Lokesh fiat on MSME applications

Vijayawada : Minister for IT and Human Resources Nara Lokesh has asked the District Collectors to focus on speedy clearance of applications from MSMEs and see that every district gets industries.

Addressing the Collectors’ Conference here on Thursday, Lokesh said the Collectors should compete in speed of doing business. While the state government will take care of all major investments so that there will be all-round industrial growth, the Collectors should encourage the MSME entrepreneurs to set up units, give permission without any delay, he said, adding that only then Andhra Pradesh could compete with other states and overtake them in industrialization. Lokesh said the state needs to lay greater focus on the issue since it had badly suffered in the last five years as even existing industries had shifted to other states. The competition to attract investments is high from other states and hence it is important to be ahead of others in speed of business, he said.

He said the government has fixed a target of 20 lakh jobs in five years and 80 percent of the jobs can be created in the MSME sector.

The IT Minister said along with skill development, the Collectors should also focus on providing quality food in government schools and ensure that the facilities in hostels are improved. He said he was taking direct feedback from the students. Lokesh said the complaints regarding poor quality of food and lack of hygiene, toilets and poor maintenance of hostels were high. Henceforth, he said the government will rate all government schools in each district based on their academic performance and infrastructural facilities.

Lokesh said it has been decided that from the next parent-teachers mega meeting, a campaign against use of drugs would be taken. The campaign will be known as “No Drugs Bro,” he added.