Piyush Goyal Backs Startup Growth in Andhra, Seeks Global Capital

• Goyal urged Andhra Pradesh to speed up industrial projects and attract global investments.
• Krishnapatnam, Orvakal, and Kopparthy nodes aim for major investments and job creation.
• NICDC stressed faster land acquisition and global quality standards.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has requested Andhra Pradesh to accelerate significant industrial projects and implement a startup-friendly framework to draw international capital.

Goyal chaired a high-level review meeting on June 15 at the Tobacco Board in Guntur, where he was provided with a progress report on the Krishnapatnam, Orvakal, and Kopparthy industrial nodes set up by the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) as India sets out to build next-generation manufacturing hubs.

The ministry statement stated, "The Minister also instructed officials to earmark zones within each node for MSMEs and startups, offering subsidized rates and equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure and technological support".

During the meeting, Piyush Goyal instructed state officials to set up innovative-ready zones within each node, and that they should provide subsidised land for MSMEs and startups. He stated there should be country-specific investment conclaves for boosting foreign investments.

Also Read: IIT-M's India Centre Boosts Atmanirbharta in Lab-Grown Diamonds

"He further called for the creation of a centralized dashboard to enable real-time monitoring of project progress and urged the adoption of advanced testing and quality control mechanisms to ensure world-class infrastructure", mentioned the statement.

The Krishnapatnam node, part of the Chennai–Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, spans over 2,006 acres and targets ₹10,500 crore worth of investments that would create 100,000 jobs. The Orvakal node is aiming for ₹12,000 crore under the Hyderabad–Bengaluru corridor, while Kopparthy, under the Visakhapatnam–Chennai corridor, aims to draw ₹8,800 crore.

The leaders at NICDC emphasised the importance of land acquisition timeframes, infrastructure availability, and strict quality control to meet international standards. Andhra Pradesh has nodes in three separate industrial corridors and is an important part of India's industrial vision. Goyal further remarked that there was an opportunity for the State to emerge as "Swarnandhra Pradesh" which would indicate inclusive and innovation-led development.