CM Naidu eyes 15 per cent economic growth for Andhra Pradesh

New Delhi, May 30 (IANS) India is on the cusp of becoming the world’s third-largest economy, and Andhra Pradesh is ready to lead from the front, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said on Friday.

In his address at the CII Annual Business Summit here, Naidu outlined a blueprint for Andhra Pradesh’s rapid economic growth with a 15 per cent annual target over 22 years to support India to reach developed country status. Central to this vision is transforming the state into a hub of next gen technologies, green energy, logistics, and manufacturing.

He mentioned that Andhra Pradesh is integrating ports, airports, railways, and inland waterways to lower logistics costs from 14 per cent to 8 per cent of GDP, matching global standards.

Naidu, emphasising his commitment to promoting speed of doing business, said: "My promise: one application, and we’ll handle the rest. All clearances in record time."

He also mentioned that the state has attracted Rs 5 lakh crore in investments, creating 4.5 lakh jobs in the past year alone. He urged industry leaders to invest in the state and become partners in its growth story.

Naidu expressed how he has always believed in creating ecosystems that don’t just attract investment but also inspire vision. He said that his mission is to build not just infrastructure but leadership - entrepreneurs who are job creators, not job seekers. Towards this, a Global Leadership Centre is being set up in Amravati to prepare the next generation of global visionaries.

The Chief Minister recalled India’s first-of-its-kind green building in Hyderabad, developed in partnership with the CII. He said that he now looks to building Amravati as the next frontier - a greenfield city driven by cutting-edge technologies, including quantum computing, AI, and biotechnology.

He announced that by January 2026, India’s first quantum computing facility will be operational in Amravati, and invited industry leaders to be co-architects of a futuristic, world-class urban ecosystem.

CII President Sanjiv Puri praised Naidu’s future-focused vision, saying: "From EoDB to Speed of Doing Business, from PPP to P4, you have always been ahead of the curve." He welcomed the idea of integrated rural industrial hubs, asking for Naidu’s views on balancing AI with employment and the roadmap for achieving double-digit growth.

--IANS

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