Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu today expressed hope that the State would be in third place in the country by 2020.
Addressing the Indian Economic Association (IEA) 10th summit at Acharya Nagarjuna University, the chief minister said the State government would strive hard to put the State in third position in the country by 2020. The State has plenty of natural resources as it has 1000-km long coastal belt, he asserted.
The summit was inaugurated by President Ramnath Kovind, who was on a brief southern sojourn in Telangana State. The State government maintained growth rate since last three years in spite of economic hurdles due to bifurcation of the State. He asked economic experts to advise the State to accelerate the economic situation of the State further.
Appreciating the services of Rangarajan, former Governor of united Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu said he has gratitude to Rangarajan, who is an expert in economics, gave suggestions for improving the economic situation of the State. The President also expressed dissatisfaction over the distribution of food packets by the Organizers to the delegates while he was addressing the conference. When the President started addressing the Conference after formally inaugurating it, the volunteers started distributing packets containing snacks to the delegates and the media.
A group of students stood at once to get a food packet from the volunteers, which distracted the attention of the President. He stopped his address for a while and asked the organizers to stop the distribution of the food packets.
“What is happening in the economic world, the same picture I see in this function hall. I think some food packets are being distributed. They are must. But that disturb the system itself. Therefore, I request the organizers to put the distribution of food packets at abeyance for a little while”, the President said.
The President also said a significant number of Indians still live in poverty without civic amenities and the issue should be addressed to achieve the dreams of new India by 2022.
The President lamented that significant numbers of fellow-citizens still live in poverty. They have insufficient access to health care, education, housing and civic amenities, he deplored.
The President said this is particularly true for traditionally weaker sections of society, such as the SCs, STs, segments of the OBCs and of course women. Addressing these issues is necessary in order to achieve the dreams of a New India by 2022, when the country commemorates the 75th anniversary of Independence, he added