VIJAYAWADA: The week-long US visit of Minister for Human Resource Development and Information Technology Nara Lokesh concluded on a successful note.
The IT Minister, who met representatives of more than 100 major companies, has succeeded in gaining the trust of industrialists by explaining the investment opportunities in Andhra Pradesh and highlighting the vision of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
He held meetings with representatives of globally renowned companies like Microsoft, Tesla, Amazon, Apple, Google Cloud, Salesforce and others. As the special guest at the IT Survey Synergy Summit held in Las Vegas on October 29, wherein representatives of 2,300 small and medium companies from 23 countries were present, Lokesh highlighted the favourable atmosphere available in AP for investments.
He also instilled confidence among the representatives of US-India Business Council and Indian Diaspora, emphasising that this is the right time to invest in AP. Lokesh, a product of Stanford University, explained the AP government’s policies of digital governance and Ease of Doing Business.
With several industrialists responding positively to the proposals put forth by Lokesh, MoUs on a large scale are expected to be signed during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting at Davos in January 2025.
Before winding up his US visit, Lokesh met industrialists in New York, and highlighted that the progressive government under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has introduced the ecosystem needed for setting up industries, and also extending special incentives to provide jobs to the youth on a large scale.
Mentioning that the Economic Development Board (EDB) is working actively to ensure the issuance of permissions without any delay for industries that come up with a blueprint, Lokesh told them that AP has the most favourable atmosphere for setting up their units.
The State has the largest road connectivity with a wide coastal network extending to 974 km. An international airport will become operational at Bhogapuram in just another 18 months, which will change the complete profile of North Coastal Andhra. Also, four more new ports will come up at Mulapet, Kakinada Gateway, Machilipatnam and Ramayapatnam as the works are going on at a brisk pace.
For the first time in the country, the AP government has taken up skill census to make the necessary manpower available for industries. Necessary changes are also being brought in the curriculum of various universities to make the students industry-ready, the IT Minister informed.
Lokesh exuded confidence that the proposed Artificial Intelligence (AI) University in Amaravati will certainly produce AI experts of global standards. The State is moving fast on a growth path, he said, urging the industrialists to invest in AP to become partners in its development.