AP banking on AI, green energy to accelerate growth, says Naidu

Vijayawada: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said that his govt was leveraging advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence(AI), to improve public service delivery, governance efficiency and productivity across sectors. Speaking after receiving the Economic Times Business Reformer of the Year award from Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Mumbai, Naidu said Andhra Pradesh adopted technology-enabled services such as AI Doctor, AI Tutor and AI Agronomy as part of its governance framework.Naidu said the NDA govt in Andhra Pradesh was committed to transparent and efficient governance based on the principles of Speed of Doing Business and Speed of Delivering Governance. He urged industrialists and entrepreneurs to recognise the speed and efficiency of approvals being provided in Andhra Pradesh.Naidu said reforms were essential for wealth creation and welfare implementation. He said Andhra Pradesh was promoting sectors such as green energy, battery manufacturing, pumped storage projects and green ammonia. While the Prime Minister set a national target of producing 500 GW of green energy, Naidu said Andhra Pradesh set a target of 160 GW and achieved 90 GW so far.The chief minister said the state's green energy push attracted global investments, including a $15-billion data centre project, for which the foundation stone would be laid in Visakhapatnam shortly. Naidu also announced that the first-level clearance was given to Reliance's 1 GW data center.The CM said he earlier had the opportunity to develop Cyberabad in the undivided state and was now working to build Amaravati as a futuristic blue-and-green city with a net-zero concept. He said Amaravati would emerge as a "Hyderabad-plus" city and evolve into a quantum valley, positioning the state as a technology hub.Naidu said his govt launched the P-4 programme to uplift the poor, under which the top 10% of economically stronger sections would support the bottom 20%. On the Women's Reservation Bill, Naidu questioned opposition parties for opposing it. He stated that the number of seats in the South would also increase by 50% after the bill's implementation.Raising concerns over falling fertility rates, Naidu said Andhra Pradesh introduced a population management policy, noting that the fertility rate stood at 1.9 nationally and 1.5 in the state.After receiving the award, the CM said the recognition would boost investor confidence and help attract more investments to Andhra Pradesh, adding that the current economic environment in the country was favourable for growth.