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Smoking Heart!the first-ever aerobatic Show in Vijaywada was a big hit, withspectators thronging the Punnami ghat in large numbers. thethree-day event left the city spellbound. a team of Uk-basedglobal Stars gripped the audience with its classy formationsand smoke stunts over the banks of the krishna. Four jets ledby pilot mark Jefferies put up a spectacular show. Formationleader tom Cassells and other pilots Chris Burkett and SteveCarver smooth sailed several stunning manoeuvres andsynchronised smoke acts with panache. Chief ministern Chandrababu naidu, Union minister for Civil aviationP ashok gajapathi raju, minister of State for Science andtechnology Y S Chowdhary, andhra Pradesh Legislativeassembly Speaker kodela Siva Prasad and others attended theevent.


C O N T E N T S

A thumping success

Rare Honour for theChief Minister

CM announces Rs100 cr for Nobeleffort

18

14

13

Incentivise digitaltransations:

CMs Committee

16

CM launchesDivya darshan

5

Offers of investmentspoured in at thetwo-day partnershipsummit of theConfederation ofIndian Industry (CII)held in Vizag.

Reminiscing NTR- ‘Telugu Vaari

Gnapakam’

Happening Andhra

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632

Republic day 201734

DiviseemaBoat Race

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12 Bolly & Holly Bet Big OnTelugu Film Market

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Various developments across thestate of Andhra Pradesh.

Arogya Raksha:Health for AllScheme

21

Keeping Datewith Davos

Chief Minister’sSocial Network

K Ramnoth-Multi-faced Genius

Rayalaseema gets two liftirrigation projects

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2210

Indian Science Congress@ Tirupati


FEBRUARY 20174 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

the importance of Being CBnChief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been one of the very fewpolitical leaders who understood the importance of being part of aninternational business networking group to further industrialdevelopment back home.

A regular visitor to the World Economic Forum at Davos for more thana decade now, Naidu has been making use of the opportunity to brandthe residuary state as Sunrise Andhra Pradesh.

This year’s visit too saw him meeting a plethora of business leaders andindustry honchos to attract investments into the state.

Despite all the malicious propaganda floated around about the Davostrip of the CM, facts and figures speak for themselves. From AirbusCEO, Cisco chairman and Novartis President to McKinsey’s GlobalDirector, Volvo Buses President and BRICS New Development BankChief, none of the business leaders would have taken time out to meetunless they consider the exercise worthwhile.

The CM’s presence at the prestigeous event has helped further kindleinterest in the Sunrise State.

Close on the heels of Davos, the CII Partnership Summit at Vizagturned out to be a huge success. The offers of investment have pouredin large numbers – more than double of what the state received lastyear.

An admiring Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley paid rich compli-ments to the leadership in the state, saying that AP was poised to beahead of the nation’s growth rate by 4 to 5 %.

The New Year indeed started on a positive note for Andhra Pradeshwith a slew of development activities going on stream during themonth.

Arogya Raksha, a Universal Health Coverage scheme for the AbovePoverty Line families, was launched on the very first day of the NewYear. As are two important lift irrigation projects that would water thearid region of Rayalaseema.

There is still more to do. Rest assured this CM never sleeps!

Ramesh Babu KandulaEditor

EDITORIAL

CommissionerS Venkateswar IISEditorRamesh Babu KandulaExecutive EditorNaresh NunnaCover PagePartnership Summit 2017

Second Cover Aerobatic Show in VJA

Third CoverSrikalahasti Gopuram

Fourth CoverAPIIC Advt on Sunrise State

Published by:Information & Public Relations DepartmentGovernment of Andhra PradeshHyderabad - 500 028Ph: 040-23300258

Views expressed by various authors in this issue reflect theirpersonal opinions.

DesignKarthik Beesu

Photos:T.Srinivasa Reddy, VijayawadaPrinted atCaxton Offset Pvt. Ltd.HyderabadEach Issue : Rs 20/-Annual Subscription : Rs 220/-www.andhrapradeshmagazine.orgEmail: [email protected]

ANDHRA PRADESHPublished Monthly In English & Telugu

February 2017Volume:11 Issue:8Salivahana Era 1938

Printed and Published by Ramesh Babu Kandula on behalf of Director/Commissioner, Information and Public Relations Dept.;Printed at M/s Caxton Offset Pvt. Ltd., 11.5.416/3, Red Hills, Hyderabad - 500 004; Published at Office of Director/Commissioner ,I&PR Dept, Govt of Andhra Pradesh, Samachar Bhavan, AC Guards, Hyderabad - 500028. Editor: Ramesh Babu Kandula.Ph: 040-23300258.


FEBRUARY 2017 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG 5

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Divya darshan, aprogramme to pro-vide free pilgrimageto famous temples inthe State for the poor,was launched by Chief MinisterChandrababu Naidu in January.He flagged off four Divya darshanbuses provided by the APSRTC tothe Endowments Department onrental basis. The Chief Ministeradministered an oath to the benefi-ciaries that they would visit thetemples with utmost devotion andnot consider it a pleasure trip.Selection through lotteryUnder the scheme, 1.30 lakh peo-ple would have the opportunity tovisit famous temples. The benefici-aries would be selected throughlottery. People between 18 and 70were eligible to apply and 90 per

cent of the beneficiaries would beselected from the poor belongingto the SC, ST and BC communities.The Chief Minister suggested theendowments officials to collectfeedback from the participants.The Endowments Department, theTirumala Tirupati Devasthanamsand local temples will be involvedin the implementation of thescheme.Principal Secretary (Endowments)J S V Prasad, APSRTC ManagingDirector Malakondaiah, Endow-ments Commissioner Anuradha,Sri Durga Malleswara SwamyDevasthanam Executive OfficerA.Surya Kumari and others werepresent.Devotees to be taken tofive major templesThe Government would identify

the beneficiaries based on theireconomic and social backward-ness. They would be taken to fivemajor temples, including Tirumala.People from each of the 13districts will be selected every yearunder the scheme. It is estimatedthat Rs. 100 crore per annumwould be needed to implement thescheme.It was estimated that the accom-modation and food would cost Rs.60 crore. As both would be pro-vided at the respective temples,there need not be any specialbudget for it. The governmentwould have to spend Rs. 40 croreon travel expenses which would beshared by the TTD and the Endow-ments Department.

CM LAUNCHES DIVYA DARSHAN

A new initiative to facilitate the poor devotees to have darshan of majortemples in the state has been launched by the Government.


6 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG FEBRUARY 2017

Davos has been a regularhaunt for Andhra PradeshChief Minister for morethan a decade now. Thisyear, he was a Special Invitee at theWorld Economic Forum's Summitheld from 17th to 20th of January2017. Naidu, who led the State delegationfor the third time consecutively,seized upon the initiative to projectthe might of the State as an invest-ment destination. The Governmentmade all use of every opportunity tobrand Andhra Pradesh No.1 Destina-tion for Corporate Investment.

The Chief Minister held bilateraltalks with representatives of about50 organisations including GeneralElectricals, Jetro, Zaika, LockheedMartin Corporation, Medtranik, Wa-geningen University and Research,AECOM, Master Card, Teijin, NewDevelopment Bank, Global Healthand Health Care, Global Funding etc.He was also Chief Guest in sevensessions of the Summit.The Chief Minister gave a talk on"Preparing for the City Century andalso participated in Board Roomdiscussions on "India and South AsiaRegional Strategy Group". Prime

Ministers and top leaders from sev-eral countries participated in thediscussions.On 18th, Naidu spoke on "India andEmerging Markets in the new phaseof globalization" at Boston Consult-ing Group-CII breakfast session. Inthe afternoon session, he joined theinteractive session --"New Vision forAgriculture-Building and Strength-ening Multi-Holder Partnerships."On 19th of January, Naidu joined theinter-active discussion on "Struc-tural Reforms for Inclusive and Sus-tainable Growth." The same day, hewas the Chief Guest at the Confer-

KEEPING DATE WITH DAVOSCM Chandrababu Naidu has been the only Chief Minister of any state who has beenregular to the World Economic Forum at Davos. His visits have helped the fledgling state tobe in the reckoning in the highly competitive world of business and investement.

Cm conduting an engaging interactive session titled "technology Pioneers" with young innovators at Davos.



ence of "Technology Pioneers."On 20th, the Chief Minister was partof a Work Shop on "Country-ledAction to achieve the SustainableDevelopment Goals."The Chief Minister visited Zurich onthe first day as part of his WorldEconomic Forum (WEF) meeting. Hemet Stadler Rail AG Executive vice-president Peter Jenelten, businessanalyst Stefan Rutishauser, and proj-ect manager Thomas Zweifel.Quoting Jenelten, a State Govern-ment release said that the StadlerRail AG has already set up a produc-tion unit at Kacharapara in WestBengal, and now plans to establish aspare parts unit at Visakhapatnam.About 3,000 people would get em-ployment if the factory would be es-tablished at Visakhapatnam.“We have plans to expand our opera-tions in India and the U.S. We plan tomake India the south-east Asian hubfor manufacturing rail coaches andlocomotives,” Quoting Jenelten said.Naidu, during the meeting, said thatthe State government had initiatedprocess to start metro rails in twocities in the State. The governmentwould introduce world class high-speed trains also. “Andhra Pradeshhas many advantages as Union Rail-way Minister Suresh Prabhu is rep-resenting from the AP. The Stategovernment will provide necessaryinfrastructural facilities. Vast coast-line, power and water supply, railand road connectivity were some ofthe features that make AP the bestplace to invest,” he said.At second bilateral meeting with theEuropean Education and ResearchCouncil (EERC), the representativesof EERC informed the Chief Ministerthat they plan to integrate researchin educational institutions with

manufacturing in factories. Vanga-pandu Venkata Nagaraju fromVijayawada is the founder/chancel-lor of the EERC.Trittec Company, which makes mos-quito nets and meshes, envisagedinterest in setting up of a productionunit in AP. The company representa-tives informed the Chief Ministerthat they need 5000 sq metres ofland for setting up the productionunit and proposes to provideemployment to 400 to 500 people.The company plans to export thesemeshes to Pakistan, Bangladesh, andSri Lanka.technical supportBKW Energie AG expressed interestin providing technical support inincreasing the efficiency of theHydel power projects from 3 percent to 10 per cent. Naidu pointedout a possible collaboration with thecompany for the Polavaram project.Stating that AP has plans to build960 MW Hydel project in Polavaram,the CM said he was looking for newHydel power technologies from theBKW group.meeting with Satya nadellaChandrababu Naidu met MicrosoftChief Executive Officer Satya Nadellaand other delegates representingvarious MNCs in Davos on the sec-ond day on the sidelines of theWorld Economic Forum meeting.Naidu explained Nadella varioustechnological initiatives beingimplemented in AP for real timegovernance and mentioned that hewas keen on increasing digital trans-actions to 70 per cent by March2017. Satya offered to collaboratewith Andhra Pradesh in the areas ofe-Governance and cyber securityand stressed the need to nurture hy-

brid cloud technology which was agreat leap in technology. The twoagreed to make significant progressin the technology within a year.The CM also met Marie-Ange Debon,CEO of SUEZ environment, a Frenchcompany, and told her the State waskeen on using their expertise inpollution control in industrial areas,water treatment and waste toenergy projects. He invited her tovisit AP for feasibility studies.Office for Economy and Labour,Zurich State Government, GeneralManager, Bruno Sauter, during hisinteraction with the CM said a sister-State relationship between AndhraPradesh and the Zurich State, onwhich they were very keen, could beworked out.Naidu also met Hiroyuki Ishige,Chairman, Japan External TradeOrganisation, and briefed him howAndhra Pradesh was progressing bymaking use of technology forpoverty alleviation.Underlining that there was anincrease in the number of Japanesecompanies in AP, Ishige invitedNaidu to the investor’s seminar thatwould be organised in Japan shortly.The Chief Minister later held a meet-ing with Nicholas Dirks, Chancellor,University of California, Berkeley.The University was already workingwith the State and one SolomonDarwin of the University hadworked for complete digitisation ofMori village in AP.Chandrababu Naidu’s bilateralmeetings with CEOs of various com-panies yielded positive results onthe last day of WEF meeting.Felix Marquardt , the president Cy-lance international a Cyber securityfirm, told Naidu that his companywas nterested in investing in

Unfortunately, a few people sought to tarnish the fruitful visit by floating baselessrumours over the trip. The projection of Andhra Pradesh as an ideal investment destinationduring the CM’s visit cannot be measured in terms of immediate returns. AP has the soledistinction of being part of such a prestigeous summit.



Andhra Pradesh. Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agar-wal has come forward to open Nand Ghars on a pilot basis inthe State on the lines of Nand Ghar schools being operated innorth India.Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser told Naidu that his com-pany was interested in starting a refinery in India. A teamwould visit Andhra Pradesh in the next 15 days to study thefeasibility, he said.Paytm Chief Executive Officer Vijay Shekhar Sharma said thathe was keen on bringing every latest initiative of the Paytm toAndhra Pradesh. Sharma explained that starting a bank, 500million accounts by 2020 and startring digital Paytm bank atevery village were some of the targets set by the company.Explaining about Core Dashboard to Fujitsu’s CEO NobuhikoSasaki, Naidu said that various technologies being used fordevelopment and welfare programmes in the State. Hedemonstrated how the Dashboard can be used for real-timemonitoring. The representatives from Fujitsu informed thatthey would send a team to Amaravati to study AndhraPradesh’s requirements.In another meeting, Jonathan Schmidt of Lumin World saidthat his company can supply technology for clean energytechnologies even with coal. Solar powered salt waterdesalination technology and the company was also into wastemanagement, he said. The group will visit AP in February toexplore the opportunities.Naidu asked the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis andMalaria, a non-profit organisation, to lay emphasis on eradi-cation of dengue fever. Responding to it, Global Fund ExternalRelations Director Christopher Benn said that the GlobalFund works for eradication of malaria, tuberculosis, HIV in allthe countries. It had already spent $1 billion in India. The or-ganisation proposes to launch India Health Fund shortly, hesaid.Sequoia capital Managing Director Shailendra Singhdiscussed ways of collaboration between the AP and theircompany. Sequoia Capital is an American venture capital firmwhich mainly focusses on the technology industry, he said.“While you concentrate more on technology, and our govern-ment encouraging innovation and incubation, we can worktogether,” Naidu said.McKinsey & Company, the global management consultancy,has promised to facilitate Chinese investments in AndhraPradesh. During CM’s meeting with McKinsey’s Global Insti-tute Director Jonathan Woetzel, the latter said that his firmwould take the responsibility of networking 20 most impor-tant companies and investors from China. Plans would befinalised in the next three months, he said.Responding to it, Naidu said that McKinsey’s best talentshould form a group to help mobilise finances and invest-ments for developmental activities and plans in AndhraPradesh and Amaravati.At another bilateral meeting with Max Neukirchen, Head ofStrategy, JPMorgan Chase & Co, the Chief Minister said thatFinTech was the right area for them to invest in.

w CM felicitating McKinsey’s global director Jonathan Woetzel.

w With Rahul Bajaj, chairman of the Bajaj Group, discussing onvarious investments opportunities.

w In an interesting conversation with Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus,exploring possible collaborations.

w At CII CEOs meeting, the CM explained the diverse investmentopportunities in AP & welcomed them to state.


v


CISCO Chairman John T Chambers lauded the Chief Ministerfor his interest in digitising the State. To a suggestion by Naiduto set up a digital university in AP, Chambers said that hewould constitute a group that would interact with the Stategovernment and work in the areas of digital skills, block chain,IoT, and cyber security.Sandeep Naik, Managing Director of General Atlantic, a US-based growth equity firm, said that they were interested infunding first generation entrepreneurs and startups.Japan-based Teijin Ltd. president and Chief Executive OfficerJan Suzuki told Naidu that their company was into carbon andaluminium fibres and was exploring the possibility of comingto India."Whenever I attend the WEF sessions I look for best practicesand emerging new technologies from across the globe. Thisyear the session on New Vision for Agriculture gave meseveral insights into various practices from different coun-tries. At the same time we could share our own innovativepractices such as rain guns and farm ponds. The technologypioneers session was very exciting. I have invited the youngprofessionals who took part to come to Andhra Pradesh sothat we could leverage those technologies for faster develop-ment," the Chief Minister said on his return from the fruitfultrip.The networking with the who’s who of the business world hasbeen a strong point in the Chief Minister’s visits to Davos andother international business gatherings."He has always maintained a packed schedule of meetings inDavos. Many of the investments into erstwhile AndhraPradesh were the result of those meetings. His meeting withMichael Dell resulted in Dell coming to Hyderabad. The Kup-pam project, in his assembly constituency, with HewlettPackard was the result of his meeting with Carly Florina. Healways met a wide range of business executives and politicalfigures and was constantly looking for new and innovativeideas for the development of the state," India Today quotedRandeep Sudan, Adviser, Digital Strategy and Government An-alytics, World Bank, who travelled with Naidu during his firststint as Chief Minister.Several commentators noted how the CM has been showcas-ing and hard selling the state that is badly in need of funds tobuild its dream capital Amaravati as well as industry andother entities setting up shop to generate employment."We are a new state. United Andhra Pradesh was broadly anindustrial state but the new state is primarily agrarian. Weneed to create wealth and jobs. We need to modernize andindustrialize. It is important for us that investors from acrossthe world become aware of the opportunities and the busi-ness friendly atmosphere in our state," emphasises Naidu.He underlined the need for such trips, saying "The WEFmeetings give me an opportunity to network with top leaders,investors, industrialists and young pioneers from across theglobe and at the same time we are able to showcase verywell."

w CM elaborating on CM CORE Dashboard & water-tracking techfor state's water bodies to Fujitsu’s Nobuhiko Sasaki.

w In conversation with Satya Nadella. Discussed on MicrosoftIndia's collaboration with AP on e-Gov & cyber security.

w CM receiving a traditional welcome at the airport after landingin Zurich.

w With Volvo Buses President Håkan Agneval, discussing publictransport system in Amaravati.



Chief Minister ChandrababuNaidu said his Govern-ment's only agenda isdevelopment as he inaugu-rated two lift irrigation schemewhich he said will be of immensehelp to drought- prone region ofRayalaseema.My dream of supplying Krishnawater to the drought- prone Rayala-seema has become a reality," hesaid.Addressing public meetings afterinaugurating the lift irrigationschemes during January, Naidu saidthe projects mark beginning of a

new era. "My only agenda is devel-opment. I am developing the Statethrough an array of projects," theChief Minister said.muchumarri Lift irrigationThe Chief Minister dedicated theMuchumarri lift irrigation schemeto the nation at Muchumarri inPagidyala mandal in Kurnooldistrict by switching on two pumpsto release 474 cusecs from the Han-dri Neeva project to KC Canal. Thescheme was envisaged in 2007 topump water from 798 feet in theSrisailam reservoir through theMuchumarri scheme to serve the

needs of 49,440 acres of ayacutunder KC Canal.He promised to formulate an actionplan to draw water from thePothireddipadu head regulator at854 feet level in Srisailam reservoir,834 feet level at Malyala and fromthe Muchumarri scheme to cater tothe needs of KC Canal, SrisailamRight Branch Canal and the Kunduriver and drive away drought fromRayalaseema.Vowing to transform Rayalaseemainto “Ratnalaseema,” Naidu saidfour pumps in the Muchumarrischeme would be fully ready by

gets two lift irrigation projects

RAYALASEEMA

Cm inaugurating muchumarri Lift irrigation Scheme in kurnool district.



March and 12 pumps would be oper-ated at Malyala under the HandriNeeva project.Steps would be taken to resolve theproblem in securing 39 tmcft from theTungabhadra dam for the benefit offour districts in Rayalaseema, he said.He promised constitution of a watergrid. Polavaram was a lifeline for theState and Muchumarri for Rayala-seema. The first phase of thePolavaram project would be com-pleted by 2018, he said.Responding to a request by TDP incharge of Nandikotkur constituencyMandra Sivananda Reddy to providepermanent government jobs for kin of300 families displaced by the Srisailamproject, as done by Telangana govern-ment, Naidu promised to do justice tothem. Stating that 1.87 lakh persons of250 villages were displaced by thePolavaram project, Naidu saidno government can providejobs to all of them.gandikota SchemeChief Minister ChandrababuNaidu commissioned theGandikota lift irrigationscheme, an integral part of theGaleru Nagari Sujala Sravanthiproject (GNSS) at Pydipalemin Simhadripalem mandal inKadapa district and releasedwater to Pulivendula branchcanal.The CM unveiled a pylon, per-formed pooja and releasedwater from the Gandikota liftirrigation scheme pumphouse, fulfilling the long-cher-ished aspirations of the peo-

ple of Pulivendula constituency.Thirteen-hundred cusecs of surpluswater in the Srisailam reservoir wasreleased from the Owk reservoir inKurnool district to the Gandikotareservoir, which has a storage of fourtmcft, and from there, to Pulivendulabranch canal to irrigate a direct ayacutof 41,000 acres and an indirect ayacutof 47,500 acres.Terming the release of water a historicoccasion, the Chief Ministerannounced release of Rs. 479 croretowards disbursal of compensation toGandikota project-displaced familiesin 14 villages.Naidu promised release of water toVamikonda and Sarvarayasagar in aweek and to the Chitravathi reservoirin a fortnight and give water to horti-culture crops and mitigate drinkingwater shortage.

He said horticulturists in Simhadripu-ram mandal were earning about Rs. 10lakh by selling a tonne of oranges forover Rs. 1 lakh. Banana, orange, sweetlime and vegetable growers of thePulivendula area would become finan-cially strong on getting water for theircrops, he said, and called upon them toshed factionalism.Linking Godavari-Yeluru RiversAs part of the interlinking of Godavari-Yeleru rivers, the Chief Minister laidthe foundation stone for the Rs 1,638crore- estimated PurushothapatnamLift Irrigation Scheme at Pithapuram.The project would be constructed atPurushothapatnam in Seethanagarammandal to utilise the Godavari riverwater. The project would be con-structed in two phases. In the firstphase, lift irrigation system would beconstructed to lift 3,500cusecs river water fromPolavarm left canal.On its completion, the projectaims at providing drinkingwater to the people ofVisakhapatnam, East Godavariand North Andhra districtsbesides increasing the irriga-tion potential and industriali-sation. The Pattiseemairrigation project, constructedon the right canal, by diverting80 TMC of Godavari water toKrishna river basin for grow-ing crops, was completedwithin a record one year time.In the same lines the two-phase project is expected to becompleted within targetednine months.

These are only one more step towards making AP drought-free. Thye Gandikota scheme will notonly provide water to Pulivendula & other regions in Kadapa, but also irrigate lands in the parchedRayalseema region.

- Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu

v

Cm inaugurated gandikota Scheme in kadapa district.



The 104th Indian Science Congress con-ducted in the first week of January at SriVenkateswara University campus, Tirupati,turned out to be a grand success. The suc-cess of the event can be gauged both by theimpact it made on the international scientific land-scape as well as the serious topics it had taken up fordiscussion, which will eventually pave the way for de-velopment of India on the scientific and technologicalfronts.An interesting feature of the science congress is that ithas been conducted every year on Jan 3 since its incep-tion. It was in 1914 that the Indian Science CongressAssociation (ISCA) decided to conduct a meeting withthe best brains available in India to develop solutionsto the problems plaguing this part of the world. TwoBritish chemists Prof. J.L. Simonsen and Prof. P.S.Mancmahon were instrumental in the formation ofISCA and in setting in motion the process of conduct-ing scientific sessions every year to take stock of thescientific developments around the world and also toapply the same to local issues. Another notable featureis that ever since India's independence, the event hasalways been attended and inaugurated by the PrimeMinister of the day.

The mega scientific jamboree is considered the 'Sci-ence Face of India' and is hence watched by the in-ternational community with amusement andeagerness. As India is considered a pioneer in severalaspects, the developments unfolding at this mega ses-sion will have far-reaching effects around the globe.As expected, the five-day event offered solutions tomany of the problems that the world is grapplingwith.After successfully conducting the previous session atMysuru, the ISCA chose the temple city of Tirupati forthe 104th edition, not just because of its historicalconnection, but also due to Tirupati's emergence asthe educational hub of Andhra Pradesh, with six uni-versities, national institutes like the Indian Instituteof Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Science Educa-tion and Research (IISER) and Indian Institute of In-formation Technology (IIIT Chittoor) at Sri City. Infact, Tirupati is hosting the event for the second timeafter a gap of thirty four years. The previous eventheld in 1983 was under the theme 'Man and the ocean– resource and development'.The five-day scientific meet began on a colourful noteon Jan 3 with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for-mally declaring it open. In his address, he stressed theneed for national institutions to understand the impor-tance of inculcating Scientific Social Responsibility, onthe lines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Heconveyed to the institutes the idea of sharing theirknowledge and resources to the schools, colleges anduniversities in their vicinity, in the larger interest ofspreading scientific fervour across the country. Modiasked the institutes to ensure that the youth get high-end training exposure so that they will get the bestjobs in the competitive world. He announced to pro-vide all support to the scientific institutions, includingbuilding a strong S&T infrastructure accessible to aca-demia, start-ups, industry and R&D labs, but at thesame time, asked them to reach out the benefits of sci-entific research to the common man.The Prime Minister expressed concern over the waythe scientific agencies are working disconnected withthe grassroots situation and the requirements of thesociety. In this connection, he wanted them to establisha connect with the nearby institutes in a 'hub andspoke' model. He also suggested to the institutes toconsider utilising the services of NRI/Ph.D. studentsand outstanding scientists from abroad for long term

indian science congress @ tirupati

SCientiFiC SoCiaL rePonSiBiLitYneeD oF tHe HoUr



research association. He later felicitated Nobel laureatues andpresented ISC awards for the year 2016. Governor E S LNarasimhan, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, unionMinister for Science and Technology Dr Harsh Vardhan, Min-ister of State for S&T Y S Chowdary, ISCA President Dr DNarayana Rao and Sri Venkateswara University Vice-Chancel-lor Prof Avula Damodaram took part in the inaugural.The response to the science congress was tremendous as thenumber of registered participants overshot the expectednumbers, and as such, the organisers had to stop acceptingspot registrations. Though the physical arrival is restricted bydenying spot registration, the organisers made available theproceedings athttp://www.isc104.com/TV toensure 'virtual participation' ofdelegates. Scientists, academi-cians, researchers and policymakers from national labora-tories, universities, national in-stitutes and 200 scientistsfrom abroad attended the ses-sions, which were dividedtheme-wise as 'Societal needs','National priorities', 'Scienceand Technology for economicdevelopment', 'Frontiers of Sci-ence and Technology andhigher education' and 'Collabo-rative activities'.The event got a global touchwith the participation of NobelLaureates Ada E. Yonath of Is-rael, Takaaki Kajita of Japan,William E. Moerner of the USA,Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, Serge Haroche and Jean Ti-role, both of France, who delivered special lectures at the ses-sions and also interacted with students of schools andcolleges. Similarly, international academies such as MalaysianScientific Association, Sri Lankan Association for the Ad-vancement of Science, Programme d' Appui Strateguque a laRescherche Scientifique of Ivory Coast, Bulgarian Academy ofSciences, National Commission for Science, Technology andInnovation (Kenya), Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, TheCzech Academy of Sciences, Japan Science and TechnologyAgency and Singapore National Academy of Science had alsodeliberated on strategically significant topics.For the first time, the meet took up for discussion futuristictopics like Gene editing, Offshore wind farm, Blue economy,5G and Internet of Things, Robotics and Cyber security. Thetopic 'S&T for the North-Eastern states' was discussed in tunewith the Prime Minister's strategic importance attached to

the N-E region for a stronger India. Similarly, many topicstaken up for discussion resonated with Mr. Narendra Modi'sdream projects for a better India, such as Digital India,Swachh Bharat and Smart Cities. The highlight was the 'S&TAchievers Meet' conducted with the Bhatnagar awardees todiscuss the issues preventing scientists from emerging intoscience leaders.While Sri Venkateswara University hosted the major sessionsand the Women's Science Congress, Sri Padmavathi MahilaViswa Vidyalayam (SPMVV) hosted the Children's ScienceCongress, where a rally was taken out with 3000 students andtoppers displaying their exhibits. A special exhibition wasconducted with focus onchildren, considered the fu-ture stakeholders of Indianscience. Similarly, SriVenkateswara Institute ofMedical Sciences (SVIMSUniversity) hosted a sec-tional session 'Medicine in-cluding physiology' for threedays with 125 expert talks.In the valedictory session,Maharashtra and Tamil NaduGovernor Ch Vidyasagar Raotook part as the chief guest,where he expressed concernover falling interest on basicscience among students. Heregretted that science wasno longer the first choice forstudents and hence the poli-cymakers should initiatesteps to nip the trend bymaking science interesting. In fact, Rao devised a six-pointformula to make science education more acceptable to thestudents. His suggestions are as follows: The R&D institutionsshould nurture science department of a university in their lo-cality as a centre of national excellence, give enough role forwomen in science, conduct science fairs for attracting stu-dents, recognise and reward the science organisations andgroom the science leaders excelling in their chosen fields. Healso mooted a policy change in the form of letting studentsstudy in their mother tongue till the twelfth standard, a pro-posal which was initiated by UNESCO.The five-day event came to a grand close with the ISCA Gen-eral-President Dr D Narayana Rao passing on the Flame ofTorch to Dr Achyuta Samantha, founder of Kalinga Institute ofIndustrial Technology (KIIT), the General-President elect forthe 105th ISC.- A D RANGARAJAN

The event got a global touch with the participation of Nobel Laureates Ada E. Yonath of Israel,Takaaki Kajita of Japan, William E. Moerner of the USA, Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, SergeHaroche and Jean Tirole, both of France, who delivered special lectures at the sessions and alsointeracted with students of schools and colleges.

Cm announces rs 100 cr for noBeL eFFortChief minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced aRs 100 crore prize for any scientist from AndhraPradesh who wins Nobel Prize. The announce-ment is first of its scale for any academic achievement.Inaugurating Indian Children’s Science Congress at SriPadmavathi Women’s University at Tirupati on the side-lines of 104th Indian Science Congress, Naidu came upwith a bumper offer. “India has not been able to producemany Nobel Prize-winning scientists despite havingabundant talent. Those who had won the prize had set-tled in other countries. There is a lot of potential amongthe youngsters here and I am sure, if they are encour-aged, Nobel laureates would emerge from them,” he said.



Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N ChandrababuNaidu had the rare of honour of being invitedas special guest to Sri Lanka at the invitationof President Maithripala Sirisena.Chandrababu Naidu was the ‘Guest of Honour’ at thefunction held to mark the completion of two years inoffice of Sri Lanka’s National Unity Government. Theevent was organised with a focus on economic devel-opment under-pinning poverty alleviation and innova-tion in line with the Sr Lankan President’s declarationthat 2017 will be the “Year of poverty alleviation”.The Chief Minister, who delivered key-note on the topic“Prosperity for All” at the Bandaranaike Memorial In-ternational Conference Hall, was earlier hosted dinneron arrival. Naidu was received by Governor of theWestern Province K C Logeswaran, State Minister ofCity Planning and Water Supply Sudarshini Fernandop-ulle and other officials of the Presidential Secretariat.President Sirisena had highly commended Naidu’sachievements as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in

fighting poverty and bringing innovation close to thelives of the people.The Chief Guest delineated the steps he had taken tomodernize his administration with IT solutions andother forms of modern technology. He offered to helpSri Lanka in the use IT and agriculture and proposedthat Sri Lanka guide Andhra Pradesh as to how it canimprove health, education, and tourism.The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister underlined the factthat the new capital of the state, Amaravathi, was afamous center of Buddhism and the home of the FirstCentury AD Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna.Referring to the idea behind inviting distinguishedndians to be the Chief Guest on two consecutiveanniversaries, President Sirisena said that invitingIndians only reflected the exceptionally close tiesbetween Sri Lanka and India.Ministers Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Ch Ayyannapa-trudu and officials accompanied the CM.

Rare Honour to the Chief Minister

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had the rare honour of being invited by a neigh-bouring country as the Keynote Speaker for their national event. “It is always apleasure to welcome the iconic Chief Minister of the Andhra Pradesh, Shri Chan-drababu Naidu,” the Sri Lankan President said.

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ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG 15FEBRUARY 2017

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The much-awaited Vijayawadaairport expansion was madepossible by inauguration of anew terminal building inJanuary. Chief Minister ChandrababuNaidu along with Civil Aviation Minis-ter Ashok Gajapati Raju and UrbanDevelopment Minister M VenkaiahNaidu participated in the function.The new terminal building at the air-port, also known as Gannavaram air-port, has been completed at a cost ofRs 135 crore. The new building hasthrice the capacity of the currentbuilding.It has 3,000 sq ft exclusive ceremoniallounge which can be used for highlevel meetings. The runway is beingexpanded from 2,286 meters to 3,025meters to handle large aircraft. Offi-cials said once all the expansionworks are fully completed, the airportcan handle 15 to 20 lakh passengersper annum against the currentcapacity of six lakh passengers.Chandrababu Naidu said his Govern-ment planned to build airports in alldistricts. He said the state had already

announced aerospace, defence manu-facturing policy and also civil aviationpolicy to attract investment. The stategovernment has also formed an air-port development fund.Ashok Gajapathi Raju said the aviationsector in Andhra Pradesh was grow-ing at a faster pace than the nationalaverage. He said when the central andstate governments work together, a lotcan be achieved and Andhra Pradeshis the best model. Venkaiah Naidu saidconnectivity was a must to achievedevelopment. He said Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was extending all pos-sible assistance to Andhra Pradesh.The Chief Minister urged the Centralgovernment to rename the airport asNTR Airport @ Amaravati anddevelop it as an international airport.In response, Ashok Gajapathi Raju hadsuggested the State government totable the proposal in the State Assem-bly and send it to the Centre so that hecould pursue it with the Central gov-ernment. Chandrababu Naidu also urged theCentral government also to consider

setting up the proposed greenfield air-port at Krishnapatnam in Nelloredistrict instead of Dagadarthi of thesame district as proposed earlier.Aviation Boom in AndhraFollowing the development measuresinitiated in the aviation sector, theState witnessed 44 percent recordgrowth in air passenger traffic, mak-ing Andhra Pradesh the fastest-grow-ing State in the civil aviation sector ofthe country.While the Visakhapatnam airport ispoised to cross 2 million passengersin FY 2016-17, the Vijayawada airportregistered 76 per cent passengergrowth in the current fiscal tillNovember.The footfalls at Vijayawada airport arelikely to increase further after the in-augural of the new airport terminal.The Vijayawada airport handled about4.5 lakh domestic passengers and8,342 domestic aircraft movementsfrom April to November last year.

VIJAYAWADA AIRPORT SPortS new Look witH ULtra moDern terminaL



The Committee of Chief Ministers, headed byAndhra Pradesh Chief Minister ChandrababuNaidu, submitted a copy of recommendationson encouraging digital economy to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.The Committee on demonetisation recommendedabolition of the Merchant Discount Rate charges(MDR) to incentivise the digital transactions. It has alsosuggested putting a curb on large transactions andwanted levying of banking cash transaction tax on Rs50,000 and above.Capping on maximum allowable cash limit in all typesof large transactions is another key recommendationof the committee. It suggested measures to enable allsections of the population to migrate to the digital pay-ments.The panel has suggested bringing all government in-surance, educational institutes, fertilisers, PDS and pe-troleum sectors within the ambit of digital payments.Briefing media after submitting the report, Naidu saidthe committee wants Aadhaar-enabled micro ATM in-frastructure in all the 1.54 lakh post offices. He said thenon-income tax payees and small merchants should begiven a subsidy of Rs 1,000 for purchasing smart

phones.He also said there should be no retrospective taxationto merchants doing digital transactions. Naidu said dig-ital transactions are cost-effective compared to physi-cal currency. The biggest constraint in the exercise isattitudinal changes in the people. The committee was constituted on November 30, 2016to prepare a road-map for transition into digital econ-omy post- demonetisation.The committee said there was a need to strengthensecurity, expand infrastructure and increase awarenessfor greater adoption of digital payments. The panel hasalso proposed tax sops for domestic production ofmicro ATMs and biometric sensors, along with a sub-sidy of 50% to merchant points using Aadhaar Pay,which will use fingerprint or iris scan. Further, thepanel has suggested that all 1.5 lakh post offices shouldhave infrastructure to deal with Aadhaar-enabledmicro ATMs and there should be inter-operability forbanking correspondent via Aadhaar-enabled paymentsystem.Explaining the advantage of digital payments, Naidusaid physical currency was costly because of its print-ing, movement and security while there was no such

Incentivise digital transations:CMs CoMMIttee

CM Chandrababu submitting interim report to PM in Delhi.



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On the 21st death anniversary of former Chief Minis-ter and TDP founder-president N T Rama Rao, hismemories were brought alive by NTR Trustthrough a temporary museum set up on the prem-ises of Siddhartha Institute of Hotel Management and Cater-ing Technology in Vijayawada.Named as ‘Telugu Vaari Gnapakam,’ the museum takes visi-tors through the life of N T Rama Rao, starting from his birthto death. The museum featured a gallery of 108 photographsand a corridor that includes four mini-theatres and art set-ups that reflected moments from his famous movies. NTR’s3D and 2D sculptures were also part of the exhibits. In eachof the air-conditioned mini-theatres, the life of N T Rama wasshown in four parts in the form of motion picture.Permanent museum in amaravatiThe museum also reveals the prototype of the permanentmuseum coming up in Amaravati in the next three years. TDPnational general secretary Nara Lokesh, who inaugurated themuseum and a blood donation drive, said that the permanentmuseum, called ‘N.T.R. Memorial,’ would be built in the Amar-avati region in 10 acres of land.The proposed permanent museum will have a revolvingstatue of NTR, library, amphitheatre, galleries, and variousother facilities. People visited the temporary museum andveterans from Nimmakuru, the native village of NTR, werebrought in buses.

reminiscing ntr -‘teLUgU Vaari

gnaPakam’cost for digital currency. Visa had estimated the cost of cashhandling at 1.7% of GDP. Naidu elaborated that withincrease in volume of digital transitions, cost would reduce.The panel said, among other things, attitudinal factors, in-frastructure, data connectivity, cyber security and thehigher cost of digital transactions as compared to cashtransactions were some major constraints in promoting adigital economy in the country.It also advised the government to create a fund from thesavings through cashless transactions for incentivisingbank acceptance infrastructure in semi-urban and ruralareas and all government services such as insurance, edu-cational institutes, PDS and petroleum should mandatorilyswitch to digital modes of payment.Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkimalong with the Vice- Chairman of NITI Aayog ArvindPanagariya and CEO NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant aremembers of the Committee.Conference on e-governance Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu kicked off the 20thNational Conference on e-Governance held on 9th January2017 at Visakhapatnam. Talking about India’s recentdemonetisation and shift to digital payments, the CM saidthat no country had witnessed such a massive shift in ashort amount of time.Joining him at the inauguration were several State Minis-ters and Union Ministers including M Venkaiah Naidu.There was also a host of high profile speakers from bothprivate and public sectors talking on a range of issues likeInternet of Things (IoT), Data analytics, Cyber Security, etc. Andhra Pradesh hosting the conference was appropriate asthe State has been at the forefront of e-governance provid-ing nearly 725 e-governance service to rural areas. Thestate tops in energy efficiency and internet connectivity allof which enabled Andhra Pradesh to top the Ease of DoingBusiness ranking in India. Naidu said that the governmentwill R&D and try to get all technologies available to the gen-eral populace, such that real-time governance (RTG)becomes a reality. The foundation for e-governance inAndhra Pradesh, however, was set more than two years agowith the e-office project. The mission was to render everygovernment file in a digital form. While the work still con-tinues, the AP government has provided a link with real-time updates to view the progress so far.

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The second consecutive CII Partnership Summit inVisakhapatnam held on January 27-28 washugely successful. Andhra Pradesh securedinvestment proposals worth Rs 10.54 lakh croreat the two-day Summit, more than double that in the pre-vious such meet held last year. More than 2,000 delegates from all over the country andabroad attended the summit and deliberated upon impor-tant issues relating to the Indian economy and globaleconomy. "It is an immensely happy occasion for me andthe people of the State," the Chief Minister said.During the summit the AP Government and different com-panies had signed 665 MoUs entailing a total investmentof Rs. 10.5 lakh crores, generating 22 lakh new jobs. "Dur-ing the CII summit last year, 328 MoUs were signed entail-ing investment of Rs. 4.67 lakh crores in the State. It is ahuge success from the State's point of view. We will nowpursue all the projects and get them grounded as soon aspossible," Naidu said.

He said the PSU oil companies such as the ONGC, theHPCL, and the GAIl were investing huge sums of money inthe State, making it the petro hub of the country. In theother sectors, too, agreements had been signed for majorprojects. "From now on, we will be after you to start workon the projects," he told the industrialists assembled at thevenue.“This shows the inherent strengths of Andhra Pradesh andthe confidence of investors on our governance,” he told thesummit .Some of the big ticket investments include 14 MoUs by APInfrastructure and Township Development Corporationamounting to Rs40,660 crore, 62 MoUs by AP Capital Re-gion & Development Authority valued at Rs1,24,532 crore,66 MoUs by Economic Development Board worthRs3,62,662 crore.Energy and industry sectors received over Rs2 trillion in-vestments each with roads and buildings raking in Rs

Offers of investments poured in at the two-day partnership summit of the Confederation ofIndian Industry (CII) held in Vizag. The second consecutive summit attracted more than

double the investments compared to last year.

a tHUmPing SUCCeSS



73,970 crore investments. The food processing industry sawas many as 177 MoUs being signed. “Compared to last year,this year the response has been excellent,” said Naidu, adding,“this is more than double of how much we received last time.Next time I am sure things will be better than this.”The CM assured clearances of files within 14 days for manysectors. He added that the state had a land pool of 35,000acres, giving ample room for setting up of new facilities.On the first day of the summit, a total of 128 MoUs weresigned between the state and various companies amounting toRs4.25 lakh crore, Palle Raghunatha Reddy, the state informa-tion and public relations, IT and communications ministersaid. He said this includes 68 MoUs worth Rs4,900 crore worthof investments into the IT department alone which would helpcreate up to 49,000 jobs.“AP has abundant land, ranked number one in ease of doingbusiness, 24/7 power and talent pool, which makes it very at-tractive for everyone to invest,” Reddy said.

The second day of the summit saw a total of 537 MoUs worthRs6.29 trillion being signed. On day one, 128 MoUs amountingto Rs4.25 trillion had been signed. In the last edition of thesummit, the government had anticipated Rs2 trillion of invest-ments but got 328 proposals worth Rs4.67 trillion.The state had received 935 proposals last year amounting to

Rs 5.03 trillion investments. Of this, 659 projects amounting toRs2.82 trillion were already cleared, giving the state a highconversion rate. The CM also stressed on the happiness indexof the state along with industrial and economic development.The two-day summit saw a host of Union ministers and lead-ing industry captains from India and across the globe. Over2,000 delegates attended the conference and of this 400 werefrom international delegations.The central government doled out lakhs of crores in invest-ments across road, port and rail infrastructure. Other bigticket public sector investments included almost Rs1.43 tril-lion investments into oil & gas from the petroleum ministry.He said that the state aspires to grow in double digits for thenext five years at least to ensure it can overcome the disadvan-tage of 2014 bifurcation from a unified AP. The state grew12.23% in the first half of the current fiscal, compared to thenational average of 7.2%.Aditya Birla Group to invest Rs7,000 crAditya Birla Group said it will invest Rs 7,000 crore in the next

two years in Andhra Pradesh, one of the first big-ticket an-nouncements at the start of the second edition of the state’spartnership summit with the Confederation of Indian Industry(CII).The fresh round of investments would be in addition to the Rs10,000 crore the group has already invested in the southernstate in sectors including retail, telecom and cement.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was given a standing ovation after he made a detailedpresentation on Vision 2029 to make the State the best destination in the world and tomake Amaravati a futuristic city. Union Finance Minster Arun Jaitley said it was unheard ofany State aiming to achieve a growth rate of 14 %.

a view of the participants at the Summit.



“We are acquiring a 5 million tonnes per annum plant at an in-vestment of Rs 3,000 crore located near Amravati city,” Birlasaid, adding that the company had set up a 5.6 mtpa plant inthe state already.Union minister for petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan an-nounced investments of Rs78,000 crore by Oil and Natural GasCorp. Ltd (ONGC), Rs 40,000 crore by HPCL and GAIL.Gadkari promises Rs1 lakh cr worth of projects In a major boost for infrastructure projects in coastal andmainland Andhra Pradesh, Union Minister for Road Transportand Highways Nitin Gadkari said that the state will get projectsworth Rs1 lakh crore within the end of the National Demo-cratic Alliance (NDA) government’s term in the centre.“I am promising to the Chief Minister and the people of AndhraPradesh that before the end of our five years of our govern-ment, we will at least give, sanction and start the works formore than Rs1 lakh crore,” Gadkari said.Making the announcement at the ongoing AP-CII PartnershipSummit, Gadkari announced a host of road, rail and inlandwater linking projects in the state.“With our competition with China, our logistics cost is veryhigh,” Gadkari said while adding that developing interlinkingof road, rail and inland waterways with ports in AP and otherregions. “We want to give 100% priority to that (port connec-tivity) on how we can reduce the logistics cost,”, he said.Chandrababu Naidu said that the connecting rail, road andports would bring down the cost of commodities and help im-prove production.Gadkari said that the port development had already completedworks of Rs1,665 crore in Visakhapatnam—the second biggestin the country—and Rs2,702 crore worth of works were ongo-ing. “Within the next three months we will award projects ofRs1,200 crore, taking the total investments to Rs6,000 crore,”he said.The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) signed twomemorandum of understanding (MoUs); one with Departmentof Roads & Buildings for Rs75,000 crore for development of3,000 km of roads and the other with the Capital Region Devel-opment Authority (CRDA) for Rs23,430 crore for developing426 km of roads in Amravati.Naidu announced that the surface transport minister had ap-proved Rs1,000 crore for Central Road fund and the construc-tion of 30 Railway Over Bridges at the cost of Rs3,500 crore.Apart from this, Gadkari said that the Chief Minister had sug-gested a six lane highway connecting Raipur (Chattisgarh) andVisakhapatnam and a railway line alongside the highway, forwhich he said that the centre “would think about it and worktogether” on the proposed project.Naidu also said that there was huge amounts of unexploited

wealth in the oceans and sought required approvals to allowfishermen to venture almost 1000 nautical miles to “use theocean’s wealth”more effectively.Sri City, one of the India’s most successful special economiczones located in Southern part of Andhra Pradesh closer toChennai, has announced entering into memoranda of under-standing (MoUs) with 13 firms involving an investment of Rs600 crore. The MoUs were singed in the presence of Andhra Pradeshchief minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the two-day CII Part-nership Summit. Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu saidthe Centre had high regard for AP and it would continue to ex-tend special treatment to the State in sanctioning of variousprojects. Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry NirmalaSitharaman said even though the overall global economicscenario was dull, there was a lot of vibrancy in the Indianeconomy. All in all, the second edition of Partnership Summit helpedshowcase the strengths of Andhra Pradesh as a potential statefor investments.

In a major boost for infrastructure projects in coastal and mainland Andhra Pradesh,Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that the state will getprojects worth Rs1 lakh crore within the end of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)government’s term in the centre.

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Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu bestowed a NewYear gift on the people of the State by launching theAarogya Raksha family health insurance scheme.It is intended to provide health insurance cover toevery individual in a family on payment of a monthly pre-mium of Rs.100 per head for a year. The Chief Minister saidit was a Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme for theAbove Poverty Line families. Similar schemes targeted atthe BPL families would continue, he said, allaying appre-hensions in this regard.Registrations through www.ntrvaidyaseva.ap.gov.in areopen till February 28.Under the Aarogya Raksha, end-to-end cashless serviceswould be rendered for 1044 diseases under secondary andtertiary care through 432 government and private hospi-tals.The Chief Minister said that health care spending had comedown substantially to about 17 per cent after the govern-ment had taken up 30 initiatives last year. He exhorted thestudents of medicine, nursing, psychology and home sci-ence to contribute their best to the improvement of publichealth through the Swasthya Vidya Vahini.They would visit villages to prepare disease profilesthereby facilitating better public health management start-ing from January 2. Government’s health care adviser Jiten-dra Sarma said the Aarogya Raksha scheme was essentialas an estimated three per cent of the population fall belowthe poverty line every year.He observed that the World Health Organization had givena call for ‘health for all’ as early as in the 1970s and the em-phasis on it had gone up since the adoption of the Alma-AtaDeclaration in 1978. AP can now claim to be the first Stateto fulfil that vision, Sarma asserted, pointing out that theconcept of UHC had emerged in 2012.Highlights of Arogya Raksha:Andhra Pradesh is the first and only State in India providing

of "Health for All" with an objective of providing qualityhealth to the entire population of the State by launchingAarogya Raksha.‘Health for All' Scheme counts to be one of the pioneers interms of achieving equity and providing accountable andevidence-based good-quality health-care services in theState to assist Above Poverty Line families from cata-strophic health expenditure. End-to-end cashless servicesfor identified 1044 diseases under secondary and tertiarycare through 400 Government and Corporate Network Hos-pitals.The BPL families and families coming under employees andpensioners health scheme and working journalist healthscheme are already covered with quality health care. Theremaining population accounting to 32 lacks of families willbe covered under "Health for All" in addition to 159 lacksof families who are already covered under various stateowned programmes like Dr.NTR Vaidya Seva, EmployeesHealth Scheme and Working Journalist Scheme.The families can be registered under "Health for All" from01.01.2017 upto 28-02-2017 by paying the premium forthe entire family for one year with a low premium ofRs.1200/- for individual.Unlike other insurance schemes pre existing disease willnot be considered. The new born can be registered underthe Scheme by paying Rs.100/- per month for the remain-ing financial months.The newly married couple can be registered under one fam-ily by paying the entire annual premium.The choice of hospital for treatment is with the patient. Theentire process from the time of conduct of health camps tothe screening, diagnosing , treatment, follow- up and claimpayment is made transparent through online web basedprocessing to prevent any misuse and fraud. 138 Follow-up services will be provided for a period of oneyear through fixed packages to those patients who requirelong term follow-up therapy. v

AROGYARAKSHA

Arogya Raksha, a universalhealth scheme, is theGoverment's New Year gift tothe people of AP.

HEALTH FORALL SCHEME



The multifaceted K. Ramnoth, cinematogra-pher, screen writer, editor, producer, direc-tor, put not only his talent but also all hisgenius into his work. His pioneering effortsin the field of cinematography earned himthe epithet, ‘father of South Indian cinematography.’ In-terestingly, Ramnoth learnt the art of cinematographyand filmmaking by reading books on film techniqueand watching Hollywood movies. He was considered aguru for many later day great filmmakers includingB.N. Reddi. early DaysRamnoth was born in Poojapura, the heart of Tiru-vananthapuram, Kerala, surrounded by places of wor-ship. From his younger days Ramnoth was interestedin photography and soon after getting his B.A. degree,he went to Madras (now Chennai) to pursue his hobbyas a career and joined as an assistant in Kodak Com-pany. While working there, he wrote articles on stillphotography to the popular magazine, Sound andShadow. Impressed by his articles the magazine’s pub-lishers Muthuswamy Iyer (‘Murugadasa’) and Ap-pakonam Kula Sekhar (A.K. Sekhar), invited Ramnothto join their editorial team. The trio soon caught the at-tention of veteran filmmaker V. Shantaram.Debut in moviesFor his first Tamil production, Sita Kalyanam (1933)directed by Baburao Pendharkar, Shantaram soughtthe help of the trio. Of the three, only Ramnoth workedfor the film, as a cinematographer and as an assistantdirector. The next year he found himself to be crankingfor its Telugu version produced by P.V. Das under hisVel Pictures banner. Incidentally, it was also the firstfilm to be made in a studio owned by a Telugu man. Till

then Telugu films were made either in Bombay, Kolha-pur or Calcutta.Debut with telugu filmsPinapala Venkata Dasu better known as P.V. Das startedhis career as a still photographer and built MinervaTalkies in Machilipatnam. With fellow exhibitors, C.D.Swamy, C.P. Saradhi, Jayantilal Thackeray and the Rajaof Challapalli as partners he founded Vel Pictures stu-dio in Pithapuram Raja’s bungalow on Eldams Road inTeynampet, Madras with the sole aim of producing Tel-ugu films in the South. It was K. Ramnoth who de-signed the studio for him.To help him in his first production which was a remakeof the Tamil film, Sita Kalyanam, Das signed cinematog-rapher K. Ramnoth, sound engineer and art directorA.K. Sekhar and director Chitrapu Narasimha Rao whowere working for V. Shantaram’s Prabhat Film Com-

MULTI FACETEDGENIUS

K. raMnotH

“I put all my genius intomy life; I put only mytalent into my work.”

- Oscar Wilde

[In this brand new series we bringto you non-Telugu technicianswho have worked for the growthof Telugu cinema.]



pany. Ramnoth shot the first half ofthe film in outdoor locations, again afirst for a Telugu film.During his stint at Vel Pictures, Ram-noth worked for Sri Krishna Leelalu(1935) and for the super hit,Mayabazar (1936) which was di-rected by P.V. Das. K. Ramnoth’s trickphotography contributed largely tothe film’s success.Soon Ramnoth and Sekhar left VelPictures and established KarthikeyaStudios. B.N. shot some portions ofhis first production, Grihalakshmi atKarthikeya Studios. Even though thefilm was a commercial success, dif-ferences with his partner H.M.Reddy made B.N. to start his ownproduction company, Vauhini Pic-tures. He invited Ramnoth andSekhar to join him. Fruitful associationIn 1938 Vauhini launched its maidenproduction Vandemataram. Ram-noth wrote a taut screenplay forB.N.’s story besides cranking thecamera and editing the movie. A.K.Sekhar worked as the art directorand sound engineer while K.V. Reddyheld the posts of cashier and pro-duction manager. Vandemataram(1939) starring Nagaiah and Kan-chanamala was a super hit. Thencame a series of big hits, Sumangali,Devata, Swargaseema from the ban-ner. B.N. later said that he learnt theart of screen writing from Ramnoth. innovative geniusWhile they were making Vande-mataram at Neptune Studios, a songrecording had to be called off as theboy from a theatre group, who hadto sing the song suddenly developedmike fear. B.N. was upset as it washis first directorial. Ramnoth thencame up with a suggestion whichsurprised many. He suggested thatthey record the two tracks – musicand the voice separately and thenmix the two tracks to create thesong. Though it sounded crazy, B.N.

gave his nod and the result was ex-cellent. Incidentally, it was Nagaiah’sdebut film as a music director. InVandemataram, Ramnoth show-cased what is natural lighting andphotography. Ramnoth’s 360 degreeshot for Devata (1941) was the talkof the tinsel world. He stunned theaudience with his trick shots too. Afine example was the scene in Bhak-tha Pothana (1942) in which Hanu-man takes Ajamiludu into his handsand blows him. In Vel Pictures Tamil film, Bhakthi(1938) based on the life of King Am-bareesh, Ramnoth created moviehistory when he the shot, paddyraining on the parched, famine-stricken land. He shot this mar-velous scene using miniaturephotography for the first time inTamil cinema. In 1942, due to fear of the SecondWorld War, many production compa-nies including Vauhini were shutdown, temporarily. Ramnoth andSekhar joined Gemini Studios.Though Kamal Ghosh was the cine-matographer for Gemini’s magnumopus, Chandralekha, at the requestof Vasan, Ramnoth shot the famousdrum dance scene set to music bySaluri Rajeswara Rao. He was Tamil icon M.G. Ramachan-

dran’s favourite cinematographerand director as it was Jupiter’s Mar-mayogi for whch Ramnoth worked,that catapulted MGR to superstar-dom. Ramnoth also cranked cine-matography for the internationallyrenowned film, Udayashankar’sKalpana. The short statured affable wizardwas liked by everyone from the filmfield. In 1943, Ramnoth founded theCine Technicians’ Association ofSouth India (CTA) as an academicforum for film technicians, which isfunctioning to this day. It is interest-ing to note that CTA was at firstfunctioned from Nagaiah’s RenukaFilms office in T’ Nagar, Madras. As a director, he won critical acclaimfor his Tamil-Telugu bilingual,Beedalapatlu ( Ezhai Padum Paadu-1950). Ramnoth turned a producerand made, Vidudalai (1954) in Tamilbased on John Galsworthy’s ‘Firstand the Last’ which ran into troubleand even went to the court for itstheatrical release. The film’s box of-fice failure led him into financiallosses, which showed on his health.In 1956 he succumbed to illness. Hewas 44. Ramnoth will always be re-membered as the pioneer of cine-matography in the South.- M. L. Narasimham

K Ramnoth, born in Kerala, was considered a guru for many later day great filmmakersincluding B.N. Reddi.



FUn anD FroLiC mark

DIVISEEMA BOAT RACE

Sankranti in Diviseema, theisland villages nestled be-tween Krishna and Bay ofBengal, close to the conflu-ence point of the river with the sea,acquired new hues and colourswith the conduct of traditionalboat races. Though the conven-tional water regatta was first of itskind in Andhra Pradesh, it is cele-brated with much fanfare, as thevillagers thronged and cheeredwith rhythms of drums and cym-

bals. Besides adding euphoria tothe traditional fervour of the festi-val, the boat races showcased theunseen beauty of the Krishna deltatourism. The participation of theyouth of the villages in making thearrangements added harmoniousconnotations to the boat race,which is usually a contest for a fewsurging boats.Following the unique traditionalpractice of fishermen community,in which wives accompany their

husbands on fishing assignmentson river Krishna, the boat race wasconducted for couples. In thecompetition to row past one kilometre distance between the tworiver banks at Nagayalanka ghat,women rowers stole the show.Their rippled muscles strike oarsthrough river Krishna to win theline. Many local people turned outin big numbers to see the boatingrace. The huge response from thecrowd indicated the potential of

The rich cultural heritage of Andhra Pradesh in its pristine glory is manifested in activitieslike boat race, kite-flying and musical concerts. Bullock carts are decorated with radiant

marigold flowers in full bloom, as thanksgiving for the carrying the yields of soil reaped inabundance. The idol of 'Krishna Veni', deemed to be the personification of sacred River

Krishna, is draped in traditional silk costumes.



the area to become a hub for watersports and boat race.overwhelming responseAbout 176 boats from villages ofKrishna, Guntur districts partici-pated in the boat race. Differentlypainted sails of special boats addedextra charm to the occasion. Therace was kick-started with theoverwhelming response from therowers as well as the public at 'SriRamapaada Kshetram' in NagayaLanka mandal on January 13. Theidol of 'Krishna Veni', deemed to bethe personification of sacred RiverKrishna, was draped in plain tradi-tional silk costumes, convenientlycaught the eyes of all the specta-tors from different villages.

Among the 50 couples partici-pated, three couples, led by OletiVenkateswara Rao, Revula Harib-abu and Nagidi Sambasiva Rao wonthe prize money of Rs. 5,000 each.In the group boating category,Nagidi Nagababu led Gangaputruluteam won the first place whileBommadi Venkateswara Rao andGopireddi Sriniva Rao teams wonthe second and the third places. Asmany as 32 teams each comprisingfive members participated in theboating race.Cultural fete CelebratedBesides the boat race, various cul-tural activities of fun and frolicmarked Sankranti festivities. Ahighlight was a Rangoli competi-tion. The rich cultural heritage of

Andhra Pradesh in its pristineglory, was manifested in other ac-tivities like kite-flying, gobbem-malu, musical concerts & culturaldances by women and school chil-dren. Bullock carts were decoratedwith radiant marigold flowers infull bloom, as thanksgiving for thecarrying the yields of soil reaped inabundance. The depiction ofHindu gods in classical attire fasci-nated the visitors. Dance perform-ance by fishermen, culturalactivities by school children wereanother special attraction. Womenwere much enthusiastic to takepart in conventional tag-of-wargame.Speaking on the occasion, L V Sub-rahmanyam, senior official ofSports Authority of AndhraPradesh (SAAP), announced thatthe Nagayalanka ghat would be de-veloped to make it a water sportshub in future. Tourism Secretary NSrikanth said Nagayalanka shouldbe known for boat race in comingyears, as the tag will help Di-viseema to tap its tourism poten-tiality. Another guest of honour,Krishna District Collector Babu Ainteracted with the winners of theboat race. Deputy Speaker MandaliBuddha Prasad presented prizes tothe winners and thanked the offi-cials. The Andhra Pradesh TourismDevelopment Corporation(APTDC), in collaboration withAndhra Pradesh Language & Cul-tural department and State Cul-tural Society, along with Swachh'Nagaayalanka' society, conductedthe event and VenkatramayyaCharitable Trust is extending nec-essary support for the race.v



The success of Tamil & Malayalamdubbed films in Andhra Pradeshand Telangana has opened doorsfor Bollywood and Hollywood tomake inroads in the hinterlands ofthe two Telugu speaking states. Here's a sneakpeek about the latest trend in the industry…In late December, 2016 when Aamir Khan star-rer Dangal hit the screens across the world, itwas evident that the film had the perfectrecipe for a blockbuster. Not only did it rewriteall previous records in Hindi cinema, the filmwent on to become a roaring success in theSouthern states as well with bulk of the rev-enue coming from cities like Hyderabad, Ban-galore and Chennai. According to some tradeanalysts, Dangal now holds the record forbeing the highest grossing Hindi film in SouthIndia. Disney India, who co-produced the film,released the film in Telugu and Tamil as well,which helped the film to reach a wider audi-

ence in smaller towns and cities across SouthIndia. To put things in perspective about how wellthe film did, particularly in urban areas, sam-ple this - An upmarket multiplex in Hyderabadregistered a jaw-dropping Rs 1 crore fromticket sales of Dangal during its 30 days runand it was still drawing huge crowds despitethe release of three eagerly-anticipated Telugufilms during Sankranthi. In Tamil Nadu, thefilm had already surpassed previous records ofHindi films by raking in Rs 9.65 crores (nett) injust 10 days.As a matter of fact, Aamir Khan isn't the onlystar whose films are making in roads in thehinterlands of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. The factthat the South Indian market is slowly warm-ing up to Hindi cinema, beyond the urbanpockets, lends credence to the Mumbai-basedstudios' strategy to expand the market. At one

BOLLY & HOLLY BET BIGON TELUGU FILM MARKET



point of time, an Indian film grossingmore than Rs 500 crores seemed outof question. But today, we alreadyhave as many as four films - Dangal,PK, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Baahubali,which have crossed the number. Thisyear, with the release of Baahubali -The Conclusion, it's quite possiblethat there will be a new addition tothe list. And going by how aggres-sively studios are promoting theircontent, especially by dubbing themin multiple languages, it seems quitepossible that an Indian film couldsoon hit the magic figure of Rs 1000crores at the box-office.For the record, Andhra Pradesh &

Telangana have been the hotbed fordubbed films for several years now.While the turf has traditionally beenthe citadel of films originating fromTamil Nadu and Kerala, the arrival ofBollywood studios adds a new dimen-sion to the trend. It's no secret thataudience, in general, is yet to warm upto the idea of subtitles, although stu-dios have been pushing for manda-tory subtitles for several Hindi filmsin multiplexes, the trend hasn't yetpercolated to single screens. If theywant to reach out to more people, itleaves them with only one option - todub films in local language. Recently,Hrithik Roshan, Yami Gautam starrer

Kaabil was dubbed in Telugu as Balamand the makers went on a promo-tional blitzkrieg to promote the Tel-ugu version. As a result, the Teluguversion alone has grossed close to Rs2 crores in its first week of release.The success of some of the big-bud-geted films, so far, is likely to openmore doors for future projects of topstars in the two Telugu speakingstates. Starting with Hrithik Roshan'sKaabil, several high-profile films areexpected to be dubbed in Telugu laterthis year including those starringSalman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Ak-shay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor amongseveral others. Even Jackie Chan, SonuSood starrer Kung Fu Yoga has foundtakers in South India. The film will bedubbed in Telugu, Tamil and releasedunder Kalpana Chitra banner.On the other hand, with so much ac-tion happening in Bollywood and howit's betting big on regional markets,Hollywood studios aren't far behind.The success of Avatar, 2012, XXX - Re-turn Of The Xander, and Jungle Book(in recent times) has come like amajor shot in the arm for major stu-dios like Universal, Paramount, SonyPictures, 20th Century Fox amongothers to look into tapping into moremarkets in South India. And onceagain, dubbed films are going to leadthe charge for Hollywood studios. With studios like Warner Bros, Disneyunveiling plans to continue workingon sequels of films set in the Marveland DC universe, there's no dearth ofcontent in the coming few years. AndTelugu-speaking populace will beawaiting the release of all these tent-pole franchises, just like how peoplehave come to terms with dubbed con-tent from Tamil and Malayalam cin-ema for a while now. This, in turn,poses a challenge for low-budget filmsin Telugu which have been strugglingto find theatres. Along with dubbedfilms from South, they'll have to nowcompete with Hindi and English filmsas well. In the end, it's the audiencewho is spoilt for choice. - Hemanth kumar Cr


28 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidupromised his Tamil Nadu counterpartO Panneerselvam to extend all possiblehelp in addressing Chennai’s drinkingwater crisis.At the same time, Naidu said the Krishna RiverWater Management Board (KRWMB) wouldhave to decide the quantum of water to be re-leased by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana fromthe Telugu Ganga project.The agreement to provide water to Chennaifrom the Telugu Ganga project was entered intowith the Tamil Nadu government much beforebifurcation of the State.“After bifurcation, both Andhra Pradesh andTelangana would have to honour the agree-ment and share the amount of water to be re-leased to Tamil Nadu,” Naidu toldPanneerselvam when the latter met him at theInterim Government Complex at Velagapudi,near Vijayawada.The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said the drink-ing water sources in Chennai had a total stor-age capacity of 11.5 tmcft. But even before theonset of summer, the water available was only1.5 tmcft. Unless water from the Telugu Gangaproject was released, the drinking water prob-lem cannot be solved,. Panneerselvam said.

Responding to it, the Chief Minister said thatAndhra Pradesh had already released 1 tmcftof water on January 9. The government wouldbe able to release more after assessing theavailability in Somasila and Kandaleru, he said.“The government will have to consider theissue of standing crops in Nellore district andother places,” Naidu said.Before the Krishna board decided the issue,Naidu suggested to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minis-ter to mount pressure on the Union govern-ment to see to it that Karnataka andMaharashtra too released their share as per the1983 agreement. Both Karnataka and Maha-rashtra would have to release 5 tmcft each.A.P. Planning Board Vice-Chairman C KutumbaRao later told the media that Naidu also tookup the issue of Rs. 443 crore dues to be re-leased by Tamil Naidu as its share in the TeluguGanga project. Panneerselvam agreed to re-lease some portion of it immediately.Water Resources Department officials of boththe States would meet in Tirupati shortly todiscuss these issues, he said.Teaching of Telugu in Tamil Nadu schools andchecking red sanders smuggling were the otherissues that came up for discussion,. KutumbaRao said.

WATER TO TAMIL NADUnaidu proMises all Help


FEBRUARY 2017 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM 29

ww w

w w

CM Chandrababu Naidu is an active social mediauser. Many of you have been actively followinghis activities with admiration. Here are a fewsnapshots from his Twitter account and thoseon him.

chief minister’ssocial network



AMAZING ANDHRA PRADESH

ornate & elegantChandragiri Fort



how to reach:By Air: By air accessing of this fort is also possible as Tirupati isthe nearest airport. From aerodrome, a maximum of 22 kilome-ters way is left to reach this fort. Road transport is easily available.By Rail: Tirupati is also well connected with all major trainsacross the country. Tirupati is also the nearest railway station andthe fort is located at 17 kilometers from the station.By Road: A sound and dense road network is available in Tiru-pati. National Highway and state highways both cross the Tirupati.Besides it, various link roads within the city and also in outskirtsof Tirupati are in good condition. Private tour operators and AP-SRTC also run their bus services with full amenities to this placeon reasonable charges.

accommodationHaritha Hotel, tirupathi (Srinivasam)With air-conditioned suites and rooms and standard rooms, theHaritha Hotel is the perfect base to stay. Being a world-class pilgrim city, Tirupati has 3-star accommoda-tion.

Chandragiri fort, a flauntingmonument of historicalelegance, in remotecorners of AndhraPradesh, is considered tobe one of the greatest testimonialsthat form a vast part of Indianheritage. Located at 14 kilometersaway from pilgrim town Tirupati,Chandragiri fort is known for thegraceful and timeless architecture ofthe past. Archaeological evidencehints that it belongs to the late me-dieval period. According to histori-ans, the visual grandeur becamecapital of the Vijayanagara Empire,after Hampi was ruined by Muslim in-vaders during the Battle of Talikota in1565. However, it is believed to bebuilt in 1,000 A.D. The three-storeyed Raja Mahal(King’s Palace) and the smaller RaniMahal (Queen’s Palace) are part ofthe Chandragiri fort. A considerableportion of the fort lies atop of theoverlooking hills. The central towerof Raja Mahal rises high in the midstof two storeys. The unique architec-ture of the fort is Indo – Saracenic ar-chitecture, which was prevalentduring the period of Vijayanagara dy-nasty. It is also said that the materi-als- bricks, lime mortar and stone-were used in the making were bas-tions and steep moat. No timber wasused as construction material. Thequeen’s space is sophistication in itsown self. Floors with ornamentalSikharas are unique to Rani Mahal. Long Saga of History Chandragiri fort was actually built bythe Yadavarayas. It was under theirrule for over three centuries. Later,

the fort came into the grip of thefamous Viayanagara Empire, fromwhere it gained prominence in1568 AD. Gradually, the powerfulVijayanagara Empire disintegratedinto smaller kingdoms, ruled bythe Nayaks. When Chandragiri wasunder Damarla Venkatadri, anayaka ruler in first half of 17thcentury, he allowed the East IndiaCompany to set up business on astrip of beach close to San Thome.It was the beginning and on thatsandy strip the Company built FortSt. George, which turned out to be

the springboard for British rule inthe sub-continent. This great fortwas later seized and annexed tothe Golconda regime. Before sink-ing into the oblivion, it came underthe rule of Mysore. Thanks to therenovation by the ArchaeologicalSurvey of India (ASI), the struc-tures look rather new. The durbarhall of the King’s palace bears a re-cent coat of pink. Though Chandra-giri fort, being one of the country’sgreatest historical structures, isvery old, the soul and beauty of themonument remains afresh.



Patanjali herbal and food park in nelloreBaba Ramdev’s Patanjali Group is mulling to expandtheir business activities to Andhra Pradesh at the earli-est, and felt the Krishnapatnam industrial area seemedto be a well-developed, potential place for their futureoperations in the south. Stating that they were fully sat-isfied with the industry-friendly facilities created at theport area, Baba Ramdev observed that they would soontake a decision on establishing the Patanjali Herbal andFood Park.

Lng terminal in andhra PradeshAG&P (Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Company), a globalplayer in LNG solutions, including LNG terminals andsupply chain, and Hyderabad-based Hindustan LNG,have signed a memorandum of understanding to supplytolled gas to power stations in East Godavari region ofAndhra Pradesh.Under the agreement, AG&P will pro-vide an integrated solution to deliver regasified LNGthrough a new LNG import terminal that it will also de-sign and build in Andhra Pradesh.

Padma awardsEight eminent persons made the two Telugu Statesproud by bagging the Padma Shri awards, for their dis-tinguished service in various fields. Those from Telan-gana to be conferred the Padma Shri are renownedsculptor Aekka Yadagiri Rao, Dr.Mohammed Abdul Wa-heed from the field of medicine, Chandrakant Pithowa,retired distinguished scientist and Director, Electronicsand Instrumentation Group, BARC and ECIL, Daripalli Ra-maiah, social worker committed to bring back India’sgreen cover and BVR Mohan Reddy, entrepreneur,founder and Executive chairman Cyient and formerChairman NASSCOM. Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdaryfrom civil service, V.Koteswaramma from literature andeducation and Chintakindi Mallesham from Science andEngineering are the Padma Shri awardees from AndhraPradesh.

itC to develop world trade CentresGeneva-based International Trade Centre, which hasspecialisation in trade and investment data, has showedkeen interest in extending its expertise for the develop-ment of the proposed World Trade Centres by AndhraPradesh government in Visakhapatnam and Amaravati.This figured during the discussion between ITC Execu-tive Director Arancha Gonzalez and Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu at the CII Partnership Summit-cum-Sunrise AP Investment Meet.

amaravati DeclarationNational Women’s Parliament (NWP) will adopt a reso-lution christened as ‘Amaravati Declaration for WomenEmpowerment’ on the last day of the three-day confer-ence which is slated to begin from February 10. Awomen empowerment run will also be organised aspart of the conclave. Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assem-bly is organising the event in association with Pune-based MIT School of Government. Addressing a pressconference recently in Vijayawada, NWP Chairman andAssembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao said that var-ious sessions, debates and discussions would be organ-ised at Women’s Parliament. The sum and substance ofthese debates would be incorporated in Amaravati Dec-laration. About 5,000 people were expected to partici-pate in the run, which would be organised fromTummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram to PWD Groundson Bandar Road, he said.

Vit’s aP campus to operate from July 2017After bifurcation of the State, Chennai-based Vellore In-stitute of Technology (VIT) is the first University to setup campus in Amaravati, the new capital of SunriseAndhra Pradesh. The VIT campus will start operatingfrom the next academic year, in July 2017. Admission-seekers will have to write the mandatory VIT Engineer-ing Entrance Examination (VITEEE) to secure a seat. Thelast date for submitting the application is February 28,2017. The cost of the application (offline) is Rs.990 and(online) Rs.970. The computer-based VITEEE will be heldfrom April 5 to April 16, 2017 in 120 cities across Indiaand abroad.

Concession for senior citizens in rtC busesThe AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) hasannounced 25 per cent concession in bus fares for sen-ior citizens. The Corporation’s Executive Director, Opera-tions, said the concession would apply in A/C busesalso. He said senior citizens (60 years and above) mustshow their original Aadhar card as their age proof whilebuying the ticket or booking it online. However, the sub-sidy component will not be applicable to other compo-nents such as reservation fee, toll plaza user fee andpassenger cess.

expedite atP Highway: CmChief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed officialsto finalise the prestigious Amaravati-Anantapur ExpressHighway project alignment immediately. Stating that

HAPPENING APDownloaded from http://smartprep.in


the Express Highway will be the first greenfield projectin the nation, he said a railway line would also come be-side the road. The Chief Minister underscored the needfor completing the land acquisition process for the Ex-press Highway in five districts including Guntur,Prakasam, Kadapa, Kurnool and Nellore and wantedthem to ensure the completion of the road within twoyears.

Survey on rail connectivity to amaravatiSouth Central Railway (SCR) General Manager VinodKumar Yadav said the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL)had completed survey on connectivity to the new SrateCapital, Amaravati, and a report had been submitted tothe Railway Board for approval. Once the Board gavethe nod, the work would begin, he said. “The approxi-mate cost of the project is Rs 2,679 crore. The work con-sists of 56 km of a double line from Yerrupalem toNamburu via Amaravati and 50 km of single line fromPedakurapadu to Amaravati-Sattenapalli andNarsaraopet,” Yadav explained.

Sky tower to come up in VizagStanding tall at 120 metres from the sea level, India’stallest tower is coming up atop Kailasagiri Hills verysoon. Mumbai-based Bombay Amusements Ltd, thepromoters of the project is partnering with Hyderabad-based Swarnamukhi EXIM Pvt Ltd to execute the proj-ect. A special purpose vehicle would be launched forthe Rs 70-crore project. The tower, to be built by a Ger-man-based manufacturing company, will be made ofspecial steel and at a height of 120 meters, will havethe capacity to withstand a wind speed of 300 kilome-ters per hour.

3 tourist festivals in three monthsDetermined to promote East Godavari district in thetourism map and to attract domestic and internationaltourists, the Andhra Pradesh government already con-ducted two out of the proposed three tourist festivals inthe East Godavari district. The NTR Beach Festival washeld from January 12 to 15 at Kakinada, the KonaseemaFestival was conducted from January 23 to 26 in Amla-puram. The third one, the Agency Festival will take placefrom March 26 to 28 in Rampachodavaram. It has beendecided to make these festivals annual calendar events,Deputy Chief Minister Nimmakayala Chinarajappa as-serted, while taking part in Konaseema festival.

invest in aP: Palle urges nrisMinister for IT, NRI Affairs and Information Palle Raghu-

nath Reddy appealed to NRIs to invest in the State andtake advantage of all the incentives extended by govern-ment. Addressing the 'Yuva Pravasi Bharath Summit' atBenguluru on the second day, he said that the AndhraPradesh Chief Minister had been giving several conces-sions and incentives for IT industrialists and for theyouth for setting up industries. He also held discussionswith IT Minister Priyanka Kargil, Industries MinisterDesh Pande and Deputy Speaker Shiva Shanker Reddyon replicating some of the useful things being imple-mented by the Electronics capital of India.

aP’s objection to gSt lawAndhra Pradesh opposed the definition of 'State' in thedraft Integrated Goods and Services Tax law, saying itwould force states to forgo revenue that is due to them."The definition excluded the jurisdiction of territorialwaters abutting the coastal states. The state has beenlevying VAT (Value Added Tax) on the transactions tak-ing place in the territorial waters extending up to 12nautical miles from the coast since independence,"Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrish-nudu said in a statement.

ongole to get two more etoiletsAfter receiving overwhelming response to the two eToi-lets introduced in the town, the Ongole Municipal Cor-poration introduced two more eToilets. The civic bodyintroduced two eToilets earlier in Ongole at the newand old vegetable market areas. These unmanned andautomated cleaning system toilets feature self-cleaningmechanism with pre flush and post flush, automaticplatform cleaning and LED indicators. The civic officialsfound that the eToilets are receiving tremendous re-sponse from the public. They say that with the responseof about 400 people using these toilets daily, they havedecided to introduce two more eToilets at Kothapatnambus stand area and Chimakurthy Eye Hospital area onKurnool road.

First of its kind seminar on ayurvedaA three-day national seminar on ‘Naari SwasthyaVivechana 2017’ was held at Indian Medical Associa-tion(IMA) hall in Vijayawada. The seminar organised byDepartment of Prasuthi Tantra and Stree Roga spon-sored by Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, NewDelhi. Dr CL Venkat Rao, Executive Vice-Chairman,Swachh Andhra Mission, who was at the programme asa special guest said that it is for the first time that a na-tional seminar on Ayurveda is being conducted since DrNRS Government Ayurvedic college which was estab-lished in the year 1922.. v


34 ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017

The national flag was hoisted by Governor E S L Narasimhan to mark the 68th Republic Day at IndiraGandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium (IGMC) in Vijayawada. The colourful event was marked by

several contingents marching in perfect synchronisation.

republic day 2017


Subscription Details: Yearly Subscription rate is Rs 220 for Andhra Pradesh (Eng) Magazine. Readers may send MO or DD in thename of Accounts Officer, I&PR Department, Vijayawada. Mention your full postal address in your letter and send to Accounts Of-ficer, I&PR Department, State Guest House Compound, Gopalareddy Road, Suryarao Peta, Vijayawada - 520002 Ph: 9949351534

The construction of the Rajagopuram of the Srikalahastitemple, the tallest and the beautifully ornated monumen-tal temple tower, is complete and an Atirudra Yagnam was

held at the temple on January 18 for the occasion. The 144-feet-tall gopuram with 35 feet high base and 22 storeys was built ata cost of Rs 45 crore. As many as 180 sculptors and 160 masonswere involved in the construction. The brick work, patch worksand painting was done by Navayuga Engineering and Construc-tion Company. The older Rajagopuram, built by Vijayanagara

king Sri Krishnadevaraya in 1516 AD to commemorate his victoryover Gajapathi kingdom, collapsed on May 27, 2010. The con-struction was taken up by Navayuga Engineering and Construc-tion Company’s chairperson Chintha Visweswar Rao at a cost ofRs 45 crore. Nine gold-plated Kalasams (pitchers) would be setup on the gopuram. They would be six feet tall and of 3 feet indiameter. The earthen platform at the base is still strong and isof Vijayanagara era.

RAJAGOPURAMriSing From tHe DeBriS


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