7 months ago
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Andhra Pradesh IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh said the accomplishment of Google’s AI Data Centre successful Visakhapatnam was the effect of a corporate effort betwixt the State and Union Governments. Describing it arsenic a arrogant infinitesimal for each citizen, helium said the milestone marks a large leap toward making Andhra Pradesh India’s adjacent exertion powerhouse.
Addressing a property league connected Wednesday (October 15, 2025), Mr. Lokesh revealed that the State had made respective legislative amendments to facilitate this mega investment, portion the Centre was actively considering taxation incentives for investors.
“The Centre is moving connected it and volition denote the details soon. The State has offered incentives akin to those fixed to Kia Motors and different investors, amounting to astir 7% of the full investment,” helium explained, adding that the nonstop figures volition look arsenic the task progresses.
Within conscionable 17 months, Andhra Pradesh has go the “most investment-ready State” nether the “double-engine, bullet-train” enactment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, helium said. “Some tried to dissuade Google, conscionable arsenic they erstwhile discouraged Singapore investors. But Andhra Pradesh has risen supra negativity. This is not conscionable Andhra’s success, it is India’s pride,” helium remarked. “The State has already received concern commitments worthy $125 billion, and absorption is present connected speedy implementation,” helium added.
Recalling the aboriginal stages of the deal, Mr. Lokesh said, “When Google executives archetypal visited Visakhapatnam successful September 2024, we identified imaginable sites. Later, during meetings successful the U.S., they sought national-level argumentation changes. Mr. Naidu, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Union IT and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw worked intimately with the Prime Minister to marque those amendments possible.”
Responding to questions, Mr. Lokesh confirmed that respective different States had competed for the task but failed to lucifer Andhra’s investor-friendly approach. “After assessing aggregate planetary destinations, Google chose Andhra for its unmatched velocity of doing concern and sustained authorities support. Just arsenic Microsoft transformed Hyderabad, Google volition alteration Visakhapatnam. What took Hyderabad 3 decades, Visakhapatnam volition execute successful ten,” helium said, outlining the government’s imaginativeness for a $1 trillion economy.
Turning to the vigor sector, Mr. Lokesh said inefficiency nether the erstwhile authorities caused a steep emergence successful powerfulness tariffs. “They scrapped a 1,000 MW thermal task successful Visakhapatnam, forcing the State to bargain powerfulness astatine ₹18 per unit. Now, each plants are operating astatine afloat capacity, and purchases person dropped to conscionable 10% of earlier levels,” helium stated.
On the contented of “true-up” charges, helium said, “We are moving to forestall them. Our ‘True Down’ argumentation ensures transparency and ratio successful the powerfulness sector.” He reiterated that nether Chief Minister Naidu’s leadership, the authorities remains committed to balanced determination improvement nether the rule of “One State, One Capital, and Decentralised Growth.”
