The Indian School of Business (ISB) and Andhra's Economic Development Board (EDB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a move to focus on growth monitoring and economic development in the state after the COVID-19 pandemic. The ISB will work with Andhra government's EDB and other departments of the state for economic recovery and job creation.
The areas of collaboration also include high frequency resolution indicators for monitoring economic recovery in Andhra Pradesh, project on Visakhapatnam as an engine of growth, focus on food processing sector in Rayalaseema, improving e-governance and data analytics, unshackling informal sector growth and reshaping skilling programmes.
The AP Economic Development Board said the MoU will nurture a think-tank by setting up 'GoAP-ISB Policy Lab', a public policy laboratory to drive evidence-based policy decisions. It aims to create a knowledge bank for strategic planning, policy analysis, data analytics and action-research essential for sustaining high rates of growth and successful completion within the committed timelines with focus on investment flows, their efficacy in terms of value addition, employment generation and wealth creation.
The lab, modelled on the lines of Policy Lab in the UK Cabinet, would enable greater synergistic functioning of departments and work towards the objective of economic monitoring, recovery, and development, it said.
Earlier in June, State Minister for Industries Mekapati Goutham Reddy had held initial talks with the faculty of ISB in Hyderabad to discuss the possibilities and challenges for sustainable development in the state through data driven policy.
"We are working with ISB for the past few months on identifying various areas of collaboration. Today, we are onboarding ISB as our knowledge partner to work on various initiatives in skill development, e-governance, turning Visakhapatnam into a growth engine, improving value addition in food processing etc," Minister Goutham Reddy said.
ISB partners with Govt of Andhra Pradesh to help the state in post-covid economic recovery and growth, focusing on reviving the informal sector, e-Governance, attracting industrial investments, and food processing. Thanks to @MekapatiGoutham garu for his leadership.@AP_EDB pic.twitter.com/qj4SZxyWU6
— ISB (@ISBedu) August 5, 2020
AP Economic Development Board CEO, J V N Subramanyam and ISB Dean, Prof Rajendra Srivastava signed the MoU in the presence of state Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy at a virtual event.