft carrier on her last voy-age, stood out during the show. The

baby of the Indian fleet was INS Kad-mat.Chief among the foreign ships that par-ticipated in the IFR were USS antietem,HMS Defender, HMAS Darwin, FrenchNavy’s Provence, two ships from Chinaand one ship each from Russia andJapan.CM kickstarts showAndhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chan-drababu Naidu kick-started the IFR

2016 on February 4 by inaugurating themaritime exhibition (MAREX) at AndhraUniversity, which highlighted the Makein India campaign and shipbuilding anddefence and aerospace models. Therewas also a crafts village reflecting thecultural heritage.Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naidu ob-served that the IFR was a beginning formaking Visakhapatnam an internationalcity. He State is proud of Visakhapatnamand the entire country is looking at it,”he pointed out. Already selected as aSmart City in the first list itself, the Cityof Destiny would emerge as a manufac-turing and export hub with opportuni-ties in ship-building and navalequipment manufacturing explored, hehoped. He also expressed happinesswith the city having improved roadsand good landscaping, given the faceliftfor the mega event. Sail ships also madetheir presence felt with as many as 50 ofthem in view. The lad sail ship was In-dian Naval Sailing Vessel Mhadei with a56-foot sloop. Sail training ship INSTarangini has visited 17 ports in 13countries of Europe, it is said.All the time during the IFR, armed pa-trol boat escorted the Presidential col-umn and due to increased threatperception from non-conventionalsources, a multi-tier security systemwas in place for the mega event. In addi-tion to the conventional security

22 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

The dignitaries at the historic event in Vizag


columns on the shore, the Navy hadmounted surveillance in the port and onthe sea, Admiral Dhowan said.biggest crowd pullerFebruary 7 being a Sunday holiday, anestimated six lakh crowd watched thedare evil operations of the IFR at the RKbeach on the day with the sea of human-ity dominating the Bay of Bengal bluewaters. There were also India Post re-leased a First Day cover and stamp tocommemorate the IFR 2016 and also abooklet on the relevance of the event.Cultural programmes were also organ-ized on the occasion with over 400 folkartistes and 125 artisans from variousStates displaying cultural and folk artforms lie Tappetagullu and PuppetShows of Andhra Pradesh, Bihu fromAssam, Siddhi Dhamal from Gujarat,Chhau from West Bengal, Myur Holifrom Uttar Pradesh, Tera Taali andBahurupla from Rajasthan and BeenJogi from Haryana. Film actors AkshayKumar and Kangana Raut were specialattraction.The social media also went gaga withphotographs and dare devil acts ofsailors posted on the net. It workedwonders to swell the crowd at the RK

beach and several thousands from out-side made a beeline for the city.The IFR 2016 formally culminatedthrough a Joint International Band Con-cert at the Naval Officers’ Institute thisevening. Naval Bands from participat-ing Navies along with host Indian Navyjointly presented a bouquet of music infront of Admiral RK Dhowan, Chief ofthe Naval Staff.The Joint Band Concert, by numerousmusicians from the navies across theglobe was in perfect harmony, echoedthe very theme of “Bridges throughOcean’ cementing the friendshipthrough music during IFR. The musicalextravaganza was witnessed by over1000 spectators including many foreigndignitaries from participating Navies.Vice Admiral Satish Soni, Flag OfficerCommanding-in-Chief Eastern NavalCommand embarked onboard INS Sumi-tra flagged off Tall Ships off close toRishikonda Beach, off the coast ofVisakhapatnam. The indigenously builtsail training ships Tarangini, com-manded by Cdr Deepak Subramaniam,Sudarshini by Cdr Vikramaditya Malhanof the First Training Squadron and sail-ing vessel Mhadei, manned by an allwomen crew and skippered by Lt Cdr

Vartika Joshi, have set sail together toChennai after their spectacular show inthe International Fleet Review. Thesesail ships have participated in numer-ous international sailing events andhave won galore of accolades.Farewell to shipsThe 54 ships that have participated inIFR-16 sailed out from Visakhapatnamin the first ever Passage Exercise (PAS-SEX) with combined participation of 20foreign warships from 17 nations thismorning. Visiting foreign ships are gen-erally escorted to the open seas on theirway home by maritime tradition. PAS-SEX has been aimed towards increasinginteroperability among participatingforeign navies and providing the requi-site operational element to IFR.The activities during PASSEX includedformation manoeuvers, cross deck land-ing of aircraft, Aerial photography andsteam past. On completion of the PAS-SEX, the foreign ships shaped course fortheir next destination with a promise tomeet up again as IFR had brought theworld navies truly ˜United throughOceans”

- b.Prabhakara Sarma

The social media also went gaga with photographs and dare devil acts of sailors posted on thenet. It worked wonders to swell the crowd at the RK beach and several thousands from outsidemade a beeline for the city. Digital screens were also set up at various places where the specta-tors watched the proceedings with excitement.


Summer can be scorching inAndhra Pradesh, but this timeround, the people of the Statecan heave a sigh relief as theState is now power surplus. No black-outs, no outages and no load shed-ding – a technical euphemism forpower cuts – in the sweaty season. APGenco CMD Vijayanand said sincethe State has surplus power, therewould be no power cuts for powerconsumers of all categories, includingindustries, during the coming sum-mer. “Our energy consumption will beabout 170 million units this summer.Since we have surplus power, thereshould not be any problem for us inmeeting the demand,” he added.The government, which is already im-plementing,Centre-sponsored ‘Powerfor All’ (PFA) scheme in the State, hasnow set its sights on making the Statenot only power surplus one but alsoan electricity selling State.After successfully executing 1,600MW Sri Damodaram Sanjeeviah Ther-mal Power Station (SDSTPS) at Krish-napatnam, the AP Genco is nowplanning major expansion by takingup the work of carrying out 800 MWSDSTPS stage-II, 800 MW Dr NarlaTata Rao Thermal Power Station(NTTPS), and 4,000 MW VadarevuUltra Mega Power Project Stage-I&II,Prakasam district.The SDSTPS Stage-II projected cost is

Thanks to the meticulous planningof the Naidu Government, AndhraPradesh will havenether power cutsnor outages thiscoming hot season.

CHILL OUTTHIS SUMMER

IN AP!


around Rs 5,287 crore, The NTTPSwill cost Rs 4,327 crore and VadarevuUltra Mega Power Project will cost Rs19,804 crore. SDSTPS and NTTPS arescheduled to be completed by Dec2019 whereas Vadarevu Ultra MegaPower Project Stage-I&II is scheduledto be completed by 2021-22. For Kr-ishnapatnam stage-II and NTTPS, Vi-jayawada Detailed Project Report hasbeen prepared.Apart from this, the APGenco will becompleting Rs 3,525 crore 600 mwRayalaseema Thermal Power Projectin Kadapa by October, which will helpAP to be a power surplus State. Be-sides, the APGenco is working on 960mw Polavaram HEP project, which isbeing executed at a cost of Rs 4,081crore.Power surplus stateWith the completion of these proj-ects, AP will be able to sell power toother states.Union Power and Coal Piyush Goyalinaugurated the 1,600 MW thermalpower project that uses super criticaltechnology. The state power genera-tion-run project, which consists twounits of 800 MW each, is located atKrishnapatnam in Sri Potti SriramuluNellore district. Named after formerChief Minister Damodaram Sanjeeva-iah and built at a cost of Rs 12,290crore, the project was inaugurated inthe presence of Union Urban Devel-opment Minister M Venkaiah Naiduand Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N

Chandrababu Naidu.The plant will supply 39 million unitsof power to the state every day, mak-ing Andhra energy surplus, accordingto Chairman and Managing directorof AP Power Generation Corporation(APGenco) K Vijayanand."We are currently supplying 155 mil-lion units to the state and by Marchwe can supply another 20 MU. Weshall henceforth not have any short-term power purchase agreement. Infact, we can now sell power to oth-ers," he told a team of visiting re-porters at the project site.An agreement has been signed withPower Trading Corporation for saleof 500 MW for a year from the plant.Foundation stone for the third unit of800 MW capacity was also be laid onthe occasion."The third unit will be completed inthe next three years while anotherthermal plant of 800 MW capacitywill be built at the Narla Tata RaoThermal Power Station in Vi-jayawada. Both will cost Rs 5,600crore each for which necessary envi-ronmental clearance has been givenby the Union Ministry of Environ-ment and Forests," Vijayanand said.In a first in the country, the supercritical plant at Krishnapatnam getswater for its cooling towers through aspecially-laid open channel from theBay of Bengal, about 5 km away."The 175 metres tall cooling towerhas been designed by a German pro-

fessor to withstand heavy winds andcyclones that the region is prone to. A200-acre green belt has been devel-oped around the plant to protect theenvironment and it would be ex-panded," he said.100% Powered!Speaking on the occasion, AndhraPradesh Chief Minister N Chan-drababu Naidu said that the State willachieve the distinction of 100 percent electrification of household inthe State by April, thereby joining se-lect States like Gujarat whichachieved this landmark.The Chief Minister said this will beanother big achievement for theState, which has now also becomeone of few States to provide 24x7power supply to consumers.Referring to the cluth of projectslaunched, Naidu said that the settingup of these projects would bring all-round development to the regionwhile also attracting investments.From a situation where the State hada shortfall of 22 million units per daypost bifurcation, it has now been ableto provide 24x7 power supply to allsegments. This was possible as theState added new capacity and alsobrought down transmission and dis-tribution loses from 13.24 per cent to10.2 per cent and it is proposed tobring it down further to single digit(9 per cent) and gradually to 6 percent, he said

v

CM, Union Ministers after inaugurating the 1,600 MW thermal power project

AP TURNING INTO A MEDICAL HUB


Andhra Pradesh is transform-ing into medical hub as it istaking a giant leap in health-care. A slew of institutes areexpected to come up in the State soonto make AP a leading healthcare cen-ter in the country.Amrita University, run by Mata Amri-tanandamayi Trust, has come forwardto set up a world-class medical uni-versity at Amaravati, the new Capitalregion of Andhra Pradesh.The Trust will also set up a 2,250-bed-ded “multi super speciality” hospital,research and healthcare complex at-tached to the university, a communi-cation from the Chief Minister’s Officesaid.Representatives of Mata Amritanan-damayi Institute of Medical Sciencesmet Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu and discussed theproposals, it added.They also submitted a detailed projectreport to the Chief Minister.The “mega project” would be taken upat a cost of Rs. 2,500 crore, the CMOsaid, adding that Naidu had earlierrequested Mata Amritanandamayi toset up the medical university in thenew Capital region.All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIMS) is also coming in the capitalregion with the support of the Centralgovernment.Medical Devices Park in VizagAndhra Pradesh government is in theprocess of creating a special purposevehicle (SPV) to implement setting upa Medical Device Park near Vishakap-atnam and has allocated 225 acres ofland for the same. The appointmentprocess of board of directors for theSPV is underway.Meanwhile, around 35 manufacturers

of medical devices and allied industrymade a representation to AndhraPradesh Chief Minister Chandra BabuNaidu to take forward the proposal forIndia’s first dedicated medical devicepark in Andhra Pradesh.Dr Jitendar Sharma, advisor to AndhraPradesh government on health andmedical technology invited the dele-gation of Association of Indian Med-ical Device Industry (AIMED) to a highlevel meeting with the Chief Minister

on proposed India’s first dedicatedMedical Device Park. Rajiv Nath,forum coordinator, AIMED was a partof the delegation. As a part of the delegation, Rajiv Nathpresented Chandrababu Naidu with acompedium of Expression of Interest(EOI) letters to pool in potential in-vestors for the project. He thanked thechief minister for the rapid pace atwhich the Andhra Pradesh govern-ment had moved from initial consulta-


tions in November 2015 to creating aSPV for implementing the project. “Andhra Pradesh CM wants VizagMedical park to be among top 3 med-ical devices manufacturing hub in theworld instead of top 5, as was pro-posed by AIMED and Andhra Pradeshto be the lowest cost and preferredhealthcare treatment destination inthe world. He also assured that histeam would take steps to act on oursuggestions to ensure this," RajivNath said.Andhra Pradesh government invitedEOI letters from potential investorsat the recently held international ex-hibition Arab Health in Dubai. Naiduset the target for his team to ensurethe foundation laying ceremony onApril 7th the World Health Day. The 200 plus acre exclusive park willspur domestic production of medicaldevices, help reduce import depend-ency in this sector while creating em-ployment and growth in the state.The meeting was also attended bythe health minister AP Kameini Srini-vas, KV Satyanarayana, commissionerof health and family welfare andother senior health industry depart-ment representatives of governmentof AP.Meanwhile, the State Governmentalso signed a Memorandum of Under-standing with the Indo-UK Instituteof Health (IUIH).

In its bid to strengthen the quality of education and improve retailservices in Andhra Pradesh, Malaysia’s Performance Managementand Delivery unit (PEMANDU) started its 6-week lab sessions onFebruary 29 in Hyderabad. The labs will have an in-depth and sys-tematic analysis of department-wise schemes in the education and theretail sector.Chief Secretary S P Tucker inaugurated the event and welcomed the labparticipants. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Tucker said theGovernment is keen on changing the British system of education which ismade for preparing clerks, but contributes less towards improving thestate’s human resource and capital. “PEMANDU will help Andhra Pradeshin thinking, planning and understanding how to fill gaps in a systematicway,” he said.130 participants from the various departments, MSME manufacturingunits, SHGs, stakeholders from the organised and unorganised sectorparticipated on the first day. Speaking on the occasion, Ravindran Devagunam, Director, PEMANDUsaid he is excited to be associated with the Andhra Pradesh governmentand is looking forward to being a part of the lab sessions that will catal-yse transformation in the state’s economy.Sanjay Gupta, CEO AP State Development Planning Society expressed sat-isfaction on the stakeholders’ interest to participate in the labs. He urgedother NGOs, experts and stakeholders to be a part of the sessions. The labs will discuss topics such as performance management, projectdelivery and monitoring in the education and retail sector. The 1st weekwill discuss issues and problems followed by problem solving, analysisand solutions in the 2ndweek. The 3rd week will test the feasibility of themodules developed during the labs. The 4th week will discuss budget di-vision and implementation, subject matter expert syndication will bedone. The 5th week will syndicate the implementation outcomes withthe Chief Minister and other top officials. As a part of the 8 step Big Fast Results methodology, a road map will bedrawn to address multidimensional problems in the education and retailsector. Given that Andhra Pradesh contributes 25 to 30 % of GSDP in theretail sector, objective outcomes on how to use the sector as an opportu-nity to spur the economy will be discussed and debated during the labs.v

AIIMS, proposedAmrita Medical University and theMedical DevicesPark will makeAndhra Pradesh astrong player inthe health sector.

PeMAnDu to improve quality of education

v

PEMANDU will help Andhra Pradesh in thinking, planningand understanding how to fill gaps in a systematic way

28 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM MARCH 2016

v

In efforts to make AndhraPradesh’s road network the bestand well-connected in the coun-try, the state government has un-dertaken a mammoth task to create adatabase of all the R&B roads in thestate. In this regard, Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister Chandrababu Naidu flaggedoff the Multipurpose High TechnologyNetwork Survey Vehicles belongingto the Australian Road ResearchBoard (ARRB). These vehicles, first ofits kind in India, will be used for col-lection of high-quality data on assetrelated parameters on R&B roads inAndhra Pradesh. The Chief Ministeralso took a trail run from the CMCamp Office on the vehicle, while therepresentatives of the ARRB briefedon the functioning of the system. The data collection from Multipur-pose High Technology Network Sur-vey Vehicle includes the collection ofphysical features like road carriage-way width, shoulder width, roadboundaries, location of road furni-

ture, bridge/culverts, locations etc. Italso captures pavement conditionslike potholes, cracks, edge breaking,rutting, road surface undulation etc.All the information is geo-tagged. Thedata collection of the entire road net-work will be completed by August2016. This data is collected by using aHawkeye network survey vehicle fit-ted with digital laser profilers, digitalcameras, GPS system, crack detectionequipment and data acquisition sys-tem. During the data collection, onemore vehicle fitted with Fallingweight Deflectometer will also beused to collect pavement structuraldeflection to assess the strength ofthe pavement. The output from the Network SurveyVehicle and data collected will beused to configure the road databaseof the whole R&B road network in AP.It can also be accessed by variousR&B offices for planning, design, op-eration and maintenance manage-ment.

This comes in line with the formationof the AP Road Management Systemunder the AP Road Sector Project. APRoad Development Corporation ofR&B Department has taken this upthis initiative with World Bank LoanAssistance. The Road Management System willbe operational for various outputslike rolling out plans such as annualroad condition reports, annual per-formance reports, prioritisation ofannual maintenance and road im-provement plans together with yearlybudget proposals. All the reports re-quired for decision makers are pre-sented systematically in tabular form,graphical form, map-based and dash-board form. The introduction of AP Road Manage-ment system in the R&B departmenthelps scientifically, prioritisation ofroads for improvements or mainte-nance, based on available funds or toallocate budget, need-based.

AP TO CREATE DATABASE OFALL R&B ROADS

w CM launches Multipur-pose High TechnologyNetwork Survey Vehicles

w First of its kind initiativeby R&B Dept.

w Data Collection to becompleted by August2016

MARCH 2016 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM 29

ww w

w w

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


AMAZING ANDHRA PRADESH

Festival of River Krishna


government gears up It would be the first Krishna Pushkaraalu in the new State. With theturnout for the pushkaram is expected to be far more than what it wasduring the last pushkaram conducted in 2004 in undivided AndhraPradesh, the State Government under the aegis of the Chief MinisterNara Chandrababu Naidu is gearing up for the grand event. Upstream of Krishna barrage starting from Ferry near Ibrahimpatnamto Durga Ghat at Sri Kanaka Durga Temple covering 13 km, many ghatswould be constructed. Thirty ghats from barrage downstream to Avani-gadda, including right and left flood banks at Diviseema, covering 60km have also been planned. With Vijayawada to be the main venue forthe festival, Durga Ghat, Pushkara Ghat, Padmavathi Ghat, Metla BazarGhat, Sithanagaram Ghat and Punnami Ghat would be a few importantghats to be spruced up.The administration is getting ready with the logistics of crowd manage-ment as a large number of devotees would gather to have a holy dip inthe Krishna River. The Government would take rope in officials of Eastand West Godavari districts to ensure proper crowd management The officials are planning for a pushkaram exhibition in Vijayawadacity. It is also planned to give facelift to the century old Victoria Mu-seum.

what to perform?During pushkarams, teertha vidhulu and pinda pradhanalu are very im-portant. Teerta vidhulu means taking bath, spiritual practice such asprayer, japa and meditation, doing satkarma, that is, giving dana likeanna danam, vastra danam, and tarpanams, jala or tila, for our de-parted ancestors, pitru devatas. Here the river is calling! Come, feel its flowing presence, take holy dip,cut capers and anchor your lives to a place and a rhythm. - Naresh Nunna

It would be holy time for Krish-naveni- river Krishna. Of course!River Krishna is always sacred, as itstands for the conventional defini-tion of Nadi (river). nadati naadayati itinadi- it flows with musical notes andmakes the lives around thrive. Now, themost auspicious time is arriving upon uswith the upcoming Krishna Pushkaralu-2016, which is scheduled to take placebetween August 12 and 23. River Krishna, one of the major lifelinesof Andhra Pradesh, is part of collectiveconsciousness of people of the State.River Krishna flows in the south-easterndirection from Mahabaleshwar in Maha-rashtra, quenching the thirst of peopleand irrigating agricultural lands, occu-pying physical and metaphysical spaceof the generations. Krishna Pushkaramis a festival of River Krishna whichusually occurs once in 12 years. ThePushkaram is observed for a period of12 days from the time of entry ofBruhaspati (Jupiter) into Virgo (Kanyarasi). Pushkaram is observed throughout its1,200 km stretch from the origin atSahyadri range in the Western Ghats ofMaharashtra to the end at Hamsaladeeviin Krishna distirct, Andhra Pradesh,where it mingles with Bay of Bengal.Pushkaram has been an venerable prac-tice in Andhra Pradesh, remarkably inAmaravathi, Vijayawada, Avanigaddaand Diviseema. Vijayawada is the maincenter of the festival. A large number ofdevotees gather to have a holy dip in theKrishna. It is staunchly believed that wheneverPushkarudu goes to each river, LordBrahma sent Brihaspathi along. WhenBrihaspathi is in Kanya Rasi (Virgo),that river has the pushkaram.Pushkarudu gives strength, vigour, en-ergy, well-being to whoever takes holydip during the propitious days. It is alsosaid that devatas (the Celestials) dwellin the river during this time, blessingpeople. All the three and a half croreteerthas reach this place. All thesebenefit the bathers.


new Police Control Centre at KakinadaDeputy Chief Minister Chinna Rajappa laid stone for theconstruction of the office of the SP-cum-Command Con-trol Centre coming up at an estimated cost of Rs. 10crore in Kakinada, hedquarters of East Godavari district.Speaking on the occasion, he said that the departmentlost a good number of men, vehicles, and assets toTelangana after bifurcation. “Now, we are focusing onconstruction of buildings and procuring vehicles. Effortsare on to recruit men to strengthen the department,”he said. Finance Minister Y Ramakrishnudu said thatthe police department sought 14,000 men. Notificationswould be issued to fill vacancies in Group-I and Group-IIservices, he said.

Imported Machinery arrives for PolavaramThe heavy machinery imported from Germany and theU.S. for the purpose of using it in the prestigiousPolavaram project works was received by Minister for Ir-rigation Devineni Umamaheswara Rao here on Sundayin the presence of scores of farmer leaders, ruling partyactivists, and officials. Transported from the Chennaiport, the equipment and machinery was carried innearly a dozen trucks on the National Highway via Nel-lore. Honouring the sentiment of farmers and leaders,State Irrigation Minister D Umamaheswara Rao arrivedin Nellore to formally receive the machinery and alsooffer prayers as per tradition.

tata Pilot launched in VijayawadaAgriculture Minister Prathipati Pulla Rao launched ‘In-ternet Saathi,’ a joint venture of the Tata Trust andGoogle India, aimed at extending Internet services torural areas in Vijayawada. The programme waslaunched as a pilot project in Andhra Pradesh. 'InternetSaathi’ would be useful in successful rollout of theState’s ambitious fibre grid project. Volunteers would goaround 265 villages in the Vijayawada parliamentaryconstituency on bicycles and explain the basics of com-puters and Internet connectivity. The Tata Trust adoptedthe villages in the Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency asa pilot project in Andhra Pradesh. The trained candi-dates were provided two smart phones, two tablets andmobile net service kits each for giving demonstrations into villages.

Proposals for Culture Documentation South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC) has invitedproject proposal for documentation of tangible and in-tangible cultural resources of Andhra Pradesh, Kar-nataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra,

and Telangana. The applicant has to submit a detailedproposal along with his or her bio-data highlightingqualification and experience, samples of their earlierworks on or before March 7. According to Piush Kumar,Director of SCZCC, the idea is to document the heritagesites and traditional culture either in print format or vi-sual or audio documentary. The entry is open to all, ei-ther from India or abroad, and there is no age bar. Theproposal will be evaluated by a panel comprising ShyamBenegal, Amol Palekar, and Sudhir Kakar. For more de-tails visit website:www.sczcc.gov.inor email: [email protected]

lepkashi Festival The Lepakshi Utsavalu was held with great fanfare atthe culturally symbolic town of Andhra Pradesh. Theevent, held under the aegis of local MLA NandamuriBalakrishna, was inaugurated by Chief Minister N Chan-drababu Naidu at the temple village of Lepakshi. Thetwo-day fete featured various art forms, besides exhibi-tion and food stalls representative of the heritage andcuisine of the area. Balakrishna also inaugurated a roadleading up to western entrance of the famous Lepakhsitemple named after former President of India, V.V. Giri.He also launched a book Lepakshi – Chitra KalalakuKanachi and a video on the cultural and architecturalheritage of the Lepakshi temple.

now Mobile Pay Power bills Paying electricity bills is now easy in Andhra Pradesh.The Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Com-pany Limited (APSPDCL) has developed a new mobileapp that can be downloaded on all platforms. One hasto sign in by entering the mail id and register using the13-digit service number for paying electricity bills. Theapp also enables one to view and pay electricity billsthrough mobile, get bill reminders, get power supplyposition in one’s area, analyse consumption patternsover the last one year, get the payment history of previ-ous transactions, updates on complaints and feedback.

Au to start energy classesAn MoU was signed by Andhra University and theInstitute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) to start classesby the latter from the ensuing academic year. Theclasses would be held at the AU College of Engineering.The State government has allotted land for the IIPE atSabbavaram to construct buildings and createinfrastructure. Executive Director of the HindustanPetroleum Corporation Limited G. Sri Ganesh, signedthe Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the

HAPPENING AP


Ministry of Petroleum and IIPE.

sanskrit as optional subjectDravidian University at the tri-State junction in Kuppamwill soon introduce Sanskrit as an optional subject atthe undergraduate level. This is seen as a radical step inthe direction of streamlining research on ancient lan-guages. Presiding over a two-day workshop on ‘Litera-ture of Alwars’ at Dravidian University, Vice-ChancellorProf. E. Satyanarayana termed the institution as the con-fluence of Dravidian and Sanskrit studies and research.

1,000 Pillar Mantapam in a YearTTD’s Chief Engineer Chandraseskhar Reddy said thatthe works relating to the reconstruction of the 1,000 pil-lar mandapam will be completed in a year and that over336 granite pillars of the erstwhile mandapam whichwas pulled down under controversial circumstances alsowill be used. TTD’s Executive Officer D Sambasiva Raosaid the management would be soon developing a mo-bile application for booking of the Rs.300 darshan tick-ets

tenders for smart Agri PumpsetsEnergy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) will float ten-ders in a month for supplying one lakh energy-efficientagricultural pumpsets out of four to five lakh targetedfor replacement in Andhra Pradesh. Star-rated pump-sets are found to consume 25 to 30 per cent less energycompared to the old ones, said Energy Secretary AjayJain. A pilot project taken up by Visakhapatnam-basedEastern Power Distribution Company Limited (AP-EPDCL) at Rajanagaram in East Godavari district re-vealed that the Energy Efficient Pump-set Scheme(EEPS) could be expanded throughout the State.

guntur roads to be beautifiedDriving into the city from Ponnur Road and throughInner Ring Road or Amaravati Road will soon be a pleas-ant experience. The Guntur Municipal Corporation issoon beautifying the entire stretch of road fromGorantla to Lodge Centre. The beautification repletewith central divider, bus bays, bus shelter, pedestrianfootpath, manicured gardens on the divider is beingdone with the assistance of leading designer, Team OneIndia, architects based out of Hyderabad. The firm hadalso given a design to develop a water body at Bu-dampadu on Ponnur Road. Besides, a walking track,children’s park the water body would be beautified intoa tourist spot.

tirumala temple at AmaravatiMinister for Municipal Administration P. Narayana saidthat he along with Singapore Minister K Shanmugamheld preliminary discussion with TTD Executive Officer DSambasiva Rao regarding the proposed construction oftemple of Lord Venkateswara on the banks of the Kr-ishna in the new Capital city of Amavarati. Talking to themedia, Narayana sounded optimistic that the TirumalaTirupati Devasthanams board would discuss the issue inits next sitting.

AgK no MoreA.G. Krishnamurthy, a doyen in the advertising worldwho founded Mudra Communications, and the MudraInstitute of Communications (MICA), Ahmedabad,passed away in Hyderabad. He was 73. AGK, as he ispopular, hails from Vinukonda in Guntur district.

bandar Port to be expeditedThe Machilipatnam Area Development Authority(MADA) is expected to expedite the process of settingup the deep sea port on a priority basis. All the stake-holders are reportedly in favour of the project pro-posed in an extent of nearly 5,277 acres of land. Over563 families are to be rehabilitated. Of the required5,277 acres, the State Government needs to gather only2,489 acres of private land, and hand over the extent tothe proponent, Navayuga Engineering Company Lim-ited.

Player enters top leagueGuntur-based billiards player Somagani Sankara Rao hasentered the league of top-ranked national players by se-curing the seventh place at the Senior Nationals held inIndore in January this year. With this achievement, Raois on his way to qualify for the Asian Games and theWorld Billiards Championship to be held later this yearin Kolkata.

sepoy Mushtaq is siachen MartyrA soldier from Andhra Pradesh is among the 10 killedkilled in a deadly avalanche that swept through theirpost in Siachen Glacier area. Sepoy Mushtaq Ahmed S.,of Parnapalle village in Bandi Atmakur mandal ofKurnool district, was the eldest among the five siblings– four brothers and a sister. He had been married barelya year and a half ago and left behind a five-month oldson.

v

34 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM MARCH 2016

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ONE FOR ALL....The Chief Minister has been a roll in February, addressing social tensions, meeting important per-

sonalities, interacting with people and appreciating those who came forward to help a extendinghand to the beleagured state.

1 2

3 4

Pic 1: Retired Justice Manjunatha, who was appointed as Chairman of a Commission constituted to providereservation for Kapu community, in a meeting with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

Pic 2 Chief Minister commending Ms Swarajyamma, a citizen of Vijayawada, who came forward to contributeRs 1 crore of her property for the construction of the capital city Amaravati.

Pic 3: N Ram, Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd and former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, being felicitated inVijayawada by the Chief Minister during the former’s courtesy call.

Pic 4: The Chief Minister in a selfie along with some members during an interactive meeting with Self-HelpGroup members at the Camp Office in Vijayawada.

Regd. No. H-HD-1082/2016-18 APENG/2007/20679Published on: 01/03/2016 Posting Dt: 6th

ap mag english march 2016 issue

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