Hon.
Chairperson, Sir, I am here to speak on the Supplementary
Demands for Grants for 2024-25 on behalf of the TDP. I have seen that the actual cash
outflow of Rs. 44,000 crore is less than one per cent of the overall budget. By
any count, I would say that this is good planning. Leading an organization
myself, I have often found that in the middle of the year, we deviate more than
one per cent. So, I would like to acknowledge and appreciate that. In
regard to some points spoken by the Opposition in terms of the growth on100 inflation and on the manufacturing
sector, I think there seems to be a rhetoric, a lot more than a call120 for action. It is because on one hand,
we say that inflation should not grow, but on the other hand, we are saying
that the repo rate also should not be cut down. I would request the
Government to cut down the repo rate to kick-start the manufacturing
sector and increase its growth, which would overall lead to the growth of the
Indian economy. It is much needed, and I would definitely ask for that.
In
this Batch of Supplementary200
Demands for Grants, I would like to speak about some specific
points, in particular for the Ministry of Steel. I would like to acknowledge
and thank the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister for
allocating Rs. 1,000 crore of funds240
to revive the RINL Steel Plant. I am very happy to state that from the verge of
almost being shut down with only one furnace running, now there are two
furnaces running at more than 100 per cent rated capacity over the last two months.
With the continued support of the Government, I am sure that all
three furnaces will300 be
running, and we will be able to take care of the salaries of all the
staff members.
The
second thing that I would like to bring up is the footwear industry. I
have a peculiar problem, Sir. I have a foot condition which requires a certain
kind of footwear. I was searching for it in India, but I could360 not find it. I had to go to
Germany, and a friend of mine got a cast made for me, and I got that footwear.
That is what I am wearing right now. But when I went to the Standing400 Committee on Commerce, I realized that
there is a Footwear Design and Development Institute under the
Commerce Ministry. With the support of hon. Minister, I went and visited
the institute, and I was very happy to see the kind of research that is
happening over there. Alas, most of India does not even know about the research
that is happening. So, I request the Finance Minister to consider this
footwear industry and the Footwear Design and Development Institute to
really480 proliferate
its activities to the entire nation because the footwear industry is not very
concentrated today. It is quite disorganized.500 The other thing I would request is to
separate it from the leather industry because not all footwear is leather now.
All different kinds of materials are coming into it.
The
next point is about urban planning. When we think of big cities in India, a lot
of people remember traffic. When we talk about Delhi, people think of
pollution. When we talk about Mumbai, people think of high cost of
living. So, the money that happens to be transferred to urban local bodies
is a mere 0.5 per cent of the GDP, but the contribution of cities to our600 GDP is almost 60 per cent. I would
also request that if there are good cities that are planning for the
future and if they can be incentivised through grants for major
infrastructure development, then that would help us abate these problems pre-emptively
instead of being reactive. I think that it would be a great thing for
the nation. Coming to the State of Andhra, I would like to request that over
the last five years because of the potential and delay of many critical
projects like Amaravati or Polavaram, the cost of these projects has increased
from 25 per700 cent to 55 per
cent. We request the support of the Central Government in line with what has
already been720 announced in
this Budget to develop our capital city of Amaravati and to complete the
Polavaram project by 2028.
Finally,
I would like to end with a point on the State that if we want unemployment
to come down and if we want the GDP to grow really quickly to achieve
our goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047, I would also request some money to be
dedicated for the nation-wide skill census. If we can bridge the gap
between what800 the industry
needs and what is the available workforce and start bridging the gap through
skill development and education, then I think that this demographic dividend
that exists will become a huge dividend for the nation and help not just840 the State of Andhra Pradesh prosper, but
all the States of India prosper.
Sir,
there are other issues also. In the case of Global City, which falls
under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, the Global City
project in Kochi, spanning 358 acres, aims to create 28.32 million square feet
of infrastructure under the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. Kerala has
already900 approved Rs. 840
crore for land acquisition, and a Market Demand Assessment Report confirms the
project’s viability. But the delay in final approval is stalling this
initiative, which promises economic growth and next generation industrial hubs.
Accelerated approval of the preliminary master plan and targeted
infrastructure support are essential to realize this project’s
potential. These are very vital issues concerning960 Kerala and also the whole of the nation.
But the Government of India is treating Kerala in a stepmotherly
fashion. 980
