Naidu's London Mission: How Andhra Pradesh Aims to Become Global Investment Hub

Taking to X, Naidu expressed his delight over the meeting and said they discussed strengthening trade relations, education partnerships, innovation, entrepreneurship, and diaspora engagement.

https://x.com/ncbn/status/1985494660304027738

"Delighted to meet Shri Vikram Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, in London today. We discussed strengthening trade relations, education collaboration, innovation, entrepreneurship, and diaspora engagement between Andhra Pradesh and the UK," Naidu wrote on X.

According to the release, the Chief Minister met with Ashok Hinduja, Chairman of the Hinduja Group (India), and Prakash Hinduja, Chairman of the group's European wing, at Buckinghamshire today. The Hinduja group decided to invest Rs 20,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh and signed MoUs with the AP Government.

The Hinduja group is expanding its existing 1050 MW thermal power plant in Visakhapatnam to 1600 MW. Decided to set up solar and wind energy plants in the Rayalaseema region and electric buses and light commercial vehicle units in Mallavalli of Krishna district. In addition, the group decided to take up EV charging network in the state.

CM Naidu said that the Hinduja group's initiative will lead to making Andhra Pradesh a green energy and Electric mobility hub. He said that the state government is keen on providing industry- friendly atmosphere in the state.

He said a special fast-track Window will be set up to materialise the Hinduja group proposals. He said a large number of youth will get employment opportunities with these investments.

Later, the Chief Minister met with Rolls-Royce group CTO Nikki Grady-Smith and explained the opportunities available in Andhra Pradesh.

He said opportunities are available to set up a military air strip and an aeroplane maintenance, repair, and overhauling unit at Orvakal in Kurnool district.

He said opportunities are available to set up production of aerospace components. He asked the group to study the feasibility of setting up GCC at Visakha and Tirupati and to establish an Aviation ecosystem near Bhogapuram airport. The group has expertise in manufacturing Aero engines and diesel propulsion systems.

The Chief Minister also met SRAM and MRAM group chairman Sailesh Hiranandani and Samco Holding Limited chairman Sampath Kumar Mallaya. These groups expressed interest in setting up a semiconductor production facility and a modern packaging unit.

The Chief Minister outlined the opportunities available in the state for establishing the battery energy storage sector. He explained to them the industry-friendly and business-friendly policies of the state, as well as the opportunities for investment in the Green Energy, Semiconductor, and Aviation sectors.

The Chief Minister met Chris Fitzgerald, Group Director, International Affairs, Octopus Energy International, and explained to him the opportunities for investments in the renewable energy sector, clean energy, Smart Grid, and Data analytics in the state.

Later in a round table conference the Chief Minister discussed with Paul Benton, MD, Association of British Health Tech Industry, Uday Nagaraju, Founder and CEO, AI policy lab, James Kenny, Director, Global Affairs, Arup, Freddie Woolland, Executive Director (Commonwealth Security and Resilience Group) Athenian Tech, Victoria Edwards, CEO and Co founder FIDO tech, Poonam Gupta, Co cEO Pg Paper Company Ltd, Prof Radha Boya, Nanoscience and Royal Society University Research Fellow, National Graphene Institute and Gaurav Marwaha, Strategic partnership manager, Warwick Manufacturing on the opportunities available in Andhra Pradesh in technology sector. He asked them to develop an eco system to produce experts in AI and other sectors.

- ANI