Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh lounge, set up at World Economic Forum (WEF), has turned into a centre of attraction for global delegates with the display of innovative methods and technology being used for the development of the state. Adani Transmission MD and CEO Anil Sardana said that they would develop a district cooling system and connect with Smart city in Amaravati.
Minister for IT and panchayat raj Nara Lokesh attended the WEF conference, along with a team of officials. On the first day of the conference, Mr Lokesh was seen busy interacting with CEOs of various world business groups.
The minister interacted with Anil Sardana and discussed on early completion of the data centre and solar project in AP. Anil Sardana appreciated the pro-active and logical support that was facilitated by the Government of AP under the leadership of AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Anil Sardana said they chose AP, despite the pressure from Maharastra to set up Adani group. He expressed interest to work with Amaravati.
Later, Mr Lokesh interacted with WEF Agile Governance Team and discussed on interlinking and upgrading of technology to improve the services to people.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister stressed the need for upgrading technology to improve government services. He said various issues of people should be solved using technology. The minister said that Andhra Pradesh Government has been extending people friendly services through real time governance. He said the State Government has been extending services, including soil testing, water-levels in reservoirs, ground water-levels and weather forecasting using Real Time Governance. He said that a call centre was set up in RTG to register and resolve the grievances of people in real time. Later, the minister interacted with Wipro Ltd. strategy officer and Nasscom executive council chairman Rishad Premji and discussed on innovation and changing technologies. The Minister said skill development programme plays a key role in providing employment opportunities to youth. He said a platform would be developed with the cooperation of NASSCOM for promoting future skills. Speaking on the occasion, Rishad Premji said
the Wipro Group has been concentrating on development of technology in AP and special concentration would be laid on Fintech, Blockchain, Big data. He said Atal Tinkering Labs and hackathons are being organised in AP to promote innovative ideas among students.
Lokesh, later, interacted with Delloite Global Chairman David Cruickshank. The Minister said that Andhra Pradesh has been marching forward despite State bifurcation issues and planning to emerge as the number one in the country by 2029. He said AP achieved 12 per cent growth. Lokesh said that AP has been implementing paperless government policy. Files are being cleared through e-Governance. He said the State Government has been providing TV, internet and phone facility to each house through AP Fiber Grid, with a minimum charge of Rs 149 per month.
Later, the Minister for IT participated in the World Economic Forum session on Country Strategy Dialogue on India. The session discussed on industrial development, reforms and employment generation for youth.
