Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who has been credited with putting Hyderabad on the map when it comes to technology, is now gearing up to develop Anantapur city in AP into another iconic IT hub and technology centre.
For this, Naidu is said to have already contacted Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and persuaded him to open a centre in Anantapur, which according to Naidu is not only a city with knowledgeable workers, but is also well connected with key Indian cities like Mumbai and Bangalore.
As Telangana is going to retain Hyderabad as its capital city after 10 years, Naidu aims to develop IT and technology centres in AP. For the task, Anantapur is Naidu's first choice as the city has human resources and other infrastructure like land.
Industry expert JA Chowdary, Convenor of Industrial Development Forum, believes that Naidu is moving in the right direction by inviting Microsoft to Anantapur. The city holds a special place for Nadella's heart too, as it is his hometown. The CEO reportedly often visits Bukkapuram in Anantapur whenever he is in India.
Reports say that last Tuesday, Naidu spoke to Nadella and assured him of all government's help in establishing a Microsoft development centre in Anantapur. During his previous stint as CM, Naidu is credited with convincing Bill Gates to set up Microsoft's biggest software development centre in Hyderabad
The State government's idea is first to persuade one or two large global software companies like Microsoft to make an entry in Anantapur and later, other companies will follow suit. Naidu was nicknamed as "CEO of Andhra Pradesh" when he was the chief minister between 1995 and 2004. He was known for his business-friendly nature and during his reign Hyderabad was developed into a tech hub.
Naidu has experience and contacts with leaders in IT and other industrial businesses. Nasscom vice-president Rajiv Vaishnav too believes that he is capable of dealing with such tech giants.
"The companies know that here is a doer. Given an opportunity or invitation by him, global players are more likely to consider it following necessary analysis," The Times of India quoted Vaishnav.
Additionally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also promised to extend all help from the centre to develop the state into a hardware and software technology hub. Naidu has another big support from his son Lokesh and his daughter-in-law Brahmani. The IT savvy couple is an alumni of top US universities and Lokesh has now become a full time leader in TDP after heading family business Heritage Foods for a number of years.
