Roundup: Jagan's Davos Tour Fruitful

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s interactions with the captains of industry at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos culminated in the clinching of some big business deals for the State, especially the pact signed with the WEF for support to advanced manufacturing that paves the way for a significant reduction in pollution, and manufacturing of world-class products.

Officials of Industries Department and AP-Economic Development Board (AP-EDB) signed a slew of MoUs in various sectors.

The agreements entered with Adani, Greenko and Aurobindo for green energy projects account for a major chunk (Rs 1.25 lakh crore) of the total investments that were committed. 

These MoUs are expected to give a fillip to the efforts to transform the State into a hub for Industry 4.0. A total of 27,700 MW of clean energy will be available once the above projects go on stream. 

Besides, ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal expressed keenness on making big-ticket investments in green energy along with Greenko in the State.

The Andhra Pradesh government signed an MoU with Ace Urban Developers for setting up a decarbonised manufacturing unit in Machilipatnam, which helps in tapping green energy on a large scale.

The Chief Minister laid due focus on port-based industrialisation and discussed the same with Dassault Systems and Mitsui OSK Lines. He detailed the State’s export promotion policy. Takeshi Hashimoto, president of the Japanese company, promised to extend support for the development of shipping and logistics sector.

Tech Mahindra has come forward to partner with Andhra University for drafting curriculum. The company’s MD and CEO C.P. Gurnani assured the CM of support in transforming Visakhapatnam into a technology hub with emphasis on artificial intelligence. 

Jagan also met IBM CEO Aravind Krishna and discussed technology and skill development initiatives, and had fruitful discussions with the founder-CEOs of various unicorn startups for investing in the State.

Silicon Valley-type ecosystem in Vizag

Efforts to develop a Silicon Valley-type startup ecosystem in Visakhapatnam by the Andhra Pradesh Government evoked a positive response at the 52nd annual meeting of World Economic Forum at Davos.

Armed with presentations by AP Economic Development Board (APEDB), AP Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (APIIC) and Industries Department, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy interacted with founders and CEOs of unicorn startups and assured that the State Government will take all measures required to make Vishakapatnam a unicorn startup hub.

The officials explained that with the second Millennium Tower getting ready, the city-the largest in Andhra Pradesh with annual export IT and ITES turnover of Rs 2,000 crore has bright scope to become a hub for venture capitalists and startups with a value of $1 billion. The government is also setting up a high-end skill university in the city with plans to rope in some big ticket projects.

During the interaction, the Chief Minister discussed the policy decisions to be taken to develop startups in Visakhapatnam and said all required resources will be provided.