Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley described the newly carved out State of Andhra Pradesh as a role model for other States in achieving sustained growth. When the national growth remained static in single digit, he said, Andhra Pradesh could achieve 6 to 7 per cent more than the national average reaching the double digit.<br/><br/>First day of the CII Partnership Summit 2017 which began yesterday in Visakhapatnam saw signing of 128 MoUs worth about 4.25 lakh crore with the potential to create 5.5 lakh jobs. 51 countries participated in the two-day summit. According to industry leaders by 2029, Andhra Pradesh will create new benchmarks for the country.<br/><br/>Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said 'the sun rises for a short time but shines for a long time' quoting the sunrise state of Andhra Pradesh saying that the state will keep shining like the Sun. He said AP is located at the hub of new growth and is the ideal state to invest.<br/><br/>Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan opined that this is celebrating Sunrise Andhra Pradesh : Ready for the World, Ready for the Future. He briefed the gathering at the summit about the opportunities in Petro Chemical Industries pertaining to the State. <br/><br/> He congratulated the AP CM for his visionary leadership which enabled the State to register highest GDP & per capita income growth. The Union Minister also witnessed the exchange of MoUs between GAIL, HPCL & AP Govt and between ONGC & AP Govt worth of Investment more than 1,20,000 crore.<br/><br/>Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said the goal is not just investment but also to increase the happiness index in the state adding that family welfare plays an important part. He said AP is the first state in the country to have geo tagged bore wells. <br/><br/> He said Andhra Pradesh would be the benchmark for the best in the world. Mr. Naidu emphasised that a number of initiatives have been inIttated to mitigate agricultural stress in the State. The summit will continue today also.