India keen on developing integrated industrial townships:Minister

Hyderabad, India, Jan 12 (PTI) The Indian government is keen on developing integrated industrial townships in the eastern and southern parts of the country, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said today. One such corridor will come up in southern state of Andhra Pradesh, Sharma said at the inauguration of a two-day Partnership Summit-2012 here in Hyderabad, capital of Andhra Pradesh. "This will be on the lines of Mumbai-Delhi Corridor. It will have social infrastructure and hubs of various manufacturing activities," Sharma said. Advocating free flow of knowledge and services for inclusive growth, Sharma said protectionism always proved counterproductive. Goh Chok Tong, Emeritus Senior Minister of Singapore, said that India, as the nation with highest number of workable population, should concentrate on imparting training to the young people to make them productive and invest in infrastructure to emerge as global economy. He, however, said there are challenges in terms of continuing second generation reforms, such as implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST). The Summit has been jointly organised by India's Commerce Ministry, industry chamber CII and the Andhra Pradesh government with the theme, 'New Age Innovation Partnerships'. Business delegations from about 40 countries, including the US and China, are taking part in the summit. PTI Caption for pic: India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma (C), Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy (4th R), AP Industries Minister J Geetha Reddy (L), CII President B. Muthuraman (3rd L), Singapore's Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong (4th L), Indonesia's Trade Minister Gita Irawan Wirjawan (2nd L), UAE Foreign Trade Minister Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi (3rd R), Sri Lanka Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen (2nd R) and Afghanistan Finance Minister Omer Hazrat Zakhilwal (R) at the inaugural session of "Partnership Summit 2012” in Hyderabad on Thursday. PTI Photo