Andhra Pradesh Mag English April 2016 by Andhra Pradesh Magazine

AMARAVATI : TAKING A SHAPE Assembly Building

High Court Building

River Bund Road

Secretariat Complex

View of Government Buildings from Krishna River

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has approved these designs by the world-renowned Japanese architectural ďŹ rm Maki & Associates for capital city, Amaravati.

CONTENTS AP Fibre Grid Project Launched

King’s College Hospital medical facility in Amaravati

As part of the eﬀorts to transform the State into 'Digital Andhra Pradesh', Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched the ﬁrst statewide broadband project in India.

AP Budget 2016-17

14 30

Japanese Design for Amaravati Buildings

Amazing AP: Undavalli Rock-Cut Caves

Energy, Logistic Varsities to Start

Happening Andhra Direct Shipping Service between Krishnapatnam-Chittagong

Pattiseema Completed in Record Time

Snapshot

Gannavaram Airport in Expansion Mode

13 20

Forging ahead with eGovernance Initiatives

Andhra Pradesh hires talent from ISB

Centre to study LED lighting programme in State

Chief Minister’s Social Network

Vizag: the most happening city

28 Bahubali: first Telugu film to win National Award for Best Film

Various developments across the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Start AP Fest draws big response

ANDHRA PRADESH

Published Monthly In English & Telugu April 2016 Volume:9 Issue:10 Salivahana Era 1937-38

Commissioner Dr P Krishna Mohan Editor Ramesh Babu Kandula Executive Editor Naresh Nunna

Cover Page CM at Fiber Net Inauguration

Second Cover Approved Designs for Amaravati Third Cover CM in various programmes

Fourth Cover APIIC Advt on Sunrise State

Published by: Information & Public Relations Department Government of Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad - 500 028 Ph: 040-23300258

Views expressed by various authors in this issue reflect their personal opinions. Design Karthik Beesu

Printed at Caxton Offset Pvt. Ltd. Hyderabad Each Issue : Rs 5/Annual Subscription : Rs 50/-

EDITORIAL

The Digital Transformation of AP

he digital transformation of Andhra Pradesh has begun. The inauguration of India’s first statewide broadband project – AP Fiber Net – in Visakhapatnam, in the presence of the Chief Minister, is the first milestone in this historic initiative. As the CM pointed out, a digitally empowered state can witness an accelerated economic growth. A digitized state helps drive GDP growth, create jobs and foster innovation. The MoU signed between Cisco and the State Government at the same venue is geared towards skills development for this new economy.

AP Fibre Net is a huge step towards realising the government’s vision to provide broadband on fiber to every house in the state. This transformational project is aimed at providing on-demand, affordable broadband connectivity of 2 to 20 Mbps for all households. The network will cover 2,500 locations and is 22,500 km long, reaching millions of households.

When CM Chandrababu Naidu said he envisioned Andhra Pradesh as a role model for digital transformation for other states to follow, he meant every word of it. He had already taken a major initiative with e-Pragati, becoming a pioneer in India to establish state-wide enterprise architecture. Andhra Pradesh has also taken a lead in leveraging the IoT (Internet of Things) potential in the country. The state government has approved the first-of-its-kind IoT policy with an aim to turn the state into an IoT hub by 2020 and tap 10 percent market share in the country.

These steps will help make Andhra Pradesh the role model for digital states in India. And as Nasscom president R Chandrasekhar said in a lighter vein, it is indeed true that ‘AP ke pas Naidu garu hain’.

Ramesh Babu Kandula Editor

www.andhrapradeshmagazine.org Email: apchiefeditor@gmail.com www.ipr.ap.nic.in

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.

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Japanese Design for

amaravati BuilDings

aki and Associates, a world-renowned Japanese Architecture firm, has been finalised to design two iconic buildings -- State Assembly and High Court -- in Andhra Pradesh capital Amaravati. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, announcing the decision in Vijayawada, after a power point presentation of the designs by three best architectural firms, described the occasion as a ‘Historic Day’. Maki and Associates’ design was finalised by the jury of six renowned architects among the designs submitted by Richard Rogers (England) and DV Joshi Architects (India) and Maki and Associates (Japan).

“We wanted to construct one of the best capital cities in the country, which is eco-friendly, imbibes green and blue concept and most of all, a people’s capital. We were advised to conduct a competition among the best to choose the best and we have got some wonderful designs,” Naidu said. He said, when they had sought land for the APRIL 2016

capital city, farmers of Amaravati had given 34,000 acres of land under land pooling scheme and Singapore had provided the master plan for the seed capital, capital city and the capital region. “Now, we have the designs for important buildings in the capital city. They are good, but we will put it before public for discussion and elicit opinions from engineering colleges, premium institutes like IITs and integrate the best of the suggestions,” he said. Stating that there are positive aspects in the other two designs, the Chief Minister said those positive aspects will also be integrated into the final plans and services of those two firms will also be utilised. He said though the government have decided on three iconic buildings -- Assembly, High Court and Secretariat -- they have not taken any decision on Secretariat and had only finalised the other two. “To reflect Andhra culture, we will also be constructing an iconic bridge which will be named Kuchipudi, as it will reflect the

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finer nuances of the dance form and one will be appreciating grace and beauty of Kuchipudi,” he said. Designing of the bridge has been entrusted to a Chinese firm.

Naidu said, once the temporary secretariat works are completed within the stipulated three months, they will focus on the construction of the capital city buildings, including iconic buildings, and sought the cooperation of the jury of architects, experts and people across the state for the completion of the construction. “Today is historic in another sense, as today happens to be the birthday and coronation day of Kakatiya Queen Rani Rudrama Devi, 755 years ago. It was coincidence, that on the very day we have the designs for the iconic buildings finalised. Satavahana and Kakatiya empires passed on a legacy and today we are starting another legacy,” he said. Later, the Chief Minister presented mementos to the architects and jury members and thanked them for their cooperation.

VIZAG the most happening city

Visakha, currently the largest city in Andhra Pradesh, has bounced back from the devastation caused by Hud Hud cyclone. With great commitment shown by the Chandrababu Naidu Government in transforming Vizag into the commercial and metropolitan capital of Navya Andhra Pradesh, the city is poised to be a hub of activity and a centre of maritime trade and industry in the not so distant time.

isakhapatnam has become the cynosure of all having emerged as the most happening city in recent times.

For long, Visakhapatnam was merely one of those major cities in the combined Andhra Pradesh which included Telangana, trailing behind the Capital city of Hyderabad and the commercial hub of Vijayawaya. However, in the mid 1980s Visakhapatnam, known as Vizag for short, overtook Vijayawada in a trice with hardly anyone noticing it, to become No. 2 city in the combined State. This left Vijayawada a long way behind and it will take Vijayawada a total transformation—changing the name and face having been rechristened as Amaravati, to catch up with Vizag again. This may, even going at lightning speed, take nearly five years or so as building a new capital is quite a task. Until then, Vizag will continue to steal the show. Look at the things happening from the beginning of this new year 2016! First it was the Sunrise Andhra Pradesh Investment Meet and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit 2016 in the first half of January which was a tremendous success in terms of investment proposals alone which run up to Rs. 5 lakh crore and more by industrialists from all over the world.

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"I Salute the spirit of Vizag" Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad: on the resilience shown by Vizagites to ﬁght back after cyclone Hudhud devasted the city in October 2014 and the discipline showcased by them in ensuring the success of CII Partnership Summit and International Fleet Review 2016

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Then there was the International Fleet Review 2016 in early February on a much higher plane with about 100 foreign and Indian ships participating in it to provide a grand spectacle for a full week. Shortly after this, the much-awaited T20 international cricket match was played between India and Sri Lanka on February 14. It was a series-decider. Vizag, already put on the world cricket map as early as 1988, hosted the event which was a big success, as it always is, with people entering the ACA-VDCA Stadium by afternoon itself for the short-version night match. And much to their delight, the Indian team at Vizag wrapped up the series which it began

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"The Government will not allow a peaceful city like Visakhapatnam becoming a hideout for anti-social elements. The city has earned world-wide acclaim for its peaceful nature and self-discipline of the people.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu

on a losing note at Pune. India which was bundled out for a lowly 101 at Pune, skittled out Sri Lanka for its lowest ever total of 82 as if to settle scores, before recording a big win to clinch the cup. And recently, the Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad laid the foundation stone of SAMEER (Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research of the Government of India) —Centre for Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E 3) and signing of MoU between STPI and Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority for setting up of STPI InANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

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"I salute the perfection with which the citizens of Vizag have demonstrated their discipline and character during IFR and after Hudhud. I appeal to them to keep up their spirit."

Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu

cubation facility at Visakhapatnam in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs M. Venkaiah Naidu and other ministers.

India No.5

In the meanwhile, Visakhapatnam was ranked among the top five cities in the country for its cleanliness under the Swachh Bharat Survekshan programme, much to the delight of the Vizagites. In fact, Visakhapatnam got two awards –it ranked fifth in the survey commissioned for 73 cities by the Ministry of Urban Development and also emerged among the top ten movers and the only one from South India. Vizag improved by 39 ranks in the 2016 survey and scored 1,643 marks out of the possible 2,000. It is also the only city besides Surat to have ranked in the top ten in Smart City Challenge and Swachh Bharat rankings. According to Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation Commissioner Pravin Kumar, the achievement is a vast improvement from the survey conducted in 2014 in which Vizag stood at 235 among 476 cities with over one lakh population. “It is the same manpower then and now. The results have been achieved by motivation, planning, mobilisation and execution,” he pointed out. Indeed it is. Anyone who witnessed the Hudhud devastation in 2014 will agree

with it. Hudhud wreaked havoc as it hit the city with a speed of over 200 km per hour. Never before did the city witness such a severe storm and it lay prostrate Vizagâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tall trees and green plants as well as the telephone and electric poles, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake.

Hudhud defeated

The destruction caused by Hudhud encompassed large swathes of land including the city and its neighbourhood besides the coastal mandals of Vizianagaram. The brunt of the storm was borne by Vizag, with the agricultural farms, standing crops, and several structures in Visakhapatnam district including habitations in Araku mandal, swept away. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu stood like a rock in the face of adversity. Camping in the city he personally monitored relief, restoration and rehabilitation for more than a week to help the city spring back on its feet. The city that was stripped off its green cover with lakhs of trees uprooted by the storm winds, now presents a new look with the green cover gradually returning.

Naidu, in 2014 immediately after Hudhud, gave a call to the people not to celebrate Deepavali and the citizens followed his advise to the letter with not a single sound of bursting crackers heard. Even children, who are known not to resist the temptation of bursting crackers, obliged much to the surprise of the parents which made the Chief Minister comment that `Vizag has defeated Hudhud'. The GVMC hopes that once the waste-to-energy plant for which an MoU was already reached, materialises, the city ranking will further go up. Also, of the 200 community toilets planned, 50 will be taken up immediately to improve the situation further. Just before the Sunrise AP investment Meet and CII Partnership Summit, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the Second World Congress for Disaster Management at Andhra University on November 19. Coming as it was after the Hudhud cyclone, the four-day event organised in collaboration with Disaster Management Infrastructure and

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Control Society (DMICS), with Andhra Pradesh government and various local, national, regional andinternational organisations, and attended by over 1000 delegates from 40 countries and 20 states, discussed at length the Hudhud and similar situations and adopted the `Visakhapatnam Declarationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The Visakhapatnam Declaration called for a comprehensive action plan for a disaster-resilient society. It recommended effective funding by creating national disaster mitigation fund for resource implementation of local plans, for building a platform of knowledge management/good practices/innovations at local level, global linkages to undertake cooperative studies among communities and local governance on evidencing climate change understanding and local commitments, and promoting private sector participation to strengthen humanitarian commitments. It also mooted setting-up of an independent experts group with statutory powers like a state Disaster Management Authority for formulating policies on disaster management. The declaration listed APRIL 2016

Vizag received a shot in the arm when a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with the US Trade and development Agency (USTDA) on smart city in Visakhapatnam on February 12, only three days before it was declared as No. 5 in Swachh Bharat programme. out priorities and strategies for disaster management and preventive measures, which were learnt from previous experiences of Cyclones Phailin and Hudhud that struck Andhra Pradesh and Odisha in a span of one year.

Novel housing project

Meanwhile, a new housing project is coming up for the first time in Andhra Pradesh in the form of cyclone-reistant, pre-fabricated houses being built for victims of Hudhud who lost their dwellings. In all, 2,336 houses are planned for construction at nine different locations. For the first time in the State, the steel frame structures with deck sheets for construction is being taken up in Visakhapatnam. A team comprising experts from various parts of the country and institutions has selected technologies suitable to various districts of the State, an official said. The technology is also validated by experts from Andhra University College of Engineering for its suitability. In the Ground Floor plus Three structures, four floors are erected at a time using the frames and later, concrete is spread on deck sheets doing away with the laborious and timeconsuming process of centring with props and doing one floor after another. The cost of construction ranges from Rs.1,350 to Rs.1,400 per square foot. Each housing unit measures 354 sft and the total project cost is Rs.114 crore. Vizag received a shot in the arm when a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with the US Trade and development Agency (USTDA) on smart city in Visakhapatnam on February 12, only three days APRIL 2016

before it was declared as No. 5 in Swachh Bharat programme. Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu who was present when the MoU was signed between Principal SecretaryMunicipal administration Karikala Velavan and Country Manager of USTDA Heather K. OLanigan, said that the signing of the MoU with USTDA on smart city is a unique opportunity for the State to work along with companies of the US. The Chief Minister invited the US companies to visit the city as part of the Smart Cities Infrastructure Mission to India and pointed out that the Indian market provided plenty of opportunities for investment. There is a very large market waiting to be tapped, he noted. He offered an investor-friendly atmosphere and administration and promised that the government would facilitate the companies willing to work in Vizag. The USTDA singed the MoU with the Department of Municipal Administration on funding for drawing up massive plan for Visakhapatnam Smart City and a consortium of three US companies comprising AECOM, KPMG and IBM was given the task by the Government.

Poised for new milestones

The Chief Minister observed that there would be set milestones andtimelines and periodic evaluation of outcomes of the project while taking it forward from the conceptual stage to implementation stage. In the first phase, the USTDA will be funding to an extent of 1.4 million US dollars for drawing up of the master plan for the Smart City. The companies too have committed to fund the project and if necessary, the USTDA may also pro-

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vide additional funding.

Railway zone crucial

Knowing the importance of Visakhapatnam, which found place in the first list of Smart Cities due to its international acclaim, the Chief Minister is also concentrated on this City of Destiny, which is destined to get everything. Since the Hudhud cyclone, Chandrababu Naidu has been visiting the city once in a week on the average, even while being busy with the construction of the Capital city of Amaravati, speaks of volumes of Vizag. The latest benefit Vizag is expected to accrue is the much expected separate railway zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters. The proposal is hanging fire for quite some time, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has sought an expeditious decision on creation of the new railway zone. He had called on the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi recently and submitted a representation seeking early creation of the new zone and completion of pending development works in the State. Union Minister Sujana Chowdary had also announced that the Centre had already given in-principle clearance to the establishment of the railway zone in Visakhapatnam and a formal announcement would be made after the Union Cabinet gave its nod. The Vizag railwaqy zone will play a crucial role in the city's progress as it means that more facilities for passengers and freight traffic besides the additional infrastructure would be created in Andhra Pradesh which will automatically contribute to the State's development.

ap fiBre griD proJect launcheD

hief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and networking giant Cisco executive chairman John T Chambers jointly launched the Andhra Pradesh Fibre Grid project in Viskahapatnam. The project aims to provide world's cheapest internet connection of speed 15 Mbps at Rs 149 per month along with TV channels and telephone connection, in association with Cisco. The main objective of the project is to provide digital services to all the 1.3 crore households in the state by July end. Cisco will design and implement a broadband project in Andhra Pradesh, the first state to implement such a project in India as part of the centre’s Digital India initiative.

As part of the efforts to transform the State into 'Digital Andhra Pradesh', Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched the first statewide broadband project in India.

The project will include putting in place 22,500-km-long broadband network that will cover two million households. Cisco signed an agreement to this effect with the Andhra Pradesh government. With the fiber optic rollout, Andhra Pradesh becomes the first Indian state to bring all its households online. Under the Digital India initiative launched in July last year, the union government is aiming to connect 250,000 gram panchayats with high speed Internet by 2017. “Andhra Pradesh is a blueprint for a digital state for other states to follow,” John T. Chambers, executive chairman of Cisco said in a statement. Households in the state will get broadband connection with speed of 2-20 Mbps while institutions will receive 1-10

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Gbps connectivity by 2018. Households will receive Internet, cable and phone connection, all on the same line, for Rs.149. The project is being implemented using fiber to the home (FTTH) technology at 2,500 locations in the State. The Andhra Pradesh government is initially investing Rs.333 crore to implement the statewide optic fiber project, K. Sambasiva Rao, managing director of Andhra Pradesh State Fibernet Ltd. said in a presentation. Andhra Pradesh State Fibernet Ltd., a government-owned corporation, is responsible for implementing and maintaining the fiber grid project in the State. The project cost came down to Rs.333 crore from the initial estimate of Rs.4,700 crore because the government opted for aerial fiber network, wherein optical fiber lines were laid over existing infrastructure such as electric poles to save costs. The network will be laid in three districts initiallyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam by April. By July all 13 districts of the state would be connected to the fiber optic grid, said Chandrababu Naidu. After launching the project, Chandrababu Naidu and John Chambers interacted with students of a high school, patients at a primary health APRIL 2016

centre, gram panchayat office at various places in Visakhapatnam district. The doctors and patients of primary health centre, Sabbavaram also interacted with the super specialty doctors of King George Hospital for an advanced medical treatment. On the occasion, the CM said the open optical fibre cabling was a phase-1 of the project and the underground cabling project would be taken up as a phase-2. Cisco will also set up an Internet of Everything (IoE) innovation centre in Visakhapatnam to enable partners and start-ups to build prototypes and solutions around IoE. It will also invest in an advanced Technology Centre of Excellence and Research Lab at the Institute of Digital Technology (IDT) in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The research lab will focus on cyber security, smart city and manufacturing solutions and will train graduate engineers in advanced digital technologies. Cisco and the government of Andhra Pradesh have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which includes skills development for the new digital economy through expansion of the Networking Academy program, investing in innovative startups in the state, and Technology Center of Excellence and Research

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Lab in Tirupati focused on manufacturing and cyber security solutions, sponsoring a research program at University of Andhra to develop and customise digital technologies and solutions for rural Andhra Pradesh, and expansion of the Golden Mile project with Cisco. The company announced plans for the expansion of Cisco Networking Academy in 70 colleges to train approximately 10,000 new students in the state of Andhra Pradesh over next three years. As part of Ciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to accelerating Digital Andhra Pradesh, the company will work with the state to integrate NetAcad courses as part of the technical education curriculum. Cisco will sponsor and collaborate with Andhra University in Visakhapatnam on a 12-month research program to identify and explore the possibility of developing and customizing digital technologies and solutions for rural Andhra Pradesh. Cisco will also invest in an advanced Technology Center of Excellence and Research Lab in the Institute of Digital Technology (IDT), Tirupati, focused on cyber security, smart city and manufacturing solutions. The centre will help train graduate engineers in advanced digital technologies and solutions and equip them

with skill sets required for the digital era. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said, "My vision for the state is to digitally empower every citizen, enhance quality of life of citizens, accelerate economic competitiveness, boost local innovation and become a knowledge and technology hub of the country. Digital Andhra Pradesh is a step towards realising that vision. We envision Andhra Pradesh as a role model for digital transformation for other states to follow". " I greatly admire Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for his strong vision to digitise Andhra Pradesh, and Cisco is honored to be a partner for their digital transformation", Chambers commended. Irving Tan, President, Cisco Asia Pacific & Japan and Dinesh Malkani, President, Cisco India and SAARC were also present on the occasion.

Cable Network

The Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited (APSFL) is setting up a state wide Optical Cable Network by pulling 24 core ADSS Fiber Optic Cables for a length of about 23,000 km aerially. The backend electronic systems are being setup at around 2,449 identified electrical substations to serve as Point of Presence (PoP), from which the MSOs/LCOs can get connected to this network. The Network Operations Centre (NOC) has been setup on the Andhra University campus, Visakhapatnam. All existing MSOs and LCOs in Andhra Pradesh have been requested to enrol themselves with the APSFL to associate with the Company. The registrations can be done online through the website www.apsfl.in from March 14. For queries, MSOs/LCOs may email to ED (Commercial), APSFL at edc.apsfl@ap.gov.in.

ENERGY, LOGISTIC VARSITIES TO START NEXT YEAR

n efforts to make Andhra Pradeshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s road network the best and well-connected in the country, the state government has undertaken a mammoth task to create a database of all the R&B roads in the state.

In this regard, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu flagged off the Multipurpose High Technology Network Survey Vehicles belonging to the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB). These vehicles, first of its kind in India, will be used for collection of highquality data on asset related parameters on R&B roads in Andhra Pradesh. The Chief Minister also took a trail run from the CM Camp Office on the vehicle, while the representatives of the ARRB briefed on the functioning of the system. The data collection from Multipurpose High Technology Network Survey Vehicle includes the collection of physical features like road carriageway width, shoulder width, road boundaries, location of road furniture, bridge/culverts, locations etc. It also captures pavement conditions like potholes, cracks, edge breaking, rutting, road surface undulation etc. All the information is geo-tagged. The data collection of the entire road network will be completed by August 2016. This data is collected by using a Hawkeye network survey vehicle fitted with digital laser profilers, digital cameras, GPS system, crack detection equipment and data acquisition system. During the data collection, one more vehicle fitted with Falling weight Deflectometer will also be used to collect pavement structural deflection to assess the strength of the pavement. The output from the Network Survey Vehicle and data collected will be used to configure the road database of the whole R&B road network in AP. It can also be accessed by various R&B offices for planning, design, operation and maintenance management. This comes in line with the formation of the AP Road Management System under the AP Road Sector Project. AP Road Development Corporation of R&B Department has taken this up this initiative with World Bank Loan Assistance. The Road Management System will be operational for various outputs like rolling out plans such as annual road condition reports, annual performance reports, prioritisation of annual maintenance and road improvement plans together with yearly budget proposals. All the reports required for decision makers are presented systematically in tabular form, graphical form, map-based and dashboard form. The introduction of AP Road Management system in the R&B department helps scientifically, prioritisation of roads for improvements or maintenance, based on available funds or to allocate budget, needbased. v

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Direct Shipping Service Launched Between

KRISHNAPATNAM-CHITTAGONG

new chapter has begun in the Indo-Bangladesh maritime trade and bilateral cooperation with a direct shipping service being launched between Krishnapatnam and Chittagong ports at a ceremony held at the Krishnapatnam port on March 28. The direct service is expected to significantly reduce transportation cost thereby boost the already promising exports of cotton, steel, tyres, minerals, and other goods to Bangladesh. It is said 50 per cent cotton imported by Bangladesh is from India. The event marked the berthing of the first historic vessel named MV Harbour-1 which arrived at the Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal (KPCT) here amid high expectations among exporters and importers on future opportunities for industry and trade between the two countries. Dignitaries who graced the occasion included Member of Bangladesh Parliament Noor-eAlam Chowdhury, Neepa Paribahan chief executive officer Md. Sirajuddin Rahaman, Krishnapatnam port chief executive officer Anil Yendluri and chief operating officer S. Subba Rao. APRIL 2016

The new direct service would not just be limited to Chittagong but it would be stretched up to Pangaon inland container port located at just 15 km from the capital city Dhaka. Named the Krishnapatnam-Pangaon weekly direct service, the new shipping line was welcomed by the traders on both sides as it would greatly reduce the transit cost and also saves a lot on time. Dhakabased Neepa Paribahan, which has long experience in shipping, operates these direct services. On the occasion, Chowdhury termed the event as a historic one in the Indo-Bangladesh ties considering the fact that this happened after the agreement was signed between the two countries at the level of the Prime Ministers.

High potential

Stating that Bangladesh had high potential with its exports to US and Europe touching 31.5 billion US $ last year, Chowdhury said that the new shipping service would prove to be a win-win situation for both Bangladesh and India by making effective use of the Krishnapatnam port. Anil referred to the records set by the Krishnapatnam port in ushering in landmark develop-

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ments such as the launch of IndoBangla direct shipping service within eight years of the commencement of the port operations. “The economy of Bangladesh is strong and they export garments in a big way. They are importing raw cotton and tyres from India. We would like Krishnapatnam to be a gateway port for them and things are moving in that direction,” he said. A report in Benarnews.org said that previously, goods sent from India took more than three weeks to reach Bangladesh’s Chittagong or Mongla ports because shipments first had to pass through Colombo or Singapore. “I have inaugurated the service on Tuesday and the first Bangladesh cargo ship left Chittagong Thursday for Indian ports. This is a historic day for all of us,” Bangladesh shipping minister Shajahan Khan told reporters. “The businessmen used to take at least 25 days to carry goods to and from India and Bangladesh. Now, with the coastal shipping service in place, we can export to and import from India in only four days. This reduced time and cost would automatically boost trade between the two neighbors,” Khan said.

This is a genuinely outcomefocused budget with unwavering focus on performance and outcomes rather than the traditional input based budget. This is also a demand driven budget based on the needs of the grassroots and the expectations of the people.

AP BUDGET 2016-17

A NEAT BALANCE OF DEVELOPMENT WITH WELFARE

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2016-17

alancing development with social welfare, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu presented a tax-free budget. The plan outlay has grown bigger and the rise in plan outlay comes on the back of higher allocations to the irrigation and near- doubling of the outlay for the social sectors. The government has made liberal allocations to the welfare schemes targeting scheduled casts, scheduled tribes and backward class communities. Highlights of Budget 2016-17 presented by Finance Minister Y Ramakrishnudu in the Assembly: I am presenting this Budget in an environment of global gloom, national optimism, and local exuberance. I will let the facts and figures speak for themselves: while the Global growth has slowed down from 3.4 per cent in 2014 to 3.1 per cent in 2015, India has remained the ‘bright-spot’, registering a growth of 7.3 per cent. During the same period, Andhra Pradesh has registered a high growth rate of 10.9 per cent. We have accomplished this in the face of adverse legacies of the past that continue to haunt the present as well as years of misgovernance, battered economy, severe scarcity of financial resources, and inadequate capacity for effective execution of projects.

Equitable Growth

I am happy to report that our growth has been fairly equitable across the sectors, in harmony with our inclusive development agenda. Agriculture has registered a growth of 8.4 per cent, compared to the national average of 1.12 per cent; Services sector has recorded a growth of 11.39 per cent against India’s 9.19 per cent; and Industry sector has grown at 11.13 per cent, compared APRIL 2016

to the national performance of 7.35 per cent. I am happy to announce that the per capita income of our State has crossed Rs one lakh threshold to reach Rs.1.07 lakhs in 2015.

Leadership-led Development I would like to echo Shakespeare, who ordained, “Speak of me as I am. Nothing extenuate”, and inform you that our performance, which is impressive by any standards, has been contributed not so much by surge in revenues or generous support from the central government, but primarily because of the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister, the development vision, comprehensive strategy for economic growth and job creation, vigorous implementation of all development programmes /

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projects, and above all the improved efficiency.

Unique Budget

I am happy to inform the august House that the budget for 2016-17 is unique on several counts. First and foremost, it's the first e-Budget, with all budget documents being made available in easily readable format on a Tablet that you can carry anywhere and refer to at anytime. Second, it's a truly decentralised budget; every drawing and disbursing officer (DDO) in the state – and there are more than 20,800 DDOs in the state - has prepared the budget proposals for the unit under his /her control. Third, this is a genuinely outcome-focused budget with unwavering focus on performance and outcomes rather than the tradi-

2016-17 tional input based budget. Fourth, this is a demand driven budget based on the needs of the grassroots and the expectations of the people. Fifth, we have obtained inputs from the public and incorporated them as appropriate.

Central Help Needed

Thus far, the Government of India has released only Rs 2,303 crores to bridge the resource gap, leaving the State with a huge revenue deficit overhang of Rs 13,897 crores. The State received only Rs 50 crores per district per year over the past two years for the development of four Rayalaseema and three north coastal districts. Thus far, we received Rs 850 crores for the construction of Amaravati City, Rs 345 crores for Polavaram Project, and one thousand crores for the water supply and drainage projects for Vijayawada and Guntur cities. However, tax incentives for industrial development of the state, the grants for construction of the capital city, reimbursement of expenditure incurred on Polavaram project since, grants for construction of the capital city and conferring special category status, all of which are integral components of the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 and the assurances in Parliament, have remained unfulfilled.

Budget 20% Bigger

I propose a Budget for 2016-17 financial year with an estimated expenditure Rs. 1,35,688.99 crores, an increase of 20 per cent from 2015-16. Accordingly, the outlay for financing the State Development Plan (Estimated Plan Expenditure) is set to increase by 42.78 per cent from Rs 34,412.48 crores (2015-16 BE) to Rs 49,134.44 crores, while the Non-plan expenditure is estimated to grow by 10 per cent from Rs 78,636.51 crores to Rs 86,554.55 crores.

Water Gets Lionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Share

With a view to consolidate the achievements, accelerate the pace of implementation of priority irrigation projects, and make the state drought-proof, I am increasing the Plan allocation for the Water Resources sector by 57 per cent, from Rs 4,678.13 crores in 201516 financial year to Rs 7,325.21 crores in 2016-17 financial year. I have earmarked Rs 3,660 crores for the Polavaram project, which being a National Project, will be financed by Government of India. I am allocating Rs 3,135.25 crores for accelerated execution and completion of other major irrigation projects in accordance with the time schedule.

Industrial Sector

Our efforts have resulted in a significant industrial growth of 11.13 per cent in 2015-16 financial year. This growth has come from all components of the Industrial sector, namely 10.82 per cent in Manufacturing, 10.98 per cent in Mining and Quarrying, 16.69 per cent in Electricity, Gas and Water supply, and 9.46 per cent in Construction.

Services Sector

The Services sector in Andhra Pradesh constitutes 46.6 per cent of the GSDP and provides direct and indirect employment to a large section of the population. In 201516, services sector grew at an appreciable 11.39 per cent over the previous year. This growth has been driven through a robust performance of 17.18 per cent in Communications, 13.70 per cent in Public Administration, 12.63 per 20 cent in Trade, Hotels & Restaurants, 9.6 per cent in Banking & Insurance, 9.49 per cent in Real Estate & Ownership of Dwellings, 8.05 per cent in Transport and 14.92 per cent in Other Services with a slight decline of 2.24 per

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cent in Railways. We expect the overall Services sector to grow at a relatively higher rate in 2016-17, at around 15 to 16 per cent.

Industrial Infrastructure

We are developing the Peninsular Region Industrial Development Corridor (PRIDe) project in Donakonda spanning 5,779 acres with an investment potential of Rs. 23,000 Crores and employment potential of 1.33 lakhs. We are also taking up Orvakallu Mega Industrial Hub spanning over 27,788 acres with an investment potential of Rs. 40,000 Crores and employment potential of 70,000. To boost the industrial progress, we are grounding the National Investment Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) in Prakasam district over an area of 14,231 acres. This Zone has the potential for attracting Rs. 43,700 crores in investment and can create five lakh jobs over the next ten years. We have also secured in-principal approval for setting up National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) in Chittoor district in an area of 5,000 hectares. This NIMZ will be an integrated industrial township with state-of-the-art industrial and social infrastructures. It is estimated to bring in Rs. 30,000 Crores of investment and create around 3 lakh jobs over the next decade.

Energy

I wish to inform the House that the works on Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) and the Gas Pipeline from Kakinada to Visakhapatnam will commence during 2016-17 and city gas 27 distribution in East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna districts will also commence in 2016-17. This will mark the initial stage of the Gas Grid in the state.

Housing

Our Government is committed to APRIL 2016

2016-17 This budget will open opportunities for growth, development and empowerment of the farmers, women, youth, the weaker sections of the societies – SCs, STs, BCs, Minorities, - and the poor amongst the Kapu and Brahmin castes, the middle classes and every citizen of this State and mirrors the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of five crore people of AP. providing ‘Housing for All by 2022’. This requires a total of 10 lakh houses in urban areas and 30 lakh houses in rural areas to achieve this vision between 2016 and 2022. In pursuit of this vision, we have launched NTR Housing Scheme by increasing the subsidy six times to Rs. 1,25,000 for general category beneficiaries and eight times to Rs. 1,75,000 for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries with a total unit cost of Rs. 2,75,000.

Health Care

Our Government’s principal objective is to ensure affordable health care to the citizens duly ensuing equitable access to health care. In this direction, we have strengthened the existing programmes like NTR Vaidya Seva, which offers 1,044 surgical and medical procedures to the poor people, 108 for Emergency Health Services, 104 for Fixed Day Mobile Health Services, Family Welfare Programmes under National Health Mission etc. In addition, we have launched new programmes such as e-Aushadi, 102 Talli Bidda Express for Maternal and Child Health, NTR Vaidya Pariksha, Tele Radiology etc.

SC/ST Welfare

I am allocating Rs 8,724 crores for the welfare and development of the Scheduled Castes in 2016-17 financial year, which represents an increase of 59 per cent over the 2015-16 allocation. Of this, Rs 2,382.27 crores is allocated to the Social Welfare Department and Rs 6,342 crores is allocated as the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan amongst all major departments for the purpose of Scheduled Castes APRIL 2016

welfare and development. I am proposing an allocation of Rs 3,100 crores for the welfare and development of Scheduled Tribes in 2016-17, which represents an increase of 75 per cent over the 2015-16-budget provision.

BC Welfare

In the 2016-17 Budget, I am providing Rs 8,832 crores for the welfare and development of Backward Castes, which represents an increase of 31.5 per cent.

Minority Welfare

I am providing Rs 710.57 crores for the welfare and development of Minorities in 2016-17, which represents in increase of 87.53 per cent over the 2015-16 allocation of Rs 378.81 crores.

MGNREGS

I am also proud to inform that our State is the best performing state in the country in parameters like providing 100 days wage employment (3.1 lakh households), percentage of wages paid within 15 days (78%) and in Aadhar seeding of wage workers (97%). I am earmarking Rs 4,764.71 crores in the 2016-17 BE, an increase of 75 per cent compared to 2015-16.

Amaravati

For all the capital development operations, I have provided Rs 1,500 crores in the 2016-17 Budget Estimates. This, however, would be the seed equity of the Government that would enable CRDA to mobilise additional financial resources required for the capital construction from the infrastructure financing institutions and the markets, in addition to the assis-

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tance of Government of India

Direct Beneﬁt Transfer (DBT)

I am proud to inform the House that the 2015-16 National Economic Survey released by the Government of India on February 28, 2016, ranked Andhra Pradesh ahead of all other States in Biometrically Authenticated Physical Uptake (BAPU) Readiness 54 Index, with an index of 96.59 per cent, while the next best state stands at 42.46 per cent. We would like to take advantage of these achievements to universalise DBT across all programmes.

Growth Momentum

I am confident that the 2016-17 budget will contribute to the growth momentum and ensure sustained double-digit growth for many years to come. It will open new vistas of opportunities to all sections of the society. It will fuel construction boom, especially housing for the economically and socially weaker sections of the society, infrastructure development across the State and launch the construction of Amaravati capital city. It will open opportunities for growth, development and empowerment of the farmers, women, youth, the weaker sections of the societies – SCs, STs, BCs, Minorities, - and the poor amongst the Kapu and Brahmin castes, the middle classes and every citizen of this State. I am confident that the 2016-17 Budget mirrors the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of five crore brothers and sisters of Andhra Pradesh and I am confident that all will join this development bandwagon. v

“Our government will develop the irrigation channels, check dams and link channels to save the crops”. year. The Chief Minister said to save the crops, the government will develop the irrigation channels, check dams and link channels. He also promised to divert the flood water to the farms of Krishna Delta. “Farmers of the Godavari districts need not worry as we will ensure ample water for their crops too. If the drought situation continues in the upland areas of the state, the Government will provide them with rain guns to save their crops,” he added.

PATTISEEMA

CoMPLETED IN RECoRD TIME

uoyed by the successful completion of the river-linking project, the Chief Minister announced that Polavarm too would be expedited. Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (PLIS) has been completed within the scheduled time of one year. Marking the occasion, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu addressed a gathering at the project site and called for conservation of water to

make Andhra Pradesh a drought-free state Intended to draw flood waters of Godavari River and flow it to Krishna at Prakasam Barrage through Polavaram Right Main Canal, the project was all set to draw 80 tmcft water from Godavari as on March 20.

According to Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) the company which executed the project, completion of an irrigation project within the scheduled time was a record of sorts. Usually, when the project is delayed, the estimated cost goes up, thus entailing an additional expenditure on the government. But in case of PLIS, the government did not have to spend additional money on the project since it has been completed on time. The pump house of the project is also the largest in Asia, with 24 pumping units. Though the project constitutes critical civil works where foundation levels are far below mean sea level, MEIL has completed these works with local technological expertise.

The construction of PLIS began on March 29 last year and has been completed a day before completion of one

In record time first pump sets commenced on Sept. 18 last year. Now all 24 pump sets have been tested successfully installed and ready for pumping. Administrative sanction was accorded for PLIS on January 1 last year for Rs.1,300 crore. The work was entrusted to MEIL with one year agreement period.

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APRIL 2016

Features

w Pump house with 24 wells & 2 maintenance bays

w Foundation designed with diaphragm walls

w Total 24 pumps to discharge 8,500 cusecs of water

w Construction of 220KV double circuit transmission lines for a length of 30 km

w 2500 tmc of Godavari Water goes into sea unutilised

w Diversion of 80 tmcft water into Krishna in accordance

w The Polavaram Irrigation Project is designed in accordance with GWDTA and has all requisite clearances

w As the Polavaram Irrigation Project Head works will take about four years for completion, PLS has been conceived to protect Krishna delta from famine w PLS to lift water from Akhanda Godavari Right Bank, at Pattiseema

w Discharge water into Polavaram Right Main canal (at KM 1.50) Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) Chief General Manager K. Rangarajan claimed that that it was the first-of-its-kind project not only in the sub-continent but also the entire world. Rangarajan said that the project was unique because of the diaphragm wall foundations. “This is the first time that foundations were designed with diaphragm walls in the irrigation sector. The diaphragm wall design was used either in metro rails or in ports,” Rangarajan explained. The design also facilitated working simultaneously on both the substructure and the superstructure which consisted of two slabs - one for the pump and the other for the motor. The commissioning of all the 24 pump sets was completed on March 24. Twenty-four 6,300 horse power motors and another 24 numbers of 5,300 horse power with the capacity to lift 8,500 APRIL 2016

cusecs were commissioned. The construction of a delivery cistern has also been completed. The PLIS has the capacity to lift 80 tmcft of water in 110 flood days, he said. Naidu lauded Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) Managing Director Krishna Reddy and the Irrigation Department engineers for completing the project in one year after overcoming the technical glitches.

Polavaram by 2018

The government will complete the Polavaram project by 2018 just as it completed Pattiseema in a record time of one year, the CM said. Pointing out that the Polavaram project was the biggest ongoing project in the country, he said there were several technical challenges that need to be surmounted ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

and the best engineers from all over the world would be consulted for that. One lakh cubic metres of earthwork was being done per day but that was not sufficient. At least 1.5 lakh cubic metres of earthwork has to be done in a day. Godavari is a river which had some of the biggest floods and if work was not completed as per schedule, an entire year will be wasted,” he said. The completion of Polavaram would make Andhra Pradesh one of the best in the country. East and West Godavari districts would be able to raise two crops and the entire Krishna district would be stabilised, he said. Krishna water could be released to the Rayalaseema region and water could be supplied through the Polavaram Left Main canal to Visakhapatnam.

Forging ahead with

eGovernance Initiatives

he new Government of Andhra Pradesh is implementing citizen centric eGovernance projects such as Mee Seva, Mee Kosam, Mee Bhoomi, Webland, etc. Currently, AP State occupies the first position in India, in the delivery of e-Services, as per the e-Taal portal of Government of India. AP is the first State to do process reengineering of its procedures and work flow. Now the Cabinet Meetings of the Council Ministers are done through “eCabinet” – paperless digitized agenda items. All the files in Government are moved electronically through “eoffice” –

no physical file.

As a forward looking State in extending citizen-centric services effectively and efficiently through eGovernance, the new State of Andhra Pradesh envisage to aggressively implement the following good Governance initiatives in the near future:

‘e–Pragati’

Andhra Pradesh has always been at the forefront of implementing e-Governance, having pioneered popular projects like CARD, eSeva, Mee Seva, e-Procurement. To take the evolution of e-Governance to the next level, it is felt essential to

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have a AP State Enterprise Architecture (APSEA) for providing better services to citizens and businesses.

e-Pragati is a framework to provide integrated services to citizens through a free flow of information, and to usher in an era of good governance, characterized by efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and foresight. The vision of e-Pragati program is stated below: "e-Pragati is a new paradigm in governance based on a Whole-ofGovernment framework, transcending the departmental boundaries. It adopts a Missioncentric approach in its design and

APRIL 2016

implementation and seeks to realize the Vision of Sunrise AP 2022, by delivering citizen-centric services in a coordinated, integrated efficient and equitable manner." This is the largest e-Governance program approved by any State with a total outlay of Rs.2398 Crores, out of which the Government Capex would be to the extent of Rs. 1528 Crores. e-Pragati is a massive program covering 33 departments and 315 agencies and is scheduled to be implemented / rolled out within a span of (2) years. e-Pragati vision document has been released by the CM on Oct 9th 2015. The RFPs for (14) packages are planned to be issued by Mar’2016.

AP SRDH (Andhra Pradesh State Resident Data Hub)

This initiative is to create a comprehensive a unified Data Hub comprising all data pertaining to citizens including land details, people details, citizen services, welfare programmes, etc., as one entity and integrates with the geo special mapping, so that the schemes and developmental initiatives reaches citizens in a seamless manner across the cross sections of the society and to the last mile of the State.

AP GIS Policy

A well-designed and holistic GIS Policy touching all aspects of the creation, maintenance and use of GIS assets is a necessary first step in ensuring that a synergy and harmonization is built into the multiple efforts of the Government in deriving optimum benefits of the geo-spatial information technologies which include the GIS, GPS and Remote Sensing Technologies. The proposed AP State GIS Policy is a high-level and overarching framework, which is aligned with the national efforts on GIS and envisages laying down the architecture, standards and protocols for developing an Enterprise GIS, building of the appropriate down-stream procedures, practices and putting in place an institutional mechanism for governance of the whole GIS eco-system.

AP IoT Policy

Andhra Pradesh is the first state to envision the emergence of IoT(Internet of Things) as a new vertical which is a Convergence of IT & Electronics with the basic sectors of the Society. IoT is the network of physical “objects” or “things" embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange big data, resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit. An IoT Policy with proactive incentives and facilitations, unique and first of its kind in the country is on anvil.

AP Cyber School of Excellence

The new Government of Andhra Pradesh, in order to take lead in tackling the issues of Cyber Security, proposing to set up Cyber School of Excellence in Tirupati, in collaboration with Israel with the vision “To be acknowledged as a leader in information assurance providing a secure, resilient and safe cyberspace for “Citizens, Business and Government.” The Objectives for setting up the Cyber School of Excellence are (i)To create a secure cyber ecosystem in the State, (ii)To create an assurance & regulatory framework for compliance to global security standards and best practices,(iii)To promote suitable indigenous security technologies addressing cyber security requirements, and (iv)To provide support and know how to encourage entities to strengthen and upgrade information infrastructure for implementing cyber security initiatives and for meeting emergency response arising out of cyber incidents. APRIL 2016

ANDHRA PRADESH HIRES TALENT FRoM ISB

n a bid to push performance and evaluation, the AP Government has made offers to students of internationally reputed Indian School of Business (ISB)

The Andhra Pradesh government has turned to the Indian School of Business (ISB) to hire executives to achieve its goal to be among the top three states in India by 2022 and the best in the country by 2029. The sunrise state, which is also seeking to become a leading investment destination by 2050, has made 11 offers to students of the Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in Management, or the Class of 2016, in the ongoing placements season at the premier management school. The fresh management experts, who pack prior experience in the industry, will be part of a band of executives dubbed the Chief Minister Fellows, and will be involved in strategic planning and performance management and state policy programme related research, monitoring and evaluation. Chandrababu Naidu, who played a key role in setting upISB when he was the chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, has turned to the same institute of higher learning to attract talent in his new role as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. The Fellows, who are expected to have an understanding of the increasing complexity of development processes and effective decision-making for positive transformation, are being recruited for the creative and innovative perspective that one can expect from youth, said a statement from ISB. Some of the issues the CM Fellows will be required to address include raising the quality of education, improving child nutrition, reducing maternal mortality and strengthening progress in rural areas through mitigation of poverty and creating livelihood opportunities, explains the job description put out by the State government's recruiters.

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Rajamouli's "Bahubali: The Beginning)", starring Prabhas and Rana Daggubati, has won the Best Feature Film at the 63rd National Film Awards (NFA). Bahubali made history by becoming the first Telugu movie ever to win the honour. The movie also bagged the Best Special Effects award. Announcing the awards, the Twitter page of Ministry of Broadcasting said: "#NFA- Best Feature Film: Bahubali, An imaginative film & monumental by its production values &cinematic brilliance. [sic]" "Bahubali: The Beginning" was awarded the Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal), a certificate and cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh. "Bahubali: The Beginning" has already won several awards at the South Filmfare Awards, IIFA Utsavam and other such events. It has also been screened at the some International film festivals and won accolades. Many celebs and fans congratulated the Bahubali team on its most recent win. Here are some of their Twitter comments:

first telugu film to win

national awarD for Best film

Actor-ďŹ lmmaker Satish Kaushik who headed the jury for the 63rd National awards admits it was tough deciding the Best Director between Sanjay Leela Bhansali and S.S Rajamouli. 22

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Allari Naresh: #Baahubali makes us proud again by winning the National award for Best Film. Congrats @ssrajamouli sir & team! Varun Sandesh: A Bigg Bigg Congratulations to the team of #Baahubali for being declared the BestFilm at the #NationalAwards :-) #WellDeserved #ProudMoment Sai Dharam Tej: A real proud moment for all Telugu people.Congratulations to team Bahubali and team kanche. @IAmVarunTej love you ra Tamannaah Bhatia: National award for best film @BaahubaliMovie congratulations to our lovely team @ssrajamouli @Shobu_ @RanaDaggubati #Prabhas #Anushka APRIL 2016

Harish Shankar S: Congrats to Entire team of ... Baahubali. Thanks alot @ssrajamouli sir for making us Proud :-) Krish Jagarlamudi: THIS IS AWESOME. AWESOME. AWESOME. CONGRATULATIONS @ssrajamouli @Shobu_ #Prasad. Gopi Mohan: Congrats to @ssrajamouli @Shobu_ Baahubali Team 1st time a Telugu movie won the #NationalAward in Best Film category Bahubali has broken barriers in Indian Cinema, said Rana Daggubati, expressing his happiness over the national award to the film. “The national award citing ‘Bahubali’ as the best film is the ultimate recognition for a regional language film. We are proud at the honour bestowed on us and happy at the recognition and all I can say is that it is very, very gratifying,” said producer Shobu Yarlagadda. Actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik who headed the jury for the 63rd National awards says this was one of the best years in the life of Indian cinema so far. Satish admits it was tough deciding the Best Director between Sanjay Leela Bhansali and S.S Rajamouli. "It was a tough call. Bahubali and Bajirao Mastani were neck to neck. But we felt Bhansali had an edge. His end-product was superior to Rajamouli's film. Bahubali is no doubt an epic achievement. It is the first Indian film to put our cinema on a par with Hollywood. But we felt in terms of detailing, drawing out etched performances from each actor and the sheer breadth of the images and emotions Bajirao Mastani had an edge."

Kanche, Best Film in Telugu

Director Krish aka Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi's "Kanche," starring Varun Tej and Pragya Jaiswal, has bagged the National Award in the Best Feature Film in Telugu category. "Kanche" is a romance drama film set against the backdrop of World War II. Many celebs from the Telugu film APRIL 2016

Many celebs from the Telugu ﬁlm industry are happy with the jury of National Film Awards for honour the team of "Kanche."

industry are happy with the jury of National Film Awards for honour the team of "Kanche." They took to Twitter to congratulate the team. Here are their comments: Junior NTR: And a big thumbs up to

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KANCHE for winning the national award for the best Telugu film. Sai Dharam Tej: A real proud moment for all Telugu people.Congratulations to team Bahubali and team kanche.

The setting up of a new oďŹ&#x192;ce in central London that will act as a nodal point to attract investment for Amaravati was among several initiatives taken by the Chief Minister during his visit to London.

ing's College Hospital, one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals, will soon set up a 1,000-bed world-class medical facility in Andhra Pradesh's new capital Amaravati, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has announced during his three-day visit to London. "The King's College Hospital has agreed to set up a 1,000-bed hospital in Amaravati immediately and make it their headquarters as they plan to set up 11 hospitals in different parts of India," Naidu said.

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s college hospital medical facility in Amaravati

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"They will manufacture equipment necessary for the hospitals in India itself. Not only they want to set up a world-class hospital but promote Health Tourism in India. The foundation for the hospital in Amaravati will be laid in the first week of June," he said. King's College Hospital is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching hospitals with specialised work in liver diseases and transplantation, neurosciences, haemato-oncology and foetal medicine. A 'Health City' of 6387.67 acres has been planned in the capital and land has been reserved throughout the city for healthcare infrastructure. A medical academy and research centres are planned in the capital, proAPRIL 2016

Consulting ﬁrm Price water house Coopers (PWC) prepared an investment strategy for the companies seeking to invest in Amaravati. In the 43-page report titled “Prospectus for AP”, PWC listed about 20 viable projects in AP including capital Amaravati, the outer ring road and Vizag-Chennai growth corridor. The report was unveiled during Naidu’s visit to London. viding access to workforce. "Leading institutions like AIIMS and the Indo-UK Institute of Health have already shown interest in setting up hospitals in the capital," he said. The Chief Minister said his government has set up an office for Amaravati in London. "Vijay Goel, partner Singania & Co, a leading solicitor firm here, has offered to set up the office free of cost," he said. The office will coordinate with investors and help them invest in Amaravati. The Chief Minister also had a separate meeting with Non-Resident Telugus in the UK and they offered to adopt villages in Andhra Pradesh for speedy development. Chief Minister Naidu attended a meeting with London Stock Exchange Group in Canary Wharf. LSE CEO Nikhil Rathi APRIL 2016

informed Naidu that more than 500 companies with a total market capitalisation of $ 2 trillion were listed on the LSE. Rathi offered to work with the State government to help raise funds for Amaravati. The Chief Minister and his team participated in a presentation on UK smart city expertise. Greater London Authority, RICS, Aecom, Benoy, Arup, Mott MacDonald, Mace, Gleeds, Catapult, StadivArena, Vodafone, Rolls - Royce, Herbert Smith Freehills, JCB, UK Export Finance, and ARM are part of the presentation. Earlier, he paid tributes at Mahatma Gandhi statue at Parliament Square. He also attended a meeting with investors Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The visiting Andhra team promoted the new capital city ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

with presentation. The British Museum’s special gallery dedicated to the museum’s treasure trove of Buddhist architecture and sculpture from the ancient site of Amaravati -- floored the Chief Minister. Inspired by the artefacts, the CM said he will seek advice, help and “best practices” on reviving the present day museum in Amaravati and in featuring the significance of the British Museum collection in the new capital. Naidu said that he received a “positive response” to his invitation to the representatives of 20 companies to be part of the smart city concept for Amaravati’s development. Included in this group of companies and organisations were the Greater London Authority, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Vodafone, and Rolls Royce.

CENTRAL TEAM TO STUDY

LED LIGHTING PROGRAMME IN STATE

he Central government dispatched a team of officials to Andhra Pradesh to study the successful implementation of the replacement of conventional bulbs with energy efficient LED lights.

The team led by Energy Efficiency Services Limited managing director Saurabh Kumar is expected to hold discussions with the State Energy Department officials on the measures taken to ensure achievement of targets set for the replacement of traditional lights within the stipulated timeframe. The team’s visit comes in the backdrop of the State receiving national-level awards in five categories of energy conservation. The committee met the CM to apprise him about the latest trends in energy efficiency measures adopted across the country. The team held deliberations on the status of progress of the distribution of 1.83 crore LED bulbs targeted by the energy utilities and the request made by the State government for sanction of another 45 lakh more bulbs to ensure 100 per cent coverage.

Energy conservation

In addition, the team is expected to review the third party audit of the energy conservation achieved in four districts – Srikakulam, West Godavari, Guntur and Anantapur – where LED bulbs were distributed in the first phase as also the energy savings achieved in the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation where conventional streetlights had been replaced by the LED ones.

The team will hold discussions about the plans to launch pilot project of distribution of energy efficient fans at Rs. 955 each against the market price of Rs. 1,500.

Govt of India has taken up LED lighting programme with a target to replace 77 Crore conventional bulbs in the domestic sector and another 3.5 Crore ordinary street lights with LED’s in the country by 2018-19. The gigantic program of Govt. of India is expected to result in substantial reduction of 21,500 MW electricity demand worth of Rs.40,000 Crores energy savings per annum. Impressed with the success story of Andhra Pradesh in implementing LED scheme and other energy efficiency programmes, Govt of India has de-

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cided to show case the “AP’s LED Implementation Model” to other states so that they can emulate it in their respective states. Meanwhile, in yet another major development on the Energy Efficiency (EE) front, the Andhra Pradesh government has in principle proposed to distribute five more LED Bulbs to each SC/ST/BC families for improving their living standards and save considerable amounts in their electricity bills. The five bulbs are proposed to be made available @ Rs 10 each..

APRIL 2016

AP witnesses 30% growth in

TOURIST FOOTFALLS preferred tourist destination, this data comes to us as a great encouragement,” Andhra Pradesh Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Neerabh Kumar Prasad said. “Under the leadership of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and with a focused strategy in place, we are hopeful of this growth momentum to be replicated year after year going forward. We will continue to invest and focus to develop tourism in the state of global standard,” Prasad said.

ndhra Pradesh, a land of unique temples, pristine beaches, hill stations and scenic backwaters, saw 30 per cent growth in tourist footfalls by registering 1,218.3 lakh travellers in 2015. Footfalls in the state increased to 1218.3 lakh last year against 933 lakh in 2014, registering a growth of 30 per cent, according to data provided by Andhra Pradesh government. “In our endeavour to make Andhra Pradesh as India’s most

Anantapur district which houses the famous Puttaparthi and Lord Veerbhadra temple at Lepakshi, became the most visited destination by foreign tourists with a footfall of 1.37 lakh foreigners. Among international tourist arrivals, 2.37 lakh tourists visited the state during 2015 against 66,333 in 2014. Majority of the foreign tourists were from the South East Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and the Middle East, among others.

AP Secretariat to function from Amaravati from June 15

he Andhra Pradesh Government is all set to commence shifting of the first batch of its employees to the new capital region by June 15.

Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana and Chief Secretary S.P. Tucker, who held a meeting with the employees associations’ representatives at the Secretariat, explained to them that by June 15 the interim Secretariat would be ready with six lakh sft to accommodate 4,000 employees. The interim Secretariat at Velagapudi will have six blocks and, at present, G plus-one floor construction was approved. However Narayana said that it was now decided to construct G plus-three floors for all the blocks with a total built-up area of 12 lakh sft. By July 31 another floor would be ready to accommodate 3,000 more employees and by August 31, yet another floor would be completed when another 3,000 employees would be shifted. In the first phase, a majority of Secretariat employees would shift followed by employees of Head of Departments in the second phase, and the remaining staff in the third phase. Of the six blocks, one would be for the Chief Minister’s Office and another for legislature buildings — Assembly and Council. APRIL 2016

The purpose of the meeting was to seek the views of the employees on whether they would be willing to shift in phases or take temporary buildings for rent to shift all at once by June 15, sources said. The employees, giving their consent to move in phases, however, said their demands for five-day week, 30 per cent HRA, displacement allowance for one year, and amendment to Presidential Order on local status of their children be considered by the government before shifting the administration. The demands of the employees will be conveyed to the Chief Minister and the next meeting would be held on March 28. Sources said that some skeletal staff would be left in the Secretariat at the common capital and it would not exceed 20 per cent. The new premises will also have amenities and supporting infrastructure for the convenience of employees such as crèches, food courts, petrol bunks, etc., and internal roads from Vijayawada side. The meeting also discussed the interiors and ergonomically designed seating arrangements in the centrally air-conditioned blocks.

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START AP FEST DRAWS

Big response

he two-day StartAP Fest - a networking event which brought around 1,200 youngsters, mostly students and entrepreneurs, to a common platform — ended with several venture capital and angel investors evincing keenness to fund start-ups, reported The Hindu. The second edition of the fest in vizag after the first one hosted at Vijayawada last year, was sponsored by Innovation Society of AP Government and OMICS International. During interactions with the entrepreneurs and students planning to explore entrepreneurship from across the State, several investors from the United States and Europe said they were looking for the right opportunity to put their money. “There is bright scope to develop a startup ecosystem in Visakhapatnam. There should be a clear roadmap to integrate everything, including making use of global mentorship, to build the right ecosystem,” Atal Malviya, lead founder of Spark10 and Bradford, said. The London- based venture capitalist said they had funded several startups in Hyderabad. He said the startups in the city lacked proper men-

torship due to which they were struggling for viability. Building a Silicon Valley or London-type ecosystem would be a long-drawn process, he stated. The investors also interacted with the startup promoters. Malaviya mentioned about GVS Educational Lab, a city-based startup that developed a portable chemical lab, and said only innovation, passion, and hard work would propel the startups on the path of success. Founder & CEO of US-based 3 Line (accelerator for emerging markets) Krishna Kunapalli said they were looking for opportunities after the word spread in the United States that India was turning into a happening place for startups. He said: “The American investors are very particular about validation of ideas and genuine patenting (intellectual property rights).” “The response from the investors to the citybased startups is good. Now, we have to fine-tune our products/services as per their requirement,” CEO of Startup Moksha T. Vasudeva Rao, said. Director of Startups, Microsoft Ventures, Naveen Asrani, said during a panel discussion that good entrepreneurs would always get a good start.

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chief ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

social network

CM Chandrababu Naidu is an active social media user. Many of you have been actively following his activities with admiration. Here are a few snapshots from his Twitter account and those on him.

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APRIL 2016

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AMAZING ANDHRA PRADESH

Undavalli

Rock-Cut Caves

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ndavalli caves, located in the village of Undavalli in Tadepalli Mandal in Guntur District, near the southern bank of Krishna river, is finest destination to the tourists of variant disciplines. Located 6 km south west from Vijayawada, 22 km north west of Guntur city, it resembles an forsaken fort to a distant viewer. But, actually, whole gigantic structure is a cut in monolithic sandstone cliff. The four floors high rock-cut temple of 29 meters wide facade, with numerous sculptures and murals, is an amazing accomplishment of aesthetic prowess of ancient rulers of Andhras. According to historians, the caves were associated with Vishnukundina kings - dominant dynasty ruling over considerable part of contemporary India during 420 - 620 AD. With the shifts in the spiritual loyalties of the Vishnukundina kings from Buddhism to Hinduism, the Undavalli Caves obviously preserves the artwork of different schools of thought. Planning and style of sculptures in the first floor shows that it was a Buddhist monastery - vihara. The second floor contains the most amazing sculpture in this temple- the reclining figure resting in the shadow of a many headed snake carved from a single rock mass - a huge, 20- feet long statue of Anantapadmanabha Swami (Lord Vishnu). The facade of the third floor is adorned with numerous sculptures, including depictions of lions and elephants. The rock-cut architecture of Undavalli caves had been studied thoroughly beyond the beliefs on cave- sanctities. Accordingly, it is argued that Undavalli Cave in its planning belongs to the earliest examples of Gupta architecture although several details in the second floor show the influence of Chalukyan architecture. APRIL 2016

attractions:

v The spiritualists, anthropologists, historians, iconographers,

sculptors, as well as the lovers of nature find their own experience of detoxification at these caves of rock-cut architecture. v The caves are surrounded by the green countryside. There opens beautiful view through these ancient sculptures towards other green hills and stands of palms below. v Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority (VGTMUDA) is planning to promote eco-tourism at Undavalli caves. As part of it, a park would be developed atop the hill that houses the Undavalli caves. UDA is also to take up a ropeway project shortly from Bhavani Island to Undavalli caves. v The impressive Prakasam Barrage, which is 1223.5 mt long across the river Krishna has created a beautiful reservoir lake. Boating is also another facility at Bhavani Island resorts.

how to reach: Being one of the major cities of Andhra Pradesh and also being one of the biggest railway junctions of India, Vijayawada has many a source of connectivity through road, rail and also airways. It is well connected to most major cities of the country like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Patna, Bhubaneswar and Tirupati. Undavalli Caves are very proximate to the city and thus, very accessible as being part of the city.

accommodation

Haritha Berm Park, Vijayawada

Beautiful with hills enveloping it, Haritha Berm Park is to provide comfortable accommodation to pilgrims and tourists. AP Tourism has opened this modern hotel, with excellent spacious deluxe rooms, decorated suites a function hall and attached Pongali restaurant. Rooms could be booked online, or through phone booking: +91 9951 96 8100 - Naresh Nunna ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

HAPPENING AP Rs. 6,640 cr. outlay for BC sub-plan

An allocation of Rs. 6,640 crore was made for the backward class sub-plan in the State budget this year, Minister for BC Welfare and Excise Kollu Ravindra said. Ravindra told the media that Rs. 8,832 crore was being spent under the BC sub-plan through 21 departments last year and through 33 departments this year. The government was initiating measures to waive loans worth Rs. 2 crore for 1,200 handloom weavers in Kurnool district.

1,500 more buses to join RTC ﬂeet

State Transport Minister Sidda Raghava Rao said 1,500 new buses would be added to the APSRTC’s ﬂeet this year to make the State-owned RTC the most preferred mode of transport for the commuters. Raghava Rao said this was in addition to 1,000 new buses put into service last year. In phases, all the old buses would be replaced. “The Government is on the job of creating airport-like ambience in all the bus stations and put to commercial use RTC’s assets by constructing shopping malls and theatres to augment the its revenue',” he said. A new mobile app would be introduced soon to help the passengers track their buses with the help of smart phones.

Aqua Culture gets push in Budget

Minister for Agriculture, Horticulture and Fisheries Prattipati Pulla Rao said that State government’s agreement with World Economic Forum for marketing 25 agriculture varieties from the country will beneﬁt 10,000 farmer produce organisations from this year. While inaugurating Aqua Biz India-2016 at Sports Stadium in Kakinada, he said that each group of FPO would consist of 1,000 farmers and a total of 10 lakh farmers of these organisations would adopt best practices for quality production. With regard to aqua culture, the Minister said that top priority was given to this sector as the growth rate was 32 per cent, whereas the agriculture growth rate was at minus 7 per cent.

CM condoles Anand Gajapathi Raju

Scion of Vizianagaram royal family, former State Minister and MP Pusapati Anand Gajapathi Raju passed away in Vizag on March 26. He was 65 and is survived by wife and a daughter. Union Civil Aviation Minster Ashok Gajapathi Raju is his younger brother. Anand was elder son of Raja Saheb of Vizianagaram P.V.G. Raju. He was Minister in N.T. Rama Rao's cabinets twice and was elected from Bobbili Parliamentary constituency twice, one on Congress ticket and later on Telugu Desam ticket.

Araku apples likely to hit market in two years

Araku apples are most likely to hit the market in two years. Senior scientists from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, expressed with conﬁdence after they examined the apple plants on the premises of the Regional Agriculture Research Station of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University at Chintapalli in Visakha Agency. As an experiment, the CCMB planted 100 apple plants at RARS and 10 each at Araku, GK Vedhi and Lammasingi as these areas located high on the Eastern Ghats. The CCMB has taken up apple cultivation on an experimental basis in non-traditional areas under a CSIR programme and has provided the plant varieties that suit such areas to the Visakha Agency.

Approval for diversion of forest land to capital

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFC) has given in-principle approval for diversion of 19,256.8 hectares of forest land for the development of the capital city of Amaravati in Krishna and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh. “The government has taken a policy decision to allow diversion of forest land for creation of new State capital of a newly-carved out State”, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar told the Lok Sabha. In September, the State government submitted a proposal to the MoEFC, seeking prior approval of the Central government for diversion of 19,256.8 hectares of forest land under the Forest (Conservati0n) Act 1980.

Loan Disbursal for Kapus soon

A tatal of 3.48 lakh Kapus have applied for loan to the Kapu Corporation and it would be disbursed in all the districts soon, Kapu Welfare and Development Corporation Chairman Ch. Ramanujaya said. Loans were disbursed to 32,000 beneﬁciaries at Eluru and 15,000 beneﬁciaries in Anantapur. The Chairman said that the Chief Minister made a budgetary allocation of Rs. 8,400 crore for BC welfare as against Rs.3,200 crore allocated earlier. The government made a budgetary allocation of Rs.1,000 crore to the Kapu Corporation this year.

Seventh INRSS satellite to be launched by April-end

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch the last one in the series of the seven navigation satellites by last week of April. ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said the seven satellite constellation is unique in that they continuously beam down

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APRIL 2016

data that could be read even by smart phones. The system was designed to cover a region of about 1,500 km on all sides of the border.

TTD call centre to be strengthened

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is all set to improve its call centre, one of the major public interaction points, with advanced technology in a bid to make it more caller-friendly. The call centre receives an average of 5,000 calls every day, right from queries on various sevas performed at the temple to complaints about malfunctioning systems or errant staff etc. Calls are made not only from people across the state and various parts of the country, but also from abroad. Apart from instructing the officials to train the call centre staff in several languages to handle calls from other states, he also instructed them to design a chart on Frequently Asked Queries (FAQs), instructed Executive Officer D. Sambasiva Rao at a review meeting.

Socio-economic survey of Brahmins soon

The government will soon undertake a survey on ‘Brahmana’ community so as to assess their socio-economic status and design development schemes for them. Endowments Minister P. Manikyala Rao said this in the Assembly while answering a question by member Kona Raghupathi during question hour. The survey report will be out in three months. Rao informed that Rs.60 crore had been allocated to the AP Brahmin Welfare Corporation in 2014-15 and 2015-16, which, together with a release of Rs.20 crore as grant to the AP Brahmin Cooperative Credit Society, was expected to be spent by the end of the ﬁnancial year.

Widening sex ratio in Srikakulam

Srikakulam district Collector P Lakshmi Narasimham has expressed concern over the widening sex ratio in the district despite eﬀorts to create awareness over the importance of the girl child. Stating that the male-female ratio was 1000: 954 in the district, he said that it had to be corrected by encouraging birth of the girl child in future. He was speaking at a function organised in Bapuji Kalamandir on the occasion of International Women’s Day. A change in the attitude of people was the need of the hour so that there would not be any imbalances in the male-female population in future, he said.

Govt. to enhance sports budget

The State government has decided to enhance budgetary allocation for developing sports infrastructure in all

APRIL 2016

the districts across the State. The decision comes in the light of Andhra Pradesh being selected to host the National Games of 2018-19. Labour Minister K. Atchan Naidu, who replied to a query on the issue during the question hour in the Assembly, said the State government was expected to make allocation of close to Rs. 1,000 crore for developing stadiums in diﬀerent districts of the State. Of this, close to Rs. 150 crore would be spent on procurement of the necessary equipment in the stadiums.

Fortiﬁcation of Prakasam Barrage begins

The State government had earmarked Rs. 24 crore from the Krishna Delta Modernisation Project funds for strengthening the Prakasam Barrage. The barrage has an ayacut of over 13 lakh acres stretching across West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, and Prakasam districts. The foundation of the barrage, the construction of which was begun in 1954 and completed in 1957, had to be bolstered and fortiﬁed in a big way. The total quantity of concrete used for the ﬂoors and the aprons of the barrage is 31 lakh cubic feet. As many as 900 wells were sunk for the construction of the piers.

Mythological murals to greet devotees in Tirupati

Devotees travelling through the major approach roads into the temple city of Tirupati will soon be greeted by colourful mythological murals! The Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT), as a part of the beautification drive, has embarked upon a new project to turn the blank city walls into beautiful paintings, depicting scenes from Hindu mythology. The cost of entire project is estimated in between Rs. 3 and Rs. 5 crore and is expected to be completed by six months. MCT officials have identified six approach roads for this project.

HPCL, GAIL shortlist three sites in AP for 15MT reﬁnery

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and GAILBSE -0.41 % India Ltd have shortlisted three sites in Andhra Pradesh for setting up a 15 million tons per annum refinery, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. "Site selection study for 3 sites, namely, Nakkapalli cluster near Visakhapatnam, Kakinada SEZ in East Godavari district and at Machilipatnam have been completed. HPCL and GAIL have carried out a prefeasibility cum configuration study for 15 million tons integrated refinery cum petrochemical complex and also a standalone petrochemical complex.

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gannavaram airport

in expansion moDe

Passenger Movement Now

6,74,200

Projected Growth by 2018-19

19,49,000

Projected Growth by 2018-19

20,690

Soon to be Operational

Airbus 321

Aircraft Movements Now

Currently Operated Flights Runway Earlier

Runway Present

: :

10,550

Airbus 319, 320 1745 metres

2,286 metres

New International Terminal To be in four phases Measures 1,50,270 square metres

Under Progress

Present Spread of Airport

: New Domestic Terminal spanning 13,000 square metres : 537 acres

Land extent to be Acquired : 700 acres New Facilities

Present Connectivity to 34

: Instrument Landing System for night landing : Bangaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Visakhapatnam

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HERE & EVERYWHERE...

he Chief Minister spent most the time in March in Hyderabad for the Budget Session of the Assembly. However, he took time out to participate in other programmes including a whirlwind tour to London to attract investments for Amaravati. Pic 1: CM paying tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Parliamenet Square during the visit to London.

Pic 2 Chief Minister monitoring the pace of works for building the interim Secretarait Complex at Velagapudi in the upcoming capital Amaravati. Pic 3: Hindupur MLA Balakrishna interacting with Ministers Partiala Sunitha and Palle Raghunatha Reddy at the Assembly premises during the Budget session. Pic 4: CM lighting the lamp at the inaguation of the Judicial OďŹ&#x192;cer Conference held in Hyderabad. Supreme Court Judges Justice A R Dave and Justice Dipak Misra are also seen.

Regd. No. H-HD-1082/2016-18 Published on: 01/04/2016

APENG/2007/20679

Posting Dt: 6th