Andhra Pradesh will stand at the forefront of India’s economic transformation by 2047, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu told European delegates at the Indo-Europe Business Partnership Roundtable in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Inviting European investment into Andhra’s growing industrial and technology sectors, Naidu said his government would ensure “handholding and ease of clearances” for those ready to partner the state’s development. “If you come forward with investments, we will appoint an escort officer and help you set up industries,” he assured.
Highlighting Andhra Pradesh’s role in shaping India’s growth story, the Chief Minister described the state as the “gateway to the entire global market” with vast potential across industrial production, education, medicine, tourism, food processing, and technology. “A.P. is unmatched in ease of doing business, speed of doing business, cost of doing business. I urge industrialists in European countries to take advantage of these,” he said.
Naidu, who is in Visakhapatnam ahead of the 30th Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit scheduled for November 14-15, cited the coastal city’s emerging technology ecosystem as evidence of Andhra’s dynamism. He noted that Google was setting up its largest artificial intelligence data centre outside the United States in Visakhapatnam.
“Subsea cable is also being set up from this area to Singapore,” he said, adding that Google was “going to lay the foundation stone in two to three days and start work. We have also given them permits in a very few days.”
Recounting Andhra’s early push in information technology, Naidu said, “In the past, we promoted IT in Andhra Pradesh. The CEOs of big companies like Google, Adobe, Microsoft are Indians. After the economic reforms that came around the world, everything has changed. The standard of living conditions has increased significantly. So, wealth has to increase accordingly. We will create it. For this, we are promoting various types of industries in Andhra Pradesh.”
He also outlined ambitious plans for next-generation industrial clusters. “India has launched the Quantum Mission. Taking this into account, AP is setting up the first Quantum Valley in the capital, Amaravati,” Naidu said.
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Emphasising innovation and advanced manufacturing, he added, “Since drones are being used extensively in every sector, the manufacturing of these drones in civil applications and defence sectors should increase. That is why A.P. Government has decided to set up a drone city in A.P.”
The state, he said, was also venturing into space technology and renewable energy. “Space applications are also increasing day by day. So, the government is setting up a space city in A.P. Now the importance of green energy has also increased significantly. We are strong in the solar, wind and pumped energy sectors,” Naidu said.
He noted that Andhra was expanding its transport infrastructure to support industrial growth. “In the port transport sector, the State is building a large number of ports, and the railway network is also connecting ports, airports and various cities in the country,” he said.
“India has set a target of producing 500 gigawatts of electricity in the green energy sector. Out of this, we are trying to produce 160 gigawatts of electricity,” Naidu added, stating that the government was granting project approvals within 45 days to accelerate development.
CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee praised Naidu for his “commitment to the economic development of both India and Andhra Pradesh”.
The meeting saw participation from international delegates including Gevorg Papoyan, Minister of Economy, Republic of Armenia; R. Mukundan, President Designate, CII and Managing Director and CEO of Tata Chemicals Limited; Clemence Kopeikin, Chief Impact Officer, FyrstGen Holding Limited (Switzerland); Bertram Lohmuller, Professor at SDG Technology Transfer and Leadership, Export-Akademie Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany; and Amit Kalyani, Chairman, CII Europe Council and Vice-Chairman and Joint Managing Director, Bharat Forge Limited.
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