Lokesh seeks cooperation of Indian envoy in Swiss for investments in pharma sector in A.P.

Minister for Education, IT and Electronics Nara Lokesh

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Minister for Education, IT and Electronics Nara Lokesh on Monday sought the cooperation of the Indian Ambassador in Switzerland, Mrudul Kumar, for setting up pharma companies in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr Lokesh, along with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, had a meeting with the Ambassador at the Hilton Hotel in Zurich. 

Mentioning that the pharma industry in Switzerland was worth over $100 billion, Mr. Lokesh sought the cooperation of the envoy in setting up of units by pharma giants like Novartis, Roche, Lonza and Alcon in Andhra Pradesh. ‘‘Over 27,300 Indians are now working for various engineering, IT, pharmaceutical, and para-medical companies in Switzerland. The atmosphere in Andhra Pradesh is very favourable for investments,’‘ he said.

Incentives

‘’The State government is extending very attractive incentives to companies in sectors like manufacturing, textile, machinery, hardware and electricals, rail component manufacturing, pharma and medical equipment. We are also taking steps for establishing a skill university and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) university in the State. We are seeking close cooperation between Switzerland and Andhra Pradesh for this purpose,” he said. 

‘’Switzerland has several renowned universities like the University of Zurich, the University of Basel, the University of Bern and the University of Geneva. Switzerland is providing the work-from-home facility for the services of experts in various fields. The skills and the expertise of women too can be utilised to reduce the cost and technical skill gap, and improve efficiency,’‘ he said, and sought the support and cooperation of the country for this purpose.