District Development Plan

About the district

Visakhapatnam is one of the fastest growing districts and fourth cleanest city in the country. Population density is 384 persons per square km and population growth was 11.89% during 2001 and 2011. GDVA was growing at an impressive rate of 10.62 during last three years. Visakhapatnam is popularly known as “The jewel of the east coast” and has a coastal line of 132 kms. It has a natural port, airport, national highway and rail network connecting major cities. It has good number of both private and public sector organisations generating significant number of jobs which help in economic development at both state and central level. Visakhapatnam district receives annual normal rainfall of 1202 mm and is a zero deficient rainfall district. It has a geographical area of 11.16 lakh hectors of land of which 32.5% is cultivable area, 39.5% is forest area, barren and uncultivable land is 11.7% and non-agriculture use is around 10%. Suitable interventions have been taken to improve land use.

Industrial growth in the district

Agriculture sector has been growing at an average rate of 10.35% during last three years with similar growth in services sector. IT/ITES, fin-tech, health and tourism sectors are also growing with pace and have great potential for growth. Tourism sector has recorded a growth of four times during last seven years and is poised to grow in the similar way for next five to seven years mainly due to suitable improvements in quality infrastructure, better connectivity by air and skilled workforce. AP government is investing 15,269 crores for developing tourism in the state and Visakhapatnam is one of the major destinations.

Dairy industry is one of the fastest growing one. Visakha dairy is one of the prides of the district and has grown from Rs 11 crore to 12000 crores during last 40 years and milk products have been exported to countries like Singapore, Malaysia etc. This sector has a significant potential for further growth similar to that of Amul of Gujarat. Dairy industry needs to focus on high value products and exports. Visakhapatnam is becoming a hub for healthcare and education particularly.

There are good numbers of both public and private institutions including IIM attracting high skilled talent and adding to the quality workforce.

Similarly, in healthcare, city is attracting both domestic and overseas patients seeking healthcare. Medical tourism is one of the major areas that can drive the growth. Fisheries is another area which has significant growth potential both in domestic and export market due to quality of fish available in the region. Araku Valley can be developed as an integrated tourism cluster by providing suitable quality infrastructure and manpower. This can be integrated with tribal culture and handicrafts.

Pharma and apparel SEZ is one of the fast growing sectors and has generated direct employment for more than 20,000 people of which more than 80% are women. MSME sector is one of the oldest in the country and has been catering to the needs of industry sectors like petroleum, steel, ship building and pressure vessels and other allied industries. This is a special segment and has very good technical capability but it needs to diversify into modern areas like automobile, solar, defence etc. This segment can generate significant amount of employment to the tune of 5000 to 6000 people directly and similar numbers of indirect and economic growth with suitable interventions like cluster development etc.

Handicraft sector is another traditional area of economic development which is shrinking due to lack of financial access as well as market linkages and lack of entrepreneurial skills of the artisans. Ettikopaka wooden toys are very popular and GI certified but not able to scale up due to many reasons including migration of artisans to other emerging areas of businesses. This sector needs significant support in many areas. Another major area of development would include tribal tourism and products like coffee, tea, medicinal herbal products, particularly honey and other commercial horticulture products.

In education sector, specific programs like healthcare management, hotel and hospitality management, dairy management, agriculture management, textile and apparel, pharma etc. and strong research and development resources are highly necessary. Water and adventure sports are an upcoming area and it requires both infrastructure and skilled manpower. Suitable collaboration with established organisations from India and overseas can be adopted.

CII, HPCL and RINL can help in imparting industry specific skills through the existing infrastructure for skill development. In order to achieve the economic development of 2-3 % in the near future, suitable policy changes and financial access and other supporting policies are very important.

To read the complete district development plan, click here