Lokesh Pitches Accenture Global Delivery Centre For Visakhapatnam

Vijayawada:Education and IT minister Nara Lokesh held a meeting with Accenture chief strategy & services officer Manish Sharma on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, seeking deeper collaboration in emerging technologies and digital talent development.

The minister invited Accenture to establish a Global Delivery Centre in Visakhapatnam, highlighting the city’s rapidly growing infrastructure, availability of skilled talent, and an expanding technology ecosystem.

He urged the global consulting major to leverage Visakhapatnam’s strengths to focus on artificial intelligence, cloud services, and digital operations.

The minister emphasised the need to build a robust digital talent pipeline to prepare youth for future-ready careers. He sought Accenture’s support in workforce development tailored to the company’s requirements and collaboration with the AP government on skill development initiatives through the Future Ready Skills Network.

Lokesh also proposed Accenture’s partnership in the Amaravati Quantum Valley, particularly in quantum computing applications, ecosystem development, and startup support. He suggested linking Accenture’s Innovation Lab—focused on Gen AI, extended reality (XR), and blockchain—with the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote co-innovation and advanced research, an official release said.

Responding, Sharma said Accenture had launched a Generative AI Studio in Bengaluru in 2023 as part of its global $3 billion investment plan in AI over three years. The company, he said, is significantly ramping up investments in AI and digital talent development and has set a target of training 80,000 AI-focused professionals this financial year, with a major focus on India.

Sharma said Accenture would place the AP government’s proposals before its senior leadership team and take a considered decision after internal consultations.