N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) may make another foray into technology in 2024, with the coastal state of Andhra Pradesh emerging as a new manufacturing hub.
He is regarded as a technology investor who is widely credited with transforming Hyderabad into a technology powerhouse. Even in his party’s mostly welfare-oriented manifesto, there was mention of supporting artificial intelligence in a predominantly agrarian society. And in 2024, N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) may have another foray into technology, with the coastal state of Andhra Pradesh emerging as a new manufacturing hub.
With the TDP’s support crucial for the BJP-led NDA to stake claim at forming the next central government – after the latter failed to secure a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha elections – Naidu’s party is believed to be staking a claim for one of its elected MPs to potentially lead the IT Ministry, among others. If that were to come true, BJP leaders expect that a number of centrally subsidised manufacturing projects could land in Andhra Pradesh – significantly changing the country’s tech production map.
Naidu frequently recalls meeting Microsoft founder Bill Gates in the 1990s (when he was Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh). According to him, the meeting was supposed to last just 10 minutes but ended up lasting 45 minutes. During that conversation, he claimed to have persuaded the corporation to open a development center in Hyderabad. Gates listened, and the software giant established a center in the city in 1998, paving the way for Hyderabad to emerge as a vital IT sector hub in India.
Today, Hyderabad is home to some of the biggest names in technology, including the likes of Google, IBM, Amazon, Hewlett-Packard, and Texas Instruments, among others. Focus on tech has been a defining theme of Naidu’s and TDP leadership. In 2019, during his previous stint as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, he signed a memorandum of understanding with the Adani Group to build data centre parks in and around Visakhapatnam over the next 20 years.
One recurrent concern stated by certain state politicians during the previous BJP-majority government was that a number of new projects, notably in the electronics sector, were allocated to Gujarat. A senior BJP politician stated that with a TDP MP in charge, Andhra Pradesh may potentially attract investments in the technology manufacturing sector, particularly those that would be built up with central government subsidies, such as semiconductor assembly factories, laptop and mobile manufacturing facilities. The IT Ministry is the primary department in charge of providing subsidies for a variety of electronics production schemes, including semiconductors, cellphones, laptops, and servers.
“The TDP would certainly push projects to land up in Andhra Pradesh, which will potentially change the tech manufacturing map of India, which so far has largely been concentrated in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka,” said another leader. Foxlink, an Apple supplier that manufactures cables for iPhone chargers, already has a presence in the state, potentially allowing other such suppliers to set up shop in Andhra Pradesh.
With Hyderabad no longer the official joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Naidu’s party – expected to be a key player in the new government’s cabinet – could capitalise the opportunity to develop the capital city of Amravati, along with pulling a number of manufacturing projects along the Visakhapatnam Chennai Industrial Corridor. “This, in turn, would give the party leverage in the state over its local rival YSRCP as well,” a BJP leader said.
Naidu’s newfound kingmaker status could help resolve the financial constraints that have hit the construction of his dream capital of Andhra Pradesh, Amravati for the designs of which he had roped in British architects Foster and Partners and Baahubali director Rajamouli. However, the project has far from taken off, especially after the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank dropped plans to lend funding for the capital project due to political uncertainty in the state.
Amravati has been central to Naidu’s politics and a subject of stiff tension between TDP and opposition Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) who had stopped awarding contracts in Amaravati citing irregularities during his tenure. While Reddy wants Visakhapatnam to be the administrative capital of AP, Naidu has vowed to back Amravati.
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Last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) reported that land acquired by successive state governments remained idle after spending Rs 2,244.94 crore, and that the Land Pooling Scheme’s (LPS) aim was not met.
The TDP’s manifesto for the Andhra Pradesh Assembly election provides insight into the potential future path of the ministry and the manufacturing industry.
While criticizing Andhra Pradesh’s large number of unemployed undergraduates, the manifesto promised to build specific employment zones in the state’s north, south, and central areas. There was a pledge to incentivize medium and small businesses that create a large number of jobs.
“We will restore the brand AP which has been destroyed for the past five years, attract foreign investments on a large scale and increase the income of the state by setting up industries, and give a big boost to the creation of job and employment opportunities. Adequate promotion through use of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning to a full extent under the new industrial policy,” TDP’s manifesto said.
It also promised to bring in more automotive companies to the state and set up Rayalaseema, the state’s southern belt, as an automobile hub. Under Naidu, the state had successfully attracted companies like Kia and Isuzu to set up production plants. The TDP government would also develop the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor as an industrial cluster connecting the key towns of Rayalaseema.