'IT Then, AI Now': Chandrababu Naidu Firm On Putting Andhra Pradesh At Forefront Of New Tech Age

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said the state will be at the forefront of the boom in artificial intelligence and big data investment in India, besides focusing on traditional industries like metals and shipping.

"I visualised the potential of IT in the 1990s. I told Bill Gates to come to Hyderabad. It was IT then, it is AI now," Naidu said, in reference to Google's $15 billion plan to build a data centre and AI hub in Vishakhapatnam. He was speaking exclusively with NDTV's Vishnu Som on Thursday.

The new facility will bring together gigawatt-scale compute capacity, a new international subsea gateway, and large-scale clean energy infrastructure.

Hyderabad became Telangana's capital in 2014 after Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation.

The Gates Foundation is working on digital health records in Andhra Pradesh as a proof-of-concept that can be scaled globally, Naidu said.

He also said the state government used historical weather data, technological models, and real-time monitoring to deal with a recent cyclone, saving lives and property.

Andhra Pradesh will invite "huge investments" in metals, sand mining, and steel, Naidu said. "We will build a 'Steel City' that will integrate downstream and ancillary industries."

On the Amaravati capital city project, the CM said that the construction of government and private buildings will finish in the coming few years. The city will be sustainable with modern infrastructure and renewable power.

Andhra Pradesh is working on a plan to develop ports every 60 kilometres to exploit its vast coastline for commerce and link them with roads and inland waterways to create arterial infrastructure. "I want to make it a logistics hub for the east coast, a gateway. We have to push for shipbuilding in the country. Domestic and foreign companies are interested."