Plan to Put Visakhapatnam on Global IT Map
Defending the LIFT policy offering land at Rs 1 per acre for high-employment projects, Lokesh dismissed opposition criticism, noting that the high court had rejected a PIL against the allocations. Seeking bipartisan support, he urged legislators to prioritise investments and youth employment over politics.
Vijayawada: Minister N. Lokesh on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious roadmap to transform Visakhapatnam into a global technology hub, and set a target of five lakh jobs in the IT sector over the next five years.
Participating in the debate on the IT & Electronics Budget demands in the Assembly, Lokesh said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has tasked him with placing Visakhapatnam on the global IT map. “Hyderabad and Bengaluru took 30 years to build their ecosystems. We will achieve it in 10 years,” he asserted.
The minister said that since assuming office in 2024, the present government has signed 52 MoUs worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore in IT and electronics, promising 2.3 lakh jobs. Eight new policies — spanning electronic manufacturing, data centres, semiconductors, global capability centres and quantum computing — have been introduced.
Lokesh said, “Major investments include that of Cognizant, which has begun groundwork in Visakhapatnam and announced 25,000 jobs, with an estimated $1.8–2.2 billion economic impact. Google is set to establish a mega data centre with $15 billion FDI, while TCS will soon launch its development centre. A major semiconductor packaging facility by ASIC is also coming up.”
Defending the LIFT policy offering land at Rs 1 per acre for high-employment projects, Lokesh dismissed opposition criticism, noting that the high court had rejected a PIL against the allocations. Seeking bipartisan support, he urged legislators to prioritise investments and youth employment over politics.
