Amaravati set to emerge as India’s next green financial hub: FM

For the first time that leading public-sector banks including SBI and insurance companies are investing heavily at a single place to make Amaravati not only the administrative hub, but also a financial hub - Nirmala Sitharaman, FM

Amaravati: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said with several mega infrastructure projects under various stages of execution and many coming forward to invest in quantum technology and other fields, Amaravati is poised to become a futuristic green-friendly capital with a financial hub in a few years.

She was addressing a meeting here after laying the foundation stone for 15 financial institutions including the regional office of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) here in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, whom she described as a visionary leader who took up on a mission mode the development of the capital city with the patronage from the Government of India.

The banking and insurance companies have promised an investment of Rs1,334 crore on construction of new buildings at sites allotted by the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA).

SBI itself will invest Rs300 crore on its building followed by AP Grameena Bank Rs256 crore and APCOB Rs200 crore. NABARD will spend Rs90 crore on Amaravati campus. LIC has earmarked Rs22 crore whereas New India Assurance Company (NIACL) announced that it will spend Rs93 crore on its office complex.

She said it was for the first time that leading public sector banks including State Bank of India and insurance companies are investing heavily at a single place to make Amaravati not only the administrative hub, but also a financial hub. She said Amaravati, once the construction activity is completed, will become a role model for many others on how to develop a Greenfield capital.

Conveying her gratitude to the farmers who voluntarily surrendered their lands for development of the capital, she said their sacrifices will not go in vain. She said the banks and the insurance companies have decided to set up their offices in a big way so as to ensure better services to the residents of the area, who had high aspirations to live in the People’s Capital.

She said Chief Minister Naidu is also taking steps to make the area a hub for vegetables and horticulture crops and hoped that the area will also become home to food processing units with the support of the banks.

Expressing his gratitude to the farmers of 29 villages, who gave up 34,000 acres in 2015 under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) to develop the capital, Chief Minister Naidu said during the YSRCP regime the capital development work was stalled with an ulterior motive and declared that now all the pending works are being relaunched with jet speed so as to make the capital construction works completed in a time-bound manner.

The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and others have also come in a big way to support the creation of infrastructure projects in the capital region.

Recalling how Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been extending support for the capital development by relaunching the construction works on May 2, 2024, Naidu said LPS scheme conceived during his earlier stint as the Chief Minister was a unique idea for creating a capital with the sacrifices of the farmers.

He said the announcement of support of Rs15,000 crore by Sitharaman for capital development came as a shot in the arm for revival of various projects in the capital city.

He also congratulated the Union Finance Minister for taking bold decisions to implement GST reforms by reducing the number of slabs and rate of taxation to benefit all sections of people.

Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan said the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi is literally supporting the development of the State and the capital city with the sanction of various projects.

He said the State is grateful to the Centre for working hand-in-hand with the State to accelerate development and facilitating grounding of various projects.