State Budget: 2012-13 Implications and Impact on Commerce & Industry

Today an interactive meeting on “State Budget: 2012-13 Implications and Impact on Commerce & Industry” was held at FAPCCI in association with MPOT group. The meeting was commenced with the welcome address by Mr. V.S. Raju, President Fapcci. The speaker panel is Mr Ye. Seshasai Babu, CA, Mr. C. Kutumba Rao, Expert in industry analysis, Mr. C. Narasimha Rao, Senior Journalist, Prof. ML Kantha Rao, Mr. Nitin K Parekh, Chairman Trade & Commerce committee, Fapcci, Mr. Devendra Surana, Senior Vice President, Fapcci, Mr. M.V. Rajeswara Rao, Secretary General, Fapcci. The meeting discussed the impact of the State budget on Commerce & Industry.

In the welcome address Mr. V. S Raju, president Fapcci requested the Government to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the Commerce & Industry in order to support the Government in achieving the targeted revenues and social services. He requested for assured power supply to industry and requested for increase of Capital expenditure on Energy sector in order to meet the growing demand of industry at large.

Mr. Seshasai Babu informed that in budget it was proposed Sales tax revenue will be Rs. 45,000 crores from 36,000 cr i.e., an increase of Rs. 9000 cr is proposed, which is 25% of the current year collections, which will be very difficult to generate since severe drought conditions and negative growth conditions in Agriculture sector. Based on this scenario, there will be possibility of bringing more exempted items under taxable net and there is further possibility for change of classification from 5% to 14.5% slab for some of goods. At the same time the increase proposed vehicle tax will lead to further burden on Commerce and Industry.

Mr. Parikh requested the Government to allow the input credit of vat on HSD, furnace oil, coal and to bring back the higher tax slab from 14.5% to 12.5%. He further requested the Government not to change the tax rates middle of the year and middle of the month which was causing problems in their planning. He further requested to exempt all food grains from the tax net. In order to face the competition with neighboring states, he requested for a stable tax policy like the Central Government doing for the past decade.

Mr. C Kutumba Rao, expressed that the failure of many SEZ’s and erratic power supply effecting the Industrial growth rate and there is no clarity in the budget on allotment of lands to new industries. He further requested for increase of Capital expenditure on Energy, Infrastructure and midyear review of budgetary targets. He further requested to release the pending incentives to the industry, which are of Rs. 500 cr immediately. He expressed with the uniform growth of the industry will help to meet the budgetary target of Rajiv Yuvakiranlu. He expressed dis satisfaction with the for the poor co-ordination by the Government with Trade and Industry in pre-budget session and expressed that 50% of revenues are contributed by the Trade and Industry should be taken into confidence in preparation of the Budget of the Government.

Mr. Rajeswara Rao expressed that there should be pre-budget and post budget meetings with Fapcci, CII and other bodies of the Trade and Industry. He requested the government to minimize the power cuts to the Industry, which was causing loss to the nation in creation of wealth and jobs. He expressed the revenues from Sales tax are gone up by 100% within 3 years with support of the Trade and Industry and requested Government to support the Trade and Industry on all aspects.

Prof. ML Kantha Rao expressed that the Government is concentrating on numbers and not facts. In 5^th five year plan the contribution from Agriculture sector is 60% of the budget and at present which is less than 13%. He expressed that the state, which are having more agro based industries and dependency on agriculture is higher, should be given preference to agriculture sector and the utilization of capital expenditure should be with proper analysis for the returns on the capital expenditure. He further expressed that there should be more allocation to Trade and Industry in order to meet the budgetary targets and it will be difficult to meet the budgetary revenues without changing the tax rates and without effective mechanism.

Mr. Narasimharao Rao expressed that the budget proposed by the Government is not reflecting the present requirement of the people at large and in particular the expectations of the Industry and the agriculture sector. He expressed that there is co-ordination missing from Government with the Industry bodies and associations. He requested the Government to have proper planning for assured power supply to Industry and requested the Government to release the pending incentives and to release long term strategy policy for power and industry.

Mr. Devendra Surana expressed that the state of Andhra Pradesh has lot of natural resources and coastal line, with the use of the all facilities the Trade and Industry are showing good growth rate in comparison with other states. He requested the Government to increase the budgetary support to Trade and Industry, which will help to meet the budgetary proposal of creation of employment in private sector under “ yuva kiranalu’

In conclusion the meeting requested the Government

1). to rationalize the tax rates and to bring down the maximum tax rate to 12.5%,

2). Not to Change the tax rates/slabs in the middle of the year/month.

3). to release the incentives and subsidies pending to the Trade and Industry

4). to assure good power supply and to lift the power cut to industry

Special package from Spice Jet to Tirupati devotees: MD, APTDC

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) organized an Interactive Meeting on “Tourism Projects in A.P. and its related Issues” on 23^rd February 2012 at JSK Auditorium, Red Hills, Hyderabad. Mr. Sandeep Kumar Sultania, IAS., Managing Director, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation was the chief guest for this workshop.

Mr. Sabyasachi Ghosh, IAS., Director,Directorate of Tourism, Govt. of A.P., Mr. V.S. Raju, President, FAPCCI, Mr. Ravindra Modi, Chirman, Tourism Committee, FAPCCI and Mr. M.V. Rajeshwara Rao, Secretary General are the speakers at the occasion.

Sri V.S. Raju, President, FAPCCI stated that tourism industry is one of the major segments of the Indian economy and is a major contributor to foreign exchange earnings providing employment to millions directly and indirectly and acts as a vehicle for infrastructure development. Andhra Pradesh is witnessing increase in the number of domestic and international tourists in the last few years, and it ranks as No.1 State in the Country for domestic tourism and is within the top 10 for international tourism. He congratulated the Tourism Department for making these efforts. He brought to their notice that there are complaints that clearance of the tourism projects are being delayed and requested for speed up the clearance of the projects under single window system and suggested to have a time-frame for the same.

Business tourism, Medical tourism, rural tourism, pilgrim tourism, adventure tourism, and sustainable tourism are some of the new products devised for changing demand, he said. The State has identified Medical tourism as immediate emerging sector for its promotion, especially to develop Hyderabad as medical Tourism Hub. FAPCCI in collaboration with the Tourism Department has organized a “Hyderabad as an International Hub for Medical Tourism – A road Map” in May, 2011 wherein the proposal for setting up the Hyderabad Medical Tourism Society was welcomed by all the stakeholders. It is understood that the Department is contemplating to create the Society, which will be an instrumental agency in promoting Hyderabad as an International Hub and requested for inclusion of FAPCCI as facilitator to take forward this important initiative.

Sri Ravindra Modi, Chairman, Tourism Committee, FAPCCI said that efforts should be made to promote film tourism in A.P. by setting up a film commission at the State level. He also requested for effective single window clearance for tourism projects for better growth of the sector. Also suggested forconducting short term duration training programmers on PPP basis for improving the skills and employability of local people and promote entrepreneurship in the tourism and its related sectors. FAPCCI would like to offer its services to collaborate with Department in organizing and implementing these programmers.

He mentioned that FAPCCI is planning to organize an event on the growth and potentialities of the Film Industry with the consultation of all the stakeholders and requested the Department to support and collaborate with FAPCCI in organizing the event.

Sri Sandeep Kumar Sultania, IAS., Managing Director, A.P.Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) informed that the APTDC will soon offer attractive packages for tourists from across the country for an all-inclusive, affordable and comfortable Tirumala-Tirupati visit. At present, APTDC has a joint initiative with Jet Airways and offers packaged tours to Tirumala-Tirupati, ex-Hyderabad at Rs. 9,250 per person, including accommodation, food and travel expenses. Many more such packages were on the anvil, he said.

He said that with focus on rural, eco and film tourism, Government intended to aggressively adopt the public private partnership mode to showcase Andhra Pradesh as an attractive tourism destination. He called for greater participation by private operators in promoting in-bound tourists, especially international arrivals. Every now and then, APTDC keep holding road shows, but the fact remains that word-of-mouth publicity is much more effective. And so we must pay attention to this aspect even while escorting tourists from here to elsewhere and ensure that the word is spread wherever we go.

The APTDC also plans to add another two-three tourism training centres in the State, including one around the Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary (Medak) and Dindi reservoir (Mahabubnagar). There is a growing demand for these places among tourists and APTDC hope to provide the required facilities to them through their projects.

Sri Sabyasachi Ghosh, IAS., Commissioner of Tourism, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh stated that the potential of tourism to generate employment is matched by no other sector. He said that the Tourism Department is looking for more public-private partnership for development of tourist spots. Another unique service called Hop-on and Hop-off would be launched in the city within a month. Under the service, APTDC will provide six to seven buses to 13 tourist spots in the city.

Responding to a suggestion from the participants, he said that the annual Travel and Tourism Fair is open for FAPCCI and its members to participate. All that is needed is greater coordination with Government agencies, he said. The objective is to make tourist facilities affordable, comfortable, clean, neat and safe for the ‘aam aadmi' (common man), the middle class and the upper classes. The upper class tourist anyway pays for the best,” he said.

One of the members, stated that over the year, nature and adventure travel has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of the industry. Much of this growth is taking place in biodiversity hotspots, areas harboring many species unique to that region, where tourism represents both opportunities for and threats to biodiversity conservation. Tourism and biodiversity are mutually dependent, hence there is a need to promote biodiversity. There was also a suggestion for inclusion of details of tourist spots promoted by the private developers and private tour operators in the booklet published by the Tourism Department.

The Officials informed that the Department will promote biodiversity and is also planning to bring out a Publication wherein the details of private tourist spots as well as tour operators will be published and circulated for wide publicity.

Sri M.V. Rajeshwara Rao, Secretary General, FAPCCI proposed a vote of thanks.

HarithOn - Green Run grand success

Planet 3 Protection Alliance in association with The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) and Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board and Ogene Systems(I) Pvt Ltd organized Harithon - Green Run on 19th February 2012 at 7.30 AM, People's Plaza Parking Lot, Necklace Road, Hyderabad. It was supported by AP Tourism, NAIP, APMAB, HMDA, JNTU Hyderabad, Osmania University, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, 108, Rotary Club - Cyberabad.
His Excellency, Mr. Mohd Majid Hussain, Hon’ble Mayor of GHMC attended the event as a Chief Guest and gave a Green Message and had all the partakers take a Green Oath to make them socially responsible. And also said that events like this initiated by youth will help in making Hyderabad one of Greenest Cities in Hyderabad. Mr. V.S Raju, President, FAPCCI, Mr. Devendra Surana, Senior Vice President, FAPCCI, Mr. Sriniva Ayyadevara, Vice President, FAPCCI, Dr A Sharada Devi, Dean, Home Science College, Dr. A. Rama Krishna Prasad, Director, JNTU – Hyderabad, Mr. Tammareddy Bharadvaja, Fim Producer & Director, Mr. Srirama Murthy, Chairman, Industrial Development Committee, FAPCCI, Mr. Shyam Sunder Pasari, Chairman, International Trade Relations Committee, Mr. V.V. Sanyasi Rao, Chairman, Rural Development Committee, Mr. Mr. Suraj Prasad Agarwal, Past President, FAPCCI, and many representatives from Google, NAIP, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Novartis, Infosys, S&P Capital IQ, Tata Projects, CMC Ltd, Bhashyam school, Citadel and Wipro shared their views on Green.

Highlights of the event:

1. Introduced the Organic T-Shirt for the very first time in the history of India for an event.

2. Stalls showcasing the Eco Friendly products like Potted Vegetables, Eco Colors, Natural Dyes, Millet Stalls, Khadi, Bi-Cycle Store were attracted by many.

3. Presented the first two winners with Bi-Cycles sponsored by Pedaller's Point.

FAPCCI Meeting with Hon'ble Mayor Mr. Mohammad Majid Hussein

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) delegation lead by Mr. Devendra Surana, Senior Vice President met His Excellency Mr. Mohammad Majid Hussein, Hon’ble Mayor, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, today (15^th February 2012), at Municipal Complex, Hyderabad.

In this occasion FAPCCI explained the industrial development and industrial problems in the GHMC area, and scope for the industrial developments and investments for other States. FAPCCI also requested to the Hon’ble Mayor for joint action plan to develop industrial zones in and around Hydrabad.

Mr. Srirama Murthy, Chairman, Industrial Development Committee, Dr. Ashok Kedia, Chairma, Youth and Womens Committee, Mr. M.V. Rajeshwara Rao, Secretary General and Mr. A.S. Kumar have also met the Hon’ble Mayor Mr. Mohammad Majid Hussein.

Chhattisgarh is ready to supply surplus power to AP: CM Dr. Raman Singh

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) delegation lead by Mr. V.S. Raju, President met Hon’ble Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Dr. Raman Singh, today (12^th February 2012), at Hotel Taj Krishna, Hyderabad.

In this occasion FAPCCI explained the industrial development and industrial policies in the Andhra Pradesh, and scope for the industrial investments for other States. FAPCCI also requested to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh to supply surplus power to the State of Andhra Pradesh.

Dr. Raman Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh informed the FAPCCI delegation that Chhattisgarh being surplus power State is ready to offer the power to the required States all over the India. Industrialists in Andhra Pradesh may request to the Government of India, to place order in advance for getting power to meet the shortage and ensure continuous power supply.

Mr. Srinivas Ayyadevara, Vice President, Mr. K. Anil Reddy, Chairman, Energy Committee, Mr. Omprakash Tibrewala, Past President, Mr. M.V. Rajeshwara Rao, Secretary General and Mr. A.S. Kumar have also met the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Dr. Raman Singh.

Stakeholder Engagement should be at the heart of any “sustainable development”

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) organized a guest lecture on ‘Stake Holders Engagement - Challenges & Strategies’ on 09^th February 2012 at JSK Auditorium, Red Hills, Hyderabad. Dr. Y.R.K. Reddy, Director, Academy of Corporate Governance was the Key Speaker for this session. Mr. V.S. Raju, President, FAPCCI, Mr. Arun Kumar Dukkipati, Chairman, HR & IR Committee, FAPCCI and Mr. M.V. Rajeshwara Rao, Secretary General are the speakers at the occasion.

Dr. Y.R.K. Reddy said that the stakeholder engagement should be at the heart of any “sustainable development” agenda. Without engaging stakeholders, there can be no common enduring agreement, ownership or support for a particular project. A venture is more likely to succeed, especially in the long-term, if it takes into consideration the environment in which it operates and endeavors to meet the needs of the stakeholders affected by it. Stakeholder engagement could be viewed as a form of risk management.

Many projects, but not necessarily all, will need to engage with a wide range of stakeholder groups, each with their own concerns, needs, conflicts of interest and levels of influence. In order for the pieces of the project plan to be effective, planners and project managers need to understand who are the

Stakeholder groups, what their issues are, and what motivates them. The industrialists and entrepreneursmust address the Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate and Empower subjects he said.

Mr. V.S. Raju said that the underlying principle of stake holders engagement is that stakeholders have the chance to influence the decision making process. This differentiates stakeholder engagement from communications processes that seek to issue a message or influence groups to agree with a decision that is already made. Stake holder’s engagement provides opportunities to further align business practices with societal needs and expectations, helping to drive long term sustainability.

Cloud Computing market to be worth $30bn by 2014

The One World Foundation India in association with The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) organized a workshop on “Appropriate Technology Choices: Cloud Computing” on 08^th February 2012 at JSK Auditorium, Red Hills, Hyderabad. Mr. Devendra Surana, Senior Vice President, FAPCCI was the chief guest for this workshop.

Mr. K. Sree Kumar, Senior IT Consultant, Mr. Siddarth, Swetcha Foundation, Mr. Phani Kumar, IT Consultant, Mr. Ilyaz Rizwi, IT Consultant, Mr. Satish Nagaraji, Manager, One World, Ms. Jyothi Singh, Senior Executive, One World, Mr. M.V. Rajeshwara Rao, Secretary General and Mr. A.S. Kumar, Deputy Secretary General are the speakers at the occasion.

Mr. Devendra Surana said that according to the research don by IT experts the global market for the cloud computing technology is expected to be worth over Rs 1.35 lakh crore ($ 30 billion) by 2014. Cloud computing is a technology that uses the internet and central remote servers to maintain data and applications. Cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use applications without installation and access their personal files at any computer with internet access. This technology allows for much more efficient computing by centralizing storage, memory, processing and bandwidth. Cloud computing is broken down into three segments: "application" "storage" and "connectivity." Each segment serves a different purpose and offers different products for businesses and individuals around the world.

Transformation is crucial for success: Mr. M. Gopalakrishna, Retd. IAS

The India Development Coalition of America in association with The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) organized a First South India Regional Conference on “Working Together To Eradicate Poverty and Mitigating Climate Change” on 03^rd February 2012 at Surana Udyog Auditorium, Red Hills, Hyderabad. Mr. Gopala Krishna, Retd. IAS, Chairman of Confederation of Kisan Organizations was the chief guest for the occasion. Mr. Mohan L. Jain, Founder President, India Development Coalition of America, Dr. Rajeev Sangal, Director, IIIT, Hyderabad, Dr. Prakasham Tata, President, Bharathi Theertha, USA, Mr. Chengal Reddy, Secretary General, Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations, Mr. Rao Chalasani, Director, North South Foundation, USA, Mr. Thiagarajan Arunachalam, Karmayog, Hyd are the other speakers at the occasion.

Violence and Distruction in Regency Ceramics Limited

Media Release

Violence and Distruction in Regency Ceramics Limited –

Destabilizing Trend in the Industrial Relations and industrial Development

FAPCCI strongly condemns the burning down to ashes the factory premises of Regency Ceramics Limited, a highly respected and leading exporter of ceramic products; grievously attacking its President Sri K. C. Chandrasekhar leading to his death and losing life of its union leader Sri Murali Mohan. Such acts of vandalism, hooliganism and violence will seriously affect the industrial peace and relations in the State and is a blot on the very process of collective bargaining, intended to amicably resolve differences between management and employees. The loss and the trauma caused due to this most unfortunate unruly incident raises a question mark on the very survival of the unit and the employment and livelihood of more than 6000 people involved directly or indirectly. The company has pioneered into the development of the society through its Corporate Social Responsibility activities such as starting and managing educational institutions in the area, and causing setting up of several ancillary units and thereby helping the economic and social development of the local area. Such a well-meaning organization is brought down to collapse and traumatic extinction.

It is a signal that undesirable elements are gaining access into the collective bargaining and negotiating process, disrupting the industrial relations between management and employees. This incident rings danger signals to hitherto well maintained peaceful industrial climate in the State. FAPCCI urges the State Government to conduct immediately an inquiry into these untoward incidents and to ensure that necessary preventive and preemptive steps are taken to see that this incident shall not set a trend in the peaceful industrial climate prevailing in the State. Never before in the history of industrial development have taken place such a ghastly scene of setting a factory on fire unto ashes, grievously attacking management personnel leading to death and causing loss of life of a union leader. Every right thinking person condemns these acts of violence, atrocity and disturbance to industrial peace.