India
Andhra Pradesh to Draft Investment Protection Act, Chief Minister Urges Central Support
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Thursday that Andhra Pradesh will draft a state‑level Investment Protection Act to shield investors from changes that occur when a new ruling party takes office. He urged the central government to consider a similar national law. Naidu told a gathering of business leaders, diplomats and foreign investors at the two‑day CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam that the proposed legislation would protect investments from regime changes and prevent future administrations from reversing incentives, land allotments or approvals granted to investors. He said such a measure would make India an unstoppable investment destination.
Naidu, who returned to power in 2024, did not detail the law’s provisions. He cited the 2019 loss of the state to the YSR Congress Party, when then Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy halted the Amaravati capital project, terminated contracts and cancelled power purchase agreements awarded by the previous TDP regime.
He highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s progress in attracting investment, noting a 74% conversion rate of investment Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed since June 2024. The state has signed 714 MoUs for proposed investments of ₹22.6 lakh crore, of which 526 projects—worth ₹17.1 lakh crore—have moved toward implementation, and ₹7.3 lakh crore worth of projects are currently underway. The government has set timelines for nearly 303 projects to ensure progress.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal delivered the keynote address, encouraging global investors to explore opportunities in Andhra Pradesh and across India, emphasizing the state’s potential in manufacturing, tourism, green energy and advanced technologies. He highlighted the state’s rapid recovery from recent cyclones, the creation of an escrow account for industrial incentives, and India’s commitment to respecting intellectual property rights.
Andhra Pradesh Minister for Education, IT and Electronics Nara Lokesh called on industrialists to not only build factories in the state but to make Andhra Pradesh their corporate home.