Andhra Pradesh is on the cusp of tech revolution, says Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday highlighted the State’s ambition to emerge as a global hub for advanced technologies, particularly in quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the transformative impact AI was expected to have on governance, economies, and everyday life.

Speaking on ‘Technology, governance and the future’, at the Raisina Dialogue, jointly organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Ministry of External Affairs, in New Delhi, Mr. Naidu said Andhra Pradesh was a happening place as huge investments were pouring in, especially from the likes of Google, which was setting up a 1-GW data centre with an  investment of $15 billion in Visakhapatnam.

He noted that Andhra Pradesh would have a quantum computer in Amaravati and it would hog the global limelight in the foreseeable future. It was poised to become operational by the end of 2026, and A.P. was also set to make its mark in the manufacture and supply of quantum computers to the world.

AI would soon play a major role in a person’s day-to-day life and radically change the way businesses were done, he said, and asserted that there would be no area that would be untouched by AI and related technologies.

The Chief Minister emphasised the growing importance of data and emerging technologies, pointing out that data was wealth and much depended on how the governments used it. “The changes that are going to be witnessed will be transformative,” he said.

Mr. Naidu said India’s tradition of tolerance, dialogue and cooperation would continue to guide the country’s development. “India has a rich legacy of tolerance and discussion through dialogue. Today, the Central and the State governments are working together through cooperative federalism. This cooperation helped India maintain a strong economic growth rate,” he observed, giving due credit for it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Further, the Chief Minister highlighted the demographic challenges in South India and outlined the State’s new Population Management Policy as an effective way to address the issue of declining fertility rates.

ORF centre

ORF President Samir Saran expressed his wish to set up an ORF Centre for the South in Amaravati, which Mr. Naidu welcomed and offered to extend all possible support for it right away.