DAVOS: Lokesh Projects AP As Future-Ready Hub For Digital Innovation
“State best-suited for advanced styles of manufacturing and infrastructure investments”
VIJAYAWADA: Education and IT minister Nara Lokesh held a series of high-level meetings with global technology and investment leaders on the fourth day of the World Economic Forum meet in Davos.
Lokesh pitched Andhra Pradesh as a future-ready hub for digital innovation, advanced manufacturing and large-scale infrastructure investments.
In a meeting with Tech Mahindra CEO and MD Mohit Joshi, the minister urged the company to accelerate plans for a major IT campus in Vijayawada that is envisaged to employ between 5,000 and 10,000 professionals, and to fast-track delivery expansion in Visakhapatnam.
He also proposed the setting up of a dedicated skilling campus in Vijayawada or Visakhapatnam focusing on AI and ML, cloud and IoT, cybersecurity and Industry 4.0 technologies.
Seeking support for the startup ecosystem, Lokesh called for a partnership with the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to mentor and scale Andhra Pradesh–based startups, besides establishing centres of excellence in smart manufacturing and industrial automation at IIT Tirupati and a quantum computing lab in the Amaravati Quantum Valley.
Joshi said Tech Mahindra would examine the proposals, noting that the company had already partnered with the state to establish India’s first state-wide Cyber Security Operations Centre.
Lokesh also met Blackstone chairman and CEO Stephen A Schwarzman, inviting the global investment major to explore Grade-A office spaces and integrated mixed-use developments in Visakhapatnam through platforms such as Embassy Office Parks and Nexus Select Trust.
He highlighted opportunities for industrial and logistics parks along the Chennai–Bengaluru and Visakhapatnam–Chennai industrial corridors, and pitched Visakhapatnam as a strong contender for hyperscale data centre investments, citing coastal connectivity, reliable power and digital infrastructure.
Schwarzman said Blackstone would study the proposals. He said the firm was already developing a 500 MW hyperscale data centre campus near Navi Mumbai with an investment of about `20,000 crore.
In another interaction, Lokesh met Capgemini CEO Aiman Ezzat, seeking the establishment of an integrated IT development centre, global capability centre and vertical BPM hub in Visakhapatnam. He also proposed partnerships with state universities to co-develop digital talent pipelines and emerging technology labs in AI, cloud, cybersecurity and digital engineering, along with joint mentoring of startups through RTIH.
Ezzat said Capgemini planned to hire 45,000 professionals in India to build an AI- and cloud-ready workforce and would consider the state’s proposals.
