It is situated on the Deccan plateau and the Godavari and Krishna Rivers cut their way through the plateau, forming large deltas before entering into the Bay of Bengal.
Hyderabad , the capital city of Andhra Pradesh, carries a rich cultural legacy. Warangal and Vijayawada illustrate the presence of early Hindu and Buddhist societies and ancient architecture.
The southern part of the state boasts of Tirumala and Puttaparthi - the sacred pilgrimage sites.
Andhra Pradesh is a mineral rich state that ranks second in the country for its mineral wealth.
The major industries of the state are Information Technology, Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Business Management, and Construction
Agriculture
Agriculture is the main occupation of about 62 per cent of the people in Andhra Pradesh. Rice is a major food crop and staple food of the State contributing about 77 per cent of the foodgrain production. Other important crops are jowar, bajra, maize, ragi, small millets, pulses, castor, tobacco, cotton and sugarcane. Forests cover 23 per cent of the State's area. Important forest products are teak, eucalyptus, cashew, casurina, bamboo, softwood, etc.
The Government decided to arrange crop loans to the farmer at concessional rates of interest from the kharif season (2008) under the 'Pavala Vaddi' (3% rate of interest) scheme and also increased the loan amount to farmers from Rs. 23,000 crores in 2007-08 to Rs. 26,000 crores in 2008-09 to achieve the goal of increasing food grain production. Under the Centre's Rs. 60,000 crore loan waiver scheme. 77 lakh farmers of the State benefit to the tune of Rs. 12,000 crore. The prestigious 'Jalayagnam' project is designed by the Government to save the farmer from the vagaries of monsoons and provide assured irrigation facility to every acre of land. Farming in Andhra Pradesh today is so encouraging and remunerative that no farmer entertains farmers' suicides.
Area 2,75,069 sq. km
Population 76,210,007
Capital Hyderabad
Principal Languages Telugu and Urdu
Industry and Minerals
There are several major industries in operation around Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. They manufacture machine tools, synthetic drugs, pharmaceuticals, heavy electrical machinery, fertilizers, electronic equipments, aeronautical parts, cement and cement products, chemicals, asbestos, glass and watches. Andhra Pradesh has the largest deposits of quality chrysolite asbestos in the country. Other important minerals found in the state are copper ore, manganese, mica, coal and limestone. The Singareni Coal Mines supply coal to the entire South India.
The State Government has been promoting the manufacturing sector in a big way by providing concessions in power tariff, allotting land and relaxing labour laws in SEZs. AP has promoted 71 SEZs of which 52 have been notified by the Government of India with an investment potential of Rs. 35,000 crore and creation of employment for 25 lakh persons.
According to RBI Report of August 2007, Andhra Pradesh ranked second among States in the Country in attracting investments of Rs. 25,173 crore in 2006-07. The Confederation of Indian Industry lauded Andhra Pradesh as the Best Performing State in the manufacturing sector.
Information Technology
Andhra Pradesh has been forging ahead in the sphere of Information Technology. It is ahead of other states in exploiting the opportunities to the hilt. The State Government has introduced many schemes to utilize the maximum number of skilled human resources in the I.T. Sector. During 2007-08 I.T. exports crossed Rs. 26,000 crores.
The Government is making efforts to spread I.T. to Tier II cities like Warangal, Tirupathi, Kakinada, Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur and Kadapa. As a result, job opportunities in the I.T. sector in Tier II cities have improved. The IIT coming up in Medak district will become operational from the coming academic year. Further, the Government succeeded in persuading BITS Pilani to open a campus in Hyderabad which will become operational from the coming academic year.
The Government is according top priority to I.T. development by creating the requisite infrastructure and setting up of 3 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Idupulapaya in Kadapa District, Nuzvid in Krishna District and Basara in Adilabad District) under Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies to turn out qualified personnel.
Transport
Roads: National Highways passing through Andhra Pradesh constitute 4,647 km. There are 63,863 km of state roads including 10,412 km of State highways and 1,24,142 km of Panchayati Raj roads in the State as on March 2008.
Railways: Of the railways route covering 5,107 km in Andhra Pradesh, 4,633 km is broad-gauge, 437 km is metre-gauge and 37 km is narrow gauge.
Aviation: Important airports in the State are located at Hyderabad, Tirupathi and Visakhapatnam. International flights are operated from Hyderabad.
Ports: Visakhapatnam is a major port. There are minor ports in the State. Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the country's no. 2 in the share of Cargo handling and its capacity has gone up.
India 2010
