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Top manufacturing states need to plan long term
To appease the coalition partners, other poll bound and majority states of the ruling party, the government has announced a slew of development measures for them. These include Andhra, Bihar, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir. While there was a mention of Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Haryana were left a miss.
States on the eastern belt like Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand are the places from which most population migrate within the country in search of employment. Today, it is common to see them across southern states, where they work from petty shops to the manufacturing shop floor. FMCG, construction and other labour-intensive industries employ them in large numbers. Even a few have comfortably settled speaking the local languages. Higher wages, better living conditions and social fabric attract them to these highly industrialised regions. With a slew of development schemes announced across the BIMARU belt, it will help in controlling outward migration and create a lot of opportunities making it attractive for the local people to stay within the state. But at the same time, it may lead to a dearth of employees in southern states. They must start working on long term plans to fill this gap. Recourse to technology must be carefully planned so that industries do not suffer without access to manpower. At the same time, the high gross enrollment ratio increases the aspiration levels of youth in the industrialised states. Shop floor work would no longer be attractive to them. Government must ensure they bring in the right kind of investments that would meet the increasing aspiration levels of the youth.
On the same lines, with a proactive and aggressive chief minister like Chandrababu Naidu and a strong fiscal support from the centre for his dreams, there would be no end to make Andhra and its capital city, as a hi-tech investment attracting hub. Naidu’s vision built Hyderabad as tech savvy and pharma strong city. His ambitious plans, corporate like approach and the slew of incentives is sure to attract investments to the region. This could pose a stiff challenge to neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that are clamouring for its portion of the same pie. Each region focussing on their particular strengths and developing them further as innovation and R&D hub would serve benefit for the nation. Such focussed research development will help states to excel, as well compete globally.
