Andhra Pradesh-CII Partnership Summit: CM Naidu announces 303 MoUs worth ₹9.89 lakh crore, calls for central law for investor protection

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday announced that that the state will finalise 303 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) involving investments of ₹9.89 lakh crore during the ongoing CII Partnership Summit in Vishakhapatnam. 

Naidu said with the MoUs about to be signed, total investment commitments in the state have reached ₹32.49 lakh crore in two-and-a-half years. "This is the biggest investment figure in India," he said at the summit. 

Naidu urged Union Minister Piyush Goyal

The chief minister to bring a Central Investment Protection Act to provide greater security and confidence to investors across the country. Speaking at the inaugural session of the 31st CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam, he said concerns over regime changes and what he described as vindictive politics were creating apprehensions among investors.

At the event this morning, Andhra's HRD, IT, and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh said at the summit that the state will soon enact an Investors Protection Act. 

"I am bringing an Investment Protection Act to safeguard investors from regime changes and political vendetta. The Centre must support it,” Naidu said.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the 31st CII Partnership Summit, he invited entrepreneurs attending the two-day event to come forward with investment proposals and sign MoUs with the state government. "The government is ready to work with entrepreneurs interested in investing in Andhra Pradesh and urged every entrepreneur to consider signing at least one MoU before leaving the summit," Naidu said. 

He said the government had presented detailed information on the State's investment opportunities and its efforts to attract industries.

Addressing the event, Lokesh said AP government will translate trade, technology and trust into reality. "We will remain just a phone call away for industrialists. We are keen to work together with you. We will respond faster than your own teams," Lokesh said. 

Lokesh called upon global industrialists not merely to visit Andhra Pradesh, but to invest, innovate and grow here. He urged them not just to build their factories in the state, but to make Andhra Pradesh their corporate home.

Nara Lokesh said the summit's focus was on trade, technology and trust. "In Andhra Pradesh, we want to give these three words a concrete shape and transform them into investments, partnerships and opportunities," he said.

He said the government offered its full support, that its doors would always remain open and that its teams would always be ready to assist. He added that the government was eagerly looking forward to working with the industrialists.