Mr. Ragam Kishore, CEO & Director, Vizag Seaport Private Ltd nominated as Chairman, CII Visakhapatnam Zone for year 2022-23

Visakhapatnam: Confederation of Indian Industry organized Annual Meeting 2021-22 of CII Visakhapatnam Zone through virtual mode. 

On this occasion, Mr. D Tirupathi Raju, Chairman, CII Andhra Pradesh announced new office-bearers of CII Visakhapatnam Zone for the year 2022-23. Mr. Ragam Kishore, CEO & Director, Vizag Seaport Private Ltd is nominated as Chairman, CII Visakhapatnam Zone. Earlier, he was the Vice-Chairman of Visakhapatnam Zone.

Mr. Ragam Kishore is serving as CEO & Director of Vizag Seaport Private Limited. Mr. Ragam Kishore holds MSC from Andhra University and was Chief Regional Manager at Southern Region, Steel Authority of India Limited. He served for the PSU – SAIL for a period of 21 Years in the Home Sales Division and Transport & Shipping Division at various levels, before he took up the current assignment as CEO & Managing Director of Vizag Seaport Private Limited. Earlier, he worked for SAIL in various locations including Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Vizag. 

Dr. P P Lal Krishna, Managing Director,  Ramky Pharma City (India) Limited will be Vice Chairman for CII Visakhapatnam Zone for the year 2022-23.  Dr. P P Lal Krishna is serving as Managing Director to Ramky Pharma City (India) Limited in which he bought many international companies to the Pharmacity, which gives international exposure to Visakhapatnam. Mr. Lal Krishna is a Doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Madras having 35 of years of experience in various process Industries like Bulk Drugs, Pharmaceuticals, Distilleries, Pulp & Paper, Environmental Consultancy, etc. He is a Certified Assessor for Business Excellency & Environmental Excellency.

Coinciding the CII Visakhapatnam Zone Annual Meeting, MSME Conclave 2022 with a theme focusing on India@75: Transformation through Competitiveness, Technology, Finance, and Sustainability – Accelerating Growth for MSMEs was organized. Delivering Special Address at Inaugural Session of MEME conclave,  Ms. Rama Gummalla, Chief General Manager – Materials, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd Visakh Refinery briefed on opportunities in Refinery for accelerated Growth for MSMEs. She mentioned that the MSMEs sector is a major contributor to the economic development of the country and has gained significant importance due to its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. She mentioned that HPCL supports Government initiatives such as Atmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India and gives priority to MSMEs, and had set a goal of sourcing a minimum procurement of 25% of its total requirements from MSMEs. HPCL has also been fully abiding by various government directives and policies to provide relief to MSMEs and promote indigenization of products and services said Ms. Rama Gummalla.

Mr. Manoj Yadav, Head – Corporate Management Services, Bharat Electronics Limited in his Special Address said that MSMEs contribute significantly to defence manufacturing with of quality products. One of the key objectives of the Make in India initiative of the Government of India is to bring Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises into the defence supply chain and thereby boost the self-reliance of the country in defence. He mentioned that India is among the top 5 military spenders and one of the emerging defence manufacturing hub. To support the growth of the Defence sector and enhance manufacturing capacity in the sector, two Defence Industrial Corridors are being set up in India, one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Tamil Nadu. The corridors will catalyse indigenous production of defence and aerospace related items and provide opportunities to MSMEs and promote Make in India initiative.

Mr. D Chandra Sekhar, Additional Development Commissioner,  MSME-Development Institute, Government of India highlighted on Initiatives of MSME Development Institute. He mentioned that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has emerged as a highly vibrant and dynamic sector and provides large employment opportunities. He mentioned about various schemes by Government such as Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme, Procurement and Marketing Support (PMS) scheme, and Market Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme for MSME for International Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.

Mr. S V Giridhara Rao, Joint Director (SDP & EODB), Department of Industries, Government of Andhra Pradesh mentioned that Government of Andhra Pradesh is aims to provide conducive business environment for investors by developing strong regulatory framework through Ease of Doing Business. He said that the new Industrial Development Policy 2020-23 focuses on sustainable development with accent on MSMEs, Women Entrepreneurs and wide-based development of the State.

Mr. D Tirupathi Raju, Chairman, CII Andhra Pradesh & Executive Chairman, Vijay Nagar Biotech Pvt Ltd in his Special Address said that Ease of doing business is predominantly crucial for the MSME sector that can lead India’s economic growth, and this can be done by state and central level policies in the form of incentives, regulatory clearances, and labor laws.

Mr. RVS Rudraraju, Past Chairman, CII Andhra Pradesh & Chief Operating Officer, RHI Magnesita India Limited in his Welcome Address said that MSMEs are widening their domain across sectors of the economy, producing diverse range of products and services to meet demands of domestic as well as global markets.

Mr. Ragam Kishore, CEO & Director, Vizag Seaport Pvt Ltd delivered Concluding Remarks at the Conclave.