Minister of IT Nara Lokesh stated that it was the outcome of 13 months of relentless efforts that Google decided to venture into Visakhapatnam. He took the Google team himself to the site planned for the project and followed up with a visit to the corporate office of the company in America to persuade them to begin work on the project in Andhra Pradesh (AP).
While he was in Melbourne, Lokesh visited various programs and addressed the investment opportunities available in Andhra Pradesh. He emphasized the prospective sectors as follows:
He also extended an invitation to Australian investors to attend the Partnership Conference to be held in Visakhapatnam on November 14–15, where they can personally learn about AP's investment opportunities.
At the Australia-India Business Council (AIBC) Roadshow and also at a roundtable with Austrade, Lokesh set out the process of Google's investment.
"Google asked for policy changes in the central government before establishing in Visakhapatnam. We approached Prime Minister Modi, Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, and Ashwini Vaishnav to facilitate the changes," he said.
He further stated that this process would make India a global data center destination. Lokesh also stated that he had a Zoom session with Aditya Mittal and persuaded him to set up India's biggest steel plant in Andhra Pradesh, for which the foundation will be laid in November.
Participants included Elodie Jarnet (Austrade), Deepakraj Gupta (AIBC), Dr. Sushil Kumar (Indian Consul General, Melbourne), and Ashok (CII Director).
Lokesh revealed that Andhra Pradesh is one of India's most investment-friendly states. The state has received ₹10 lakh crore worth of investments since the government of the alliance has come to power in 16 months.
He stated that AP is currently second among the rapidly growing states and hopes to lead the table soon. Among the nine labor reforms proposed by the central government, eight have been put into action within 15 days.
Lokesh laid down the government's target to increase the state economy from $180 billion to $2.4 trillion by 2047. Investment in 15 sectors of major focus are being promoted, with particular emphasis on:
He informed that world-class logistics, three economic corridors, and emphasis areas such as deep tech, AI, and green hydrogen are key to AP's growth.
The government has launched 24 sectoral policies and Industrial Policy 4.0, which encourage ventures in drones, electronics, and semiconductors. At present, 193 million metric tons (MMT) of cargo pass through six operational ports in AP, while four additional ports (350 MMT capacity) will be available next year.
