ABOUT AP
Formed in the year 1955 Andhra Pradesh which is located between 12o41' and 22o longitude and 77o and 84o40' latitude  is, the third largest state in India. It is bounded by Madhya Pradesh and Orissa in the north, the Bay of Bengal in the east, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the south and Maharashtra in the west. Andhra Pradesh  is said to have been the home of the Pre- Dravidian dark coloured inhabitants. Andhra region witnessed the rule of Chandragupta Maurya during which it established itself as an independent kingdom. The medieval city of Hyderabad is its capital. The main languages spoken here are Telugu, English, Urdu and Hindi. Andhra Pradesh  forms the major link between the north and the south of India. It is the biggest and most populous state in the south of India. 

LAND:
There are three main regions in Andhra Pradesh –
 (1) Northern Circars or coastal Andhra comprising Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Ongole and Nellore districts;
 (2) Rayalaseema or Ceded districts comprising Kurnool, Cuddapah, Chittoor and Anantapur districts; and
(3) Telangana comprising Khammam, Nalgonda, Warangal, Karimnagar, Medak, Nizamabad, Aadilabad, Mahbubnagar and Hyderabad districts. The Circars or Coastal districts are well developed and enjoy a greater degree of affluence than the other two regions. Rayalaseema is close to the coastal districts and here rainfall is less than in the coastal districts and drought conditions prevail sometimes, and the Telangana region is of the former princely state of Nizam's Hyderabad, which is close to Maharashtra's Marathwada region and some parts of Karnataka.

USEFUL INFORMATION

ECONOMIC PROFILE

Economic Activity:  Manufacturing- 17%; Services- 43%; Agriculture -40%

Investor Profile: :    Govt. 48.7%; Foreign 21.2%; Indian 30.1%

State Priority Areas: Food processing; Software; Financial services; Electronics; Power; Textiles; Tourism

Investment Strengths: Reform-oriented state, improved governance and administration; fourth largest market in the nation; relatively high purchasing power

Cell phone/ 100 persons: 0.54

ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE

ROADS

Road length per 1000 km : 653

Surfaced roads/ 00 sq km: 40.1

RAILWAYS

Railway track length /00 sq km: 1.9

Andhra Pradesh Airports

Andhra Pradesh is well linked internally by air. Regular air services to Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati and Rajahmundry are offered by regional airlines. Smaller airfields also available for private jets.

Hyderabad has the only International Airport in Andhra Pradesh at present.

Andhra Pradesh also has a number of small airstrips with basic facilities and landing grounds in 17 locations spread all over the state.

PORTS

Andhra Pradesh has one major port at Visakhapatnam and two intermediate ports at Kakinada and Machilipatnam. The State also has minor ports at Krishnapatnam, Gangavaram, Mutyalampalem, Bhavanapadu, Kalingapatnam, Bhimunipatnam, Narsapur, Nizamapatnam, and Vodarevu.
Visakhapatnam is the country's largest Major Port (44.4 mmt in 2000-01). Kakinada is by far the largest minor port in AP, handling 2.77 mmt of traffic in 1999-2000 and Rawa Port handled 2.53 mmt.