Ease of doing biz: Chandrababu Naidu wants to take AP to top 10 globally

Having achieved the top rank in ease of doing business in the country, Andhra Pradesh has now set its eyes on becoming one of the top 10 investment destinations in the world in the next few years.

"We are drawing plans for that. Last year we were number two in the country and this year we are number one in ease of doing business. In the coming years, we want to be among the top five, six or ten in the world," Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said while addressing Telugu Desam workers in Amravati on Monday.

"Rank (in ease of doing business) should create a perception (about the state). The perception should translate into decisions and investments into the state. We have to think beyond India," Chandrababu told his Cabinet colleagues and senior bureaucrats last night. Andhra Pradesh is now the only state to be ranked, at 51, in the global competitiveness index of the World Economic Forum, where India's rank is 56. Switzerland is number one in the global ranking, followed by Singapore.

"We have to benchmark those countries and aim to reach the top. Pick up the best practices from those countries and try to implement them here," Chandrababu said. By 2022, Andhra Pradesh aims to improve its ranking to 38 from the current 51.