Andhra Pradesh - A profile

This article provides an overview of Andhra Pradesh for those keen on exploring the possibility of living and working there. The information presented is gathered from open sources and is not exhaustive or meant to supplement or substitute legal and professional advice.

Key facts

• Capital: Hyderabad & Amaravati¹
• Geography: 13 districts²
• Land area: 160,205 sq km³
• Population (2011): 49.58 million⁴
• Head of government: Shri YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (Chief Minister)⁵
• Language: Telegu⁶
• Currency: Indian Rupee (Rs)
• Major cities: Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati, Rajahmundry, Guntur, Kakinada, Ongole, Nellore and Kurnool⁷

Introduction

Andhra Pradesh is located in the south eastern coast of India and is the eighth largest state in the country. The state is bordered by Chhattisgarh to the north, Odisha to the northeast, Telangana and Karnataka to the west, Tamil Nadu to the south, and the Bay of Bengal to the east. Its 974 km coastline is the second longest in the country.⁸

Andhra Pradesh aims to be among the top three performing Indian states by 2022 and a developed state by 2029. It also envisions itself as a leading global investment destination by 2050.⁹ Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Tirupati and Amravati are the state’s four cities that have been selected as smart cities as of January 2018.¹⁰

Demographic profile

In terms of population, Andhra Pradesh is the 10th largest state in India. In 2011, the state had a population of 49.58 million, up 9.21 percent from the 45.4 million recorded in 2001. The East Godavari district had the highest population of 5.29 million, while Vizianagaram had the lowest of 2.34 million. Males outnumbered females: there are 997 females for every 1,000 males recorded in 2011.¹¹

Andhra Pradesh’s literacy rate in 2011 increased from 62.07 percent in 2001 to 67.35 percent in 2011. However, this is still lower than India’s literacy rate of 72.98 percent.¹²

Economy profile

Andhra Pradesh’s economy grew 12.14 percent in 2019–2020. It achieved Rs 972,782.11 crore in 2019-2020 compared to the Rs 862,957.08 crore recorded in 2018–2019. Its per capita income grew 11.98 percent from Rs 107,276 in 2015–2016 to Rs 188,370.33 in 2019–2020.¹³

Industries

The agriculture sector plays a crucial role in the economy of Andhra Pradesh, and has showed great resilience despite the global COVID-19 crisis. Agriculture and allied sectors have been the key source of income and occupation in Andhra Pradesh with about 60 percent of its population engaged in agriculture and related activities. The fisheries sector, in particular, is contributing significantly to the state’s economy and provides employment to about 1.45 million people. The state places an important priority in providing assistance to the farming community and making the agriculture sector more resilient. Andhra Pradesh is also the top producer in egg production, fourth in meat production, and fourth in milk production in India for 2018–2019. ¹⁴

In 2019-2020, the agriculture sector contributed Rs 184,627 crore to the total gross valued added (GVA) of Andhra Pradesh. The industry sector contributed Rs 162,103 crore and the services sector Rs 259,042 crore. The industry sector grew at the fastest rate among other industries in 2019-2020 at 10.24 percent, followed by the agriculture sector at 7.91 percent and services sector at 6.2 percent. ¹⁵

Tourism

Andhra Pradesh is a popular destination among domestic tourists. It is the third most visited state by the local population in India. In 2019, the state received 158.45 million visits from domestic tourists and 187,737 visits from foreign tourists.¹⁶ Andhra Pradesh offers many options for tourists to explore, including nature and wild life experiences, heritage spots, beaches, and religious and spiritual destinations.¹⁷ Its government is committed to develop heritage spots in Kurnool, Prakasam, Rajamundry, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and other important places, while religious and spiritual destinations such as Tirupathi, Srisailam, Srikalahasthi, Kadapa Darga, Mahanandi, Simhachalam, Annavaram and Vijayawada are being integrated in religious tourism circuits. It is also promoting beach tourism and developing “world class coastal and eco-tourism circuits.”¹⁸

Special Economic Zones

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were developed across various districts in Andhra Pradesh to enhance job opportunities and industrial development. In 2017, there were 19 operational SEZs in Andhra Pradesh comprising five multi product SEZs, four pharmaceuticals SEZs, three information technology/information technology enabled services (IT/ITES) SEZs, two SEZs each for textile and leather products SEZs and one SEZ each for building products, port based and food processing. As of 30 June 2017, these SEZs created employment opportunities for 73,828 people.¹⁹

Singapore and Andhra Pradesh

In February 2018, another MOU was signed between Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to form the Andhra Pradesh-Singapore Business Council, which aims “to drive private sector business collaboration to strengthen Singapore-Andhra Pradesh economic ties … across priority sectors including smart infrastructure, agrifood and logistics.” Additionally, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) is also partnering with Amaravati Partnership Office and the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority to set up an Innovation Corridor. The Innovation Corridor is “a platform to discover, pilot and scale innovative urban solutions” for use in Amaravati.²⁰

References