Lokesh to meet Union Ministers to push Andhra projects

AP IT Minister to press for faster clearances, new initiatives; to thank Vaishnaw for semiconductor unit

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh’s Minister for Information Technology and Human Resources Development, Nara Lokesh, will meet Union Ministers in Delhi on Monday to discuss key pending projects of the state with the Central government.

Lokesh will leave for the national capital on Sunday. He is scheduled to have a series of meetings with Union Ministers to push for faster clearances for pending projects and to discuss some new initiatives for Andhra Pradesh.

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Lokesh, who is the son of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, will hold meetings with Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

The state government is expected to present a set of proposals to each of these ministries during the discussions, according to a statement from the minister’s office. Since the formation of the coalition government in the State, Minister Lokesh has already met Union Ministers on multiple occasions and has been actively pursuing the state’s interests.

His efforts have helped bring new projects to Andhra Pradesh and ensure quicker approvals from the Centre, it said. The HRD Minister is said to be making a concerted push to place Andhra Pradesh on par with the most developed states in the country.

During his visit, Lokesh is also expected to meet Union Railway, IT and Electronics Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and thank him personally for sanctioning a Semiconductor Manufacturing Unit to the state. The Union Cabinet on August 12 approved a semiconductor facility in Andhra Pradesh.

Advanced System in Package Technologies (ASIP) will be tying up with APACT Co. Ltd, South Korea, for an annual capacity of 96 million units. These will be used in mobile phones, set-top boxes, automobiles and other new-age electronics applications, and will greatly contribute to an Atmanirbhar Bharat, Lokesh had said while thanking the Prime Minister for sanctioning the facility.

The Union Cabinet decided to set up new semiconductor manufacturing units under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). These units will come up in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab. The cumulative investment will be around Rs 4,600 crore.