Amaravathi, Mar 11 (KNN) In 2021 alone as many as 7107 Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) were established with an investment of Rs 2,099 crore providing employment to 46,811 persons, said State Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath on Friday while presenting budget in the Legislative Assembly.

The budget has a total outlay of Rs 2,56,257 crore with revenue expenditure estimated at Rs  2,08,261 crore, and capital expenditure Rs 47,996 crore.

It was revealed that under YSR Navodayam scheme,1,78,919 MSME accounts worth more than Rs 7,976 crore were restructured to support and nurture the growth of MSMEs under the One Time Restructuring of MSME loans scheme.

During 2021-22, the government released incentives worth Rs 671 crore covering general MSMEs, textile industries and more.

“Small and medium industries form the foundation of the 3rd pillar of livelihood and are central to the realisation of the SDG-8 and SDG-9 of Decent Work and Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure,” said FM Rajendranath.

The budget presentation also focused on huge investment potential in sectors of Food and Agro-processing, Textiles and Spinning, Marine products, Mineral products, Iron and Steel, Cement, Granite, Ferro alloys, Engineering goods, Automobiles, Defence and Aerospace, Electronic hardware, Biotech, and Retail trade.

The Chittoor-Nellore region figures in the top-10 manufacturing destinations in India, attracting domestic and international investors etc, said FM Rajendranath.

“Under the Ease of Doing Business framework, all approvals are provided within 21 days, as Andhra Pradesh has improved exports performance from rank 7 in 2019-20 to rank 4 in 2020-21 with an increase in exports to USD 16.8 billion in 2020-21, a growth of 13.8 per cent compared to the previous year,” he said.

In view of the emergence of industries and manufacturing hub in the state and to give boost to the initiatives taken by the government in 2021 and previosuly, the Finance Minister proposed an allocation of Rs 2,755.17 crore for industrial and infrastructure development in 2022-23. (KNN Bureau)