VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet on Tuesday allotted 21.16 acres of land in Visakhapatnam for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at a symbolic lease price of just 99 paisa. State IT Minister Nara Lokesh, who was instrumental in the allotment of the land to the tech giant said that the company will invest Rs 1370 crore in the unit that will be built on the allotted land and would create as many as 12,000 jobs.
Lokesh had visited Tata House in October last year and made a strong pitch for TCS to set up a large development centre in the state.
With continuous follow-ups and discussions between the state government and the TCS, Lokesh ultimately succeeded in paving the way for what is being seen as a significant step towards attracting investments and creating a vibrant IT sector in the state.
Apart from the land allotment, the Cabinet also approved an ordinance to implement the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes (SC) into 3 groups for fair reservation based on population and social status.
The Cabinet also approved the lowest bids (L1) for two key Amaravati projects, including Assembly Building (Rs 617.33 crore) and High Court Building (Rs 786.05 crore). It also cleared the Andhra Pradesh Minor Mineral Policy 2025, intended to revive the mining sector and ease burdens on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMES). Mining, which once contributed 3.53% to the state's GDP in 2018-19, has seen a decline to 2.71% in 2023-24.
The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, also approved SIPB decisions taken on April 10, 2025, for industrial proposals, land allocation, incentives, and infrastructure support. Since July 2024, SIPB has approved Rs 4.62 lakh crore worth of projects with the potential to generate 4.23 lakh jobs.
Besides approving proposals to enhance APMDC's financial position and credit worthiness, the Cabinet also authorised the issuance of Rs 9,000 crore bonds and the conversion of APMDC into a public company.
Other key decisions taken at the Cabinet:
Approved creation of State Climate Centre (S-C3) under CITIIS 2.0 for climate planning and data-driven governance.
Approved DPRs for 11kV mixed agricultural feeder separation in three districts under RDSS scheme.
Approved free land allocation (6.35 acres) in Guntur district for 100- bed ESIC Hospital and staff quarters
Approved 516.58 acres in Vizianagaram district for a Greyhounds Training Centre.
Approved Rs 106.39 crore for head regulator and feeder canal works under Veligonda Project; work orders to MEIL & SCL Infra.