VIJAYAWADA: Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh has said that the State government is working to move from a ‘Jugaad’ approach to institutionalising speed, while inviting industry and technology leaders to contribute to the State’s development journey.
Addressing the Pan-IIT Andhra Pradesh Summit 2026 in Vijayawada on Saturday, he said Andhra Pradesh offers an ideal ‘sandbox’ or ‘testbed’ for new ideas and initiatives.
Minister Lokesh said the State has an opportunity to make India proud, as successful initiatives implemented in Andhra Pradesh could be adopted by other states. He attributed this to the strength of competitive federalism, where states increasingly compete with each other to attract innovation, investment and development.
Minister Lokesh said one of the leaders on the dais had received a call from a neighbouring State questioning why the Pan-IIT event was being held in Vijayawada and asking why it could not be organised in that State. He said the fact that such a response came within 24 hours demonstrated the growing spirit of competition among Indian states.
Lokesh said Andhra Pradesh should aim to create an ‘island of excellence’ that can serve as a model for the rest of the country. He expressed confidence that if the State demonstrates what is possible through innovation and speed, other states would adopt and replicate those initiatives.
He said this approach is aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, under which states compete, innovate and collectively contribute to India’s development.
Lokesh said PanIIT represents people who have built companies, driven innovation, conducted substantive research and built entire industries around their areas of expertise.
He said the PanIIT Federation brings together 23 IITs and nearly 500,000 alumni, making the entire ecosystem more robust and stronger. He said it was exciting to see the entire community gathered in AP and thanked the PanIIT Federation for choosing Amaravati and A P to host this edition.
Lokesh said CM N Chandrababu Naidu needs no introduction and described his leadership journey through different “versions” of an operating system. “You have seen version 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and now he is in 4.0,” he said, adding that, like an operating system, the Chief Minister keeps getting better as he enters his new term. He said what makes the current term different is that the Chief Minister is ‘backed by young hardware.’ He pointed out that 50% of the legislators are first-timers, while 17 out of 25 Ministers are first-timers.
