Andhra Pradesh is preparing a global roadshow aimed at pitching Visakhapatnam as a destination for global capability centres (GCCs), as the state sharpens its strategy to attract high-value technology and services investments.
The proposed outreach will target top multinational clients of Cognizant, with the state positioning Visakhapatnam as a dedicated GCC city supported by policy incentives and infrastructure build-out.
What did Nara Lokesh say?
“I am working with Cognizant to do a road show (targeting their) top 100 clients and bringing them to Vishakhapatnam and creating an entire GCC city with them. Parallelly I am working with developers to build the entire ecosystem,” Nara Lokesh, minister for IT, electronics, and human resources development, said on the sidelines of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new AM/NS integrated steel plant.
The push comes as Andhra Pradesh seeks to move beyond incremental IT expansion to building a deeper, employment-intensive services base anchored in global firms. Subsidised land, along with planned investments in housing, commercial real estate and urban amenities, are being used to make the proposition competitive.
Alongside, the state is reworking its education and skilling framework in partnership with industry. Curricula are being aligned to emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing and material sciences, with a focus on practical exposure and applied learning.
“The youth of India and more so youth of Andhra Pradesh cannot afford to be complacent. AI is a threat for us, but then every crisis presents itself with opportunities,” Lokesh said.
$2.4 trillion economy by 2047
Andhra Pradesh is aiming to grow from an estimated $200 billion economy to $2.4 trillion by 2047, implying a sustained annual growth rate of about 15%. Manufacturing and services are expected to drive this shift, reducing reliance on agriculture.
“We are currently tracking 760 projects. These are projects that are signed. And we are now similarly focused on grounding these projects,” Lokesh said.
The GCC push is embedded within a wider cluster-based development strategy covering 22 sectors, including steel, electronics, renewable energy and medical devices. The model combines anchor companies with supplier ecosystems, supported by education, skilling and testing infrastructure.
This is being rolled out across three economic regions – Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Tirupati– with integrated planning for logistics, energy and urban infrastructure.
(The correspondent is in Visakhapatnam at the invitation of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India)