Amaravati: After a gap of 5 long years, the leader of the Telegu Desam Party – N Chandrababu Naidu – is back in the driver’s seat as Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister. With Naidu’s comeback, the focus on the state’s capital Amaravati is also back. Several top TDP leaders have shown confidence in the fast-paced development of the Amaravati project.
In fact, a day before his swearing-in as the chief minister, Naidu announced that Amaravati would be the only capital of the Andhra Pradesh state. But that’s not all he said.
Vizag, Kurnool to become employment hubs
Naidu also mentioned that along with Amaravati, his government will build Visakhapatnam as the state’s economic powerhouse while Kurnool will emerge as the state’s seed hub. The names of these two districts might sound familiar.
In the 2019 state elections, YSRCP’s Jagan Mohan Reddy became the Andhra Pradesh chief minister. During his tenure, he had trashed all plans of Amaravati solely becoming the state’s capital, instead he pushed for a tri-capital state – comprising Amaravati, Vishakhapatnam, and Kurnool. Jagan Mohan Reddy had said that the state must also develop other parts, instead of focusing on the development of a grand capital.
With Chandrababu Naidu’s recent announcement, it seems he has abided by what Jagan Mohan Reddy had said – but with a tweak. The development of these 3 districts of Andhra Pradesh – Amaravati, Vishakhapatnam, and Kurnool – may generate employment opportunities in the state.
What employment is the top priority in Andhra Pradesh
This year, the India Skills Report put Andhra Pradesh in third place in terms of having a highly employable resource pool. In addition, Andhra Pradesh stood second in terms of employable BE/BTech talent in 2024. However, even after having a wide talent pool, unemployment persists.
The data collected through the Periodic Labour Force Survey or PLFS shows that in India the estimated unemployment rate stood at 3.2 per cent in FY23. However, during the same period, the unemployment rate in Andhra Pradesh stood higher than the all-India figure. In FY23, Andhra Pradesh’s unemployment rate was 4.1 per cent.
Not just this, in a recent pre-election survey, employment emerged as the top priority for the people of Andhra Pradesh. A whopping 67 per cent of survey participants said that employment opportunities are a major concern for voters and would play a role in their decision-making.
Tapping on this hunger for opportunity, in the recent elections, TDP had revived its earlier slogan ‘Job Ravalante Babu Ravali’ – which translates in English as ‘Jobs will come only if Babu comes to power’ – to attract youth and first-time voters. Now that Naidu is back in power, it remains to be seen how the development saga of not just Amaravati – but also Visakhapatnam and Kurnool – unfolds.
Andhra Pradesh’s CM Chandrababu Naidu said Amaravati will be the sole capital of the state. He added that his government will build Visakhapatnam as the state’s economic powerhouse and Kurnool as the state’s seed hub. Andhra Pradesh States News India: Top News India, States News, States News Headlines, Online State News India, State Politics news
