Hyderabad:
Andhra Pradesh, especially Hyderabad, worked hard to earn the tag of best investment destination. A World Bank report on doing business in Asia rated Hyderabad the top IT destination. Sadly, all that appears to be changing with the happenings of December 2009.
The Confederation of Indian Industries' (CII) prestigious annual partnership summit, to be held in the fourth week of January, is shifting from Hyderabad to Chennai. Political happenings in the state are severely affecting business - that's what industry leaders have conveyed to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister. K Rosaiah has promptly announced the creation of a "dedicated task force for industry protection."
The Chief Minister has also spoken to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma to intervene with the CII, but to no avail - yet. "We are not politicians. We are only saying that when the industry gets hit, the revenues fall and the state's economy gets affected," explains the CII's Harish Chandra Prasad.
Pradeep Dutt, Secretary General of the Hotels & Restaurants Association of Andhra Pradesh, says: "Andhra Pradesh has lost crores. We don't know what's going to happen. Tourists are not coming, and corporates are cancelling seminars in Hyderabad. Both FICCI and CII have moved theirs to Chennai. Our loss is another state's gain."
IT majors point out that the sector earned 32,000 crores in the state last year. Disruptions could see investors, employees and customers moving elsewhere. "Some 50 lakh people in Andhra Pradesh depend on the IT sector. If there is a bandh and work stops even for a day, there is a loss of 100 crore rupees," says B V R Mohan Reddy, Chairman of Infotech.
It is an open secret that Brand Hyderabad has taken a hit. But what is even more unfortunate is that the Chief Minister is unable to talk in a tone of reassurance.