Google came to the state due to collective efforts…It’s time for all of us to be proud – Education and IT Minister N. Lokesh

Amaravati: Whether history can be created or rewritten, it is possible only because of Chandrababu Naidu, said State Education, IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh. Speaking at a press conference at his Undavalli residence on Wednesday morning… Chandrababu garu brought India’s largest automotive FDI Kia between 2014-19. Now we are rewriting that history. India’s single largest FDI investment in history, Google invests $15 billion in AP. This is Google’s largest data center outside the US. They came to the state after studying many countries and states and realizing that if they go to AP, they can invest due to the speed of doing, and there will be no problem. Google’s arrival is not a victory for AP, it is a victory for India. Just like Microsoft changed the face of Hyderabad in the past… now Google is going to change the face of Visakhapatnam. This is not just about one data center. Many associated companies related to cable landing station, renewable energy, AI will come to Visakhapatnam. According to some reports, this will have a 25-fold economic impact. Such is the economic activity that Google is going to do. This investment alone will provide 1,88,000 direct and indirect jobs. It will have an impact of Rs. 48 thousand crores on the local economy in five years.

When Google representatives came to Visakhapatnam in September 2024, I showed them the data center space. A month later, I met the US Google Cloud Leadership. Later, in November, they met the Chief Minister. At that time, the Google delegation requested that some laws be amended not in AP but in the country. I brought this to the attention of Ashwani Vaishtav. The Chief Minister met Nirmala Sitharaman several times on this issue. After discussing Google’s investment with the Prime Minister twice, necessary amendments were made in the laws. That is why such a huge investment came to AP and India. Senior officials like IT Secretary Bhaskar and Karthikeya Mishra did the ground work for this project. We all worked together in coordination and brought this huge investment to Visakhapatnam. AP has achieved, India has achieved, this is a time when we should all be proud. Today, the whole world is talking about India. We are discussing how huge investment came to Andhra Pradesh.

*Our goal is decentralization of development*
Our goal is one state, one capital, and decentralization of development. We have shown Anantapur as a mobility valley with Kia Motors. Large-scale renewable energy and pumped storage investments are already coming in North Anantapur and Kurnool. We have given permission for two new cement factories in Kurnool. We will bring five or six more cement factories. We are developing an electronics manufacturing ecosystem in Chittoor and Kadapa districts. Many investments have already come in. After our government came to power in Sri City in Nellore district, we brought many investments. LG Electronics has invested heavily. Already 50 percent of the country’s ACs are being manufactured in AP, Daikin and Bluestar are going to expand, and if they are completed, there is a possibility of reaching 80 percent. With the intention of coming up with a space city, we have given 300 acres to India SpaceX company Scry Route at Rs 5 lakh per acre. Reliance is investing heavily in CBG in Prakasam district. Quantum Valley is coming up in Amaravati. We are bringing an ecosystem related to quantum computers here from January. We are promoting the aqua industries of both Godavari and Ubhaya. We are bringing in defense companies.

*Massive investments in North Andhra*
Massive investments are coming to North Andhra. ArcelorMittal’s India’s largest steel plant, Google, TCS, Cognizant, Accenture, Raheja, Raheja and other construction companies, medical device and pharma companies have come. The government is taking steps with the aim of comprehensively developing all areas and making AP a $2.4 trillion economy by 2024. We are moving forward with vertical and horizontal integration in a cluster-based approach. We are developing an ecosystem within a radius of 100 km. We are taking steps so that all the affiliated units of major companies come around that area. In the horizontal section, we are giving priority to skill development, equipment, testing, etc. That is why we are developing zone-wise. We are moving forward with a cluster-based approach.

*Greater Visakhapatnam as a trillion dollar economy*
Our goal is to make the Greater Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor a 1 trillion dollar economy. For this, we are appointing special officers and preparing integrated plans (airport, railways, roads). If it took 30 years to develop Hyderabad, we are working with the aim of developing Visakhapatnam in the same way within 10 years. We have decided to develop Visakhapatnam, Amaravati, and Rayalaseema Economic Corridors with world-class best standards. The Chief Minister has given clarity on this. AP will stand as No. 1 in speed of doing. We are going straight to execution without paying attention to MOUs. There is still no MOU with ArcelorMittal, we are doing the groundwork in November. Even if there is no MOU with TCS, we are going to start in November.

*5 lakh jobs in the IT sector*
We are constantly following up on the projects coming to the state. Many people asked what he did in Davos. The Chief Minister met the CEO of Google Cloud in Davos. When I went to Mumbai, I discussed the progress of several projects with TCS Chairman Chandrasekaran. We are actively and diligently moving forward for investments. The list of top-10 investors is in my bag. Our office follows up on them every week. We have also set up a WhatsApp group for each project. If Reliance CBG does not get an update for a week, I will enter the field myself. Babu Super 6’s first promise is that we are committed to 20 lakh jobs. We are working tirelessly to achieve this goal. We have taken it as a challenge to create 5 lakh jobs in the IT sector alone. In the coming days, there will be announcements related to new projects every week. All the ministers have been working together for 17 months to put the state back on track, and we are working tirelessly. No one would have come forward to invest in AP between 2019-24. During their rule, there was only destruction. AP became an investment-attracting state in 17 months after we came. The main reason for this is the double-engine bullet train. Prime Minister Modi in Delhi and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in AP are working together to take the state forward in all fields. They have the confidence that the central government will implement reforms in AP with just one phone call. We have done labor reforms in just 15 days. People’s cooperation is very necessary to achieve what we want. Minister Lokesh has asked people to come together with us to make AP No. 1 in all fields.
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*Investments come only with Chandrababu’s vision*
Answering the questions of reporters, Minister Lokesh said… We have set up a special corridor for setting up data centers in Visakhapatnam. Google’s data center will have a huge multiple economic impact. This effect is estimated to be up to 25 times. This was possible only because of a visionary leader. We gave land to TCS and Cognizant for one rupee per acre. I challenged the council that I would resign if it was proven that we gave it to anyone else. Those two companies will create 25,000 jobs, which will generate economic activities worth Rs 15,000 crore. This will change the entire ecosystem. Why did Raheja say Knowledge City in Hyderabad, today one lakh people are working there. If we listen to the critics, it will not happen. We are able to attract investments only because Chandrababu has a vision. People should notice the difference between a visionary and a prisoner. AP’s per capita income has increased due to Chandrababu’s efforts. In the past, Hyderabad achieved unprecedented development with the implementation of Vision 2020. Cyberabad, ISB, and Shamshabad Airport were possible only with the vision. Today, 12 percent of Telangana’s income comes from Shamshabad Airport alone. Investments that have become prisoner-like are being ruined and driven away. They are campaigning that something will happen to the data center. They have filed a PIL with the YSRCP on TCS and Cognizant. If unemployed youth are provided jobs, they don’t understand what the problem is.

*Key announcements in the coming months*
There will be some more key announcements in November. If critics were to be believed, ISB would not have come to Hyderabad then. If today’s investment is going to a neighboring state, I myself will enter the field. A vibrant ecosystem can develop only through vertical and horizontal integration. There will be good news in November. When Google decided to invest in Southeast Asia, I approached them. I consulted with Google Cloud representatives. If there were 3-4 policy issues at the center and in the states, we resolved them. AP now has a double engine bullet train government. We are competing with other states in terms of investment. India has won with the arrival of Google. The Prime Minister is working seriously on the Make in India policy. There is nothing wrong in competing with other states for industries.

*There was no investment except the palace at that time*
During Jaganmohan Reddy’s rule, the state did not receive a single investment except for the palace built at a cost of Rs 700 crore. After we came, we brought many industries like TCS, ANSR, Satwa. We are decentralizing development. When the IT Minister was asked about investments that day, he told chicken egg stories. When the representatives of IT companies in Visakhapatnam were asked to just lay buses, he could not do that either. We laid buses as soon as we came. What does he know about data centers? During the YSRCP rule, a global investors summit was held in Visakhapatnam. When asked about the names of the companies then, he could not name a single name. We are also holding a partnership summit next month. However, we are moving forward without stopping for that summit. Google will invest 15 billion in five years. We will give them capital subsidy as per the data center policy. We will give electricity subsidy on the tariff decided by APERC.

*Double engine bullet train in AP*
The double engine bullet train in AP is a milestone not only for the state but also for the country. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has given full support to bring Google. Today, various sectors have developed across the country with the change in aviation policy and telecom regulation policies. We have worked together with the Center on matters of national interest. The state will develop very rapidly in the future. After the people’s government came to power in the state, we prevented the privatization of Visakhapatnam Steel. We are going to lay the foundation stone of BPCL refinery. We are going to lay the foundation stone of ArcelorMittal Steel Plant next month itself, we have done so much work in 17 months. We are working with the aim of providing jobs to the youth of the state. We are giving priority to ecosystem development through Ratan Tata Innovation Hub. We have placed the main hub in Amaravati and nodes in major cities. We have appointed a young IAS officer to work effectively. We are setting up a Center of Excellence and monitoring it. TCS campus is coming to Visakhapatnam in November and Cognizant in December. This is possible only with continuous follow-up.

*AI skill training in collaboration with Google*
We have instructed the Higher Education Department to work with Google, TCS and Cognizant to enhance AI skills among the youth of the state. Ratan Tata Innovation Hub is also working for this. Along with bringing projects, we will also do skill development in parallel. So far, the state has received investment commitments of 125 billion dollars. We are focusing on new investments. We are going to Australia from 18th to 25th of this month. We have also sent emails to Google to prevent some from coming to the state. In the past, similar emails were sent to Singaporean industrialists. Our goal is to make AP No. 1 in all sectors. In the past, they said that computers will provide food, and that airports will provide jobs. Chandrababu convinced Bill Gates and brought him to Hyderabad. This time, the sector has changed, the scale is bigger. With the implementation of electricity reforms, the people of the state have benefited by Rs. 800 crore by reducing the unit by 13 paise. Electricity charges will also be reduced. Talented youth, a Chief Minister with a track record, and renewable energy at low prices are our specialties.

*Our goal is 6 gigawatt data centers in Visakhapatnam*
Recently, Sify company did the ground breaking for a 500 megawatt data center in Visakhapatnam. Our goal is to set up 6 gigawatt data centers in Visakhapatnam in the coming days. For this, we will provide all the infrastructure within the Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor. In 2014, Chandrababu laid the foundation for renewable energy. A large amount of investments have come. Pumped storage projects have come. The previous government killed a thousand megawatt thermal project in Visakhapatnam and bought it at Rs 18 per unit. Now we are buying only 10 percent compared to the past. Electricity charges have increased due to the incompetence of the previous rulers. Our policy is true down. Ours is the Naidu 4.0 team… We are working together because of flexibility. We are working to make India proud. When the previous government canceled PPAs, people had to bear the burden of 9 thousand crores. With their actions, many financial institutions created a situation where investments in AP were risky.

*PPP to benefit poor students*
We brought the PPP policy to complete medical colleges quickly and benefit poor students. It is not possible for the government to build all the medical colleges due to financial difficulties. That is why we brought the PPP policy. In the past, we said that if 42 percent of seats were given to poor students, 50 percent of seats in PPP colleges should be given free to the poor. We are working with the aim of improving quality and providing better opportunities. PPP is not about selling. We are not selling government assets. We are only making investors partners in development. YCP has no clarity on this matter. When NTR’s medical service working in PPP is good, how can medical colleges be wrong? YCP is harmful to the health of Andhra Pradesh. We have suffered severely during the five years of YCP rule. We are moving forward with a positive attitude. If there are industries known to YCP leaders, we will invite them. If there are good companies, bring them and take the credit for that yourself. This will make Andhra Pradesh win. If regional hatreds and caste divisions are created, then Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has no intention of leaving anyone behind.