Naidu swears by Deep tech, AI & emerging technologies to drive Andhra’s growth
One good thing that has happened to Andhra Pradesh after the general elections is the economic heft that the state is displaying, given its political importance in the current dispensation at the centre. The recent acceleration in infrastructure and other mega projects with big investments is impressive.
Everyone had watched Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu work, in his previous avatars as the CM of undivided Andhra Pradesh how he put Hyderabad on the global IT map competing with Bengaluru and Chennai. Though ageing, he seems to have lost none of the energy to dream big, Naidu has sparked off the competition with the other South Indian states when it comes to attracting foreign investment and setting up cutting-edge technology hubs and knowledge centres.
Naidu has been holding discussions with GCCs, and HTD partners, who are playing a pivotal role in transforming the IT landscape and with a focus on employment generation. The state is in a Mission mode work to accelerate setting up IT parks, knowledge centres and an enabling environment to foster innovation and collaborations. The TDP government is positioning AP as the knowledge economy hub with world-class IT, policies and facilities.
Only yesterday, the SPIB board that evaluates foreign investments headed by Naidu gave clearances to four mega projects and today the government kicked off concrete work on the proposals by issuing GOs for land allotment, incentives, and necessary permissions for the four mega projects of companies like Phillips Carbon, LG Electronics, Ashta Energy, Arcelor Mittal and Nippon Steel.
Now this is being seen as the beginning for Andhra Pradesh under the new government that Naidu had promised, during campaigning. His focus is on employment generation and these four projects are expected to generate close to 40,000 jobs in the state.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Naidu directed the officials to draft proposals for constructing an iconic Deep Technology building in the state capital of Amaravati.
This new initiative is comparable to the establishment of Cyber Towers in Madhapur’s Hi-Tech City in Hyderabad during his tenure as chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh. That was the beginning of Hyderabad’s arrival as an important IT destination in the country. Now, the Deep Technology project has the potential to position Amaravati as a hub for advanced technologies like Deep Tech and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Naidu said that the future young generation would be relying heavily on these emerging technologies and asked the officials to begin work for creation of five lakh wokstations by the year 2029 and scaling this to ten lakh by 2034. Collectors have been asked to identify land and step up this activity.
Naidu also outlined subsidy criteria to promote co-working spaces. To qualify, companies must either have 100 seats or operate an office space of 10,000 square feet. Smaller, neighborhood workspaces must offer a minimum of 10 seats or 1,000 square feet. Subsidies will be extended to firms with an annual turnover of Rs 30 crore or employing at least 100 staff.
Further measures include the provision of subsidized land for multi-story office complexes, streamlined approvals via a single-window system, and favourable power tariffs for IT companies. The chief minister also proposed seed funding of up to Rs 25 lakh for entrepreneurs from marginalized communities, such as SCs, STs, BCs, minorities, and women, aligning with the state’s start-up policy.
Additionally, five innovation hubs will be established and interlinked with the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub, creating a cohesive ecosystem for start-ups and innovation. These hubs will serve regions including central Andhra, Rayalaseema, south Andhra, Godavari, and north Andhra, with collaboration involving 25 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
