Naidu seeks investor protection law for Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu proposed an Investment Protection Act to shield investors from policy reversals following changes in government.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced on Thursday that the state will introduce an Investment Protection Act to safeguard investors from policy reversals. Speaking at the two-day CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam, Naidu said the law aims to protect investors from regime changes and political vendetta, according to the Deccan Herald.
The proposed Bill is expected to be introduced in the state Legislature in the coming months. Naidu stated that once the Assembly passes the Bill, the state will send it to the Centre. He also urged Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to take up the proposal to convert it into a national law to provide greater security for investors across India.
The initiative follows concerns raised between 2019 and 2024 when the then YSRCP government cancelled various contracts, land allotments, and projects alleging corruption, the Deccan Herald reported. Naidu said such vindictive politics had created apprehensions among investors.
The Chief Minister also announced that 303 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) involving proposed investments of Rs 9.89 lakh crore will be signed at the summit. This brings the total investment commitments secured by Andhra Pradesh over the last two and a half years to Rs 32.49 lakh crore.
Naidu noted that the state has achieved a 74 per cent conversion rate for the 714 MoUs worth Rs 22.6 lakh crore signed since June 2024. Of these, 526 projects worth Rs 17.1 lakh crore have moved towards implementation, while projects worth Rs 7.3 lakh crore are currently at the construction stage.