History and Geography
The earliest mention of the Andhras is said to be in Aitereya Brahmana
(2000 B.C.). It indicates that the Andhras,
originally an Aryan race living in north India migrated to south of the Vindhyas
and later mixed with non-Aryans. Regular history of Andhra Desa,
according to historians, begins with 236 B.C.,
the year of Ashoka's death. During the following centuries, Satavahanas,
Sakas, Ikshvakus, Eastern Chalukyas,
Kakatiyas ruled the Telugu country. Other dynasties that ruled
over the area in succession were the kingdoms of Vijayanagar and Qutub Shahi followed
by Mir Qumruddin and his successors, known as the Nizams. Gradually, from the 17th
century onwards, the British annexed territories of the Nizam and constituted the
single province of Madras.
After Independence, Telugu-speaking areas were separated from the composite Madras
Presidency and a new Andhra State came into being on 1 October 1953. With the passing
of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, there was a merger of Hyderabad State and
Andhra State, and consequently Andhra Pradesh came into being on 1 November 1956.
Andhra Pradesh is bound on the north by Orissa and Chhattisgarh, on the west by
Maharashtra and Karnataka, on the south by Tamil Nadu and on the east by the Bay
of Bengal with a coastline of 974 km.
Irrigation
Important irrigation schemes implemented in the State are Vamsadhara Project Stage-I,
Godavari Delta System, Yeleru Reservoir Project, Krishna Delta System, Pennar Delta
System, Pennar River Canal System, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy Sagar Project, Tungabhadra
Project high level canal Stage-I, Tungabhadra Project low level canal, Sriramsagar
Stage-I, Nizamsagar Project, Nagarjuna Sagar Project and Rajolibanda Diversion scheme.
Andhra Pradesh is the first state to involve the farmers in the management of irrigation
sources.
Power
Important power projects in the State are: the Nagarjunasagar and Neelam Sanjiva
Reddy Sagar (Srisailam Hydel Project), Upper Sileru, Lower Sileru, Tungabhadra Hydel
projects and Nellore, Ramagundam, Kothagudem, Vijayawada and Muddanur thermal power
projects. The Srisailam Hydro Electric project (Right Bank) with an installed capacity
of 770 MW and the Srisailam Left Bank HES capacity
of 900 MW and the Nagarjunasagar complex with
960 MW are the principal sources of hydel generation.
Vijayawada Thermal Power station with an installed capacity of 1,260
MW and Kothagudem Thermal Power station with an installed capacity
of 1,200 MW are the main sources of thermal
power generation. The 1,000 MW coal-based Simhadri
Thermal Power station aims at supplying the entire energy generated to the State.
Installed capacity of the state as on May'08 is 12,382 MW
For massive capacity addition of 8860 MW, 17
new projects are programmed by
APGENCO which are expected to complete within next five years.
Information Technology
Andhra Pradesh has been forging ahead in the sphere of Information Technology. It
is ahead of other states in exploiting the opportunities to the hilt. The State
Government has introduced many schemes to utilize the maximum number of skilled
human resources in the I.T. Sector. During 2007-08 I.T. exports crossed Rs. 26,000
crores.
The Government is making efforts to spread I.T. to Tier II cities like Warangal,
Tirupathi, Kakinada, Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur and Kadapa. As a result,
job opportunities in the I.T. sector in Tier II cities have improved. The IIT coming
up in Medak district will become operational from the coming academic year. Further,
the Government succeeded in persuading BITS Pilani to open a campus in Hyderabad
which will become operational from the coming academic year.
The Government is according top priority to I.T. development by creating the requisite
infrastructure and setting up of 3 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Idupulapaya
in Kadapa District, Nuzvid in Krishna District and Basara in Adilabad District)
under Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies to turn out qualified personnel.
Industry and Minerals
There are several major industries in operation around Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.
They manufacture machine tools, synthetic drugs, pharmaceuticals, heavy electrical
machinery, fertilizers, electronic equipments, aeronautical parts, cement and cement
products, chemicals, asbestos, glass and watches. Andhra Pradesh has the largest
deposits of quality chrysolite asbestos in the country. Other important minerals
found in the state are copper ore, manganese, mica, coal and limestone. The Singareni
Coal Mines supply coal to the entire South India.
The State Government has been promoting the manufacturing sector in a big way by
providing concessions in power tariff, allotting land and relaxing labour laws in
SEZs. AP has promoted 71 SEZs of which 52 have been notified
by the Government of India with an investment potential of Rs. 35,000 crore and
creation of employment for 25 lakh persons.
According to RBI
Report of August 2007, Andhra Pradesh ranked second among States in the Country
in attracting investments of Rs. 25,173 crore in 2006-07. The Confederation of Indian
Industry lauded Andhra Pradesh as the Best Performing State in the manufacturing
sector.
|
