Young and dynamic leader Nara Lokesh, the IT and Human Resources Development Minister of Andhra Pradesh, has set an ambitious goal of attracting $1 trillion in investments into the state. Lokesh noted that compared to other Indian states, Andhra Pradesh had been a late starter in drawing large-scale investments after Telangana was carved out in 2014.
“In the last 17 months alone, we have been able to attract investments worth $120 billion into the state,” he said confidently, expressing optimism about achieving his larger goal. Lokesh credited the leadership and guidance of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, saying that the entire team is “working like his missiles” toward the state’s development mission.
In an interview with an English news publication, Lokesh explained how the state is strategizing and convincing investors to channel their funds into Andhra Pradesh. “We are focusing more on the speed of grounding projects than only on the Ease of Doing Business. In fact, we call it the ‘Speed of Doing Business’. By maintaining speed, we handhold projects through their entire life cycle. Any delay in grounding large investments increases interest costs,” he said.
Citing an example, he said, “Google signed a $15 billion investment in Andhra Pradesh. A six-month delay would have escalated costs, so we have shifted our focus to running faster.”
Lokesh emphasized that while incentives are common across states, AP’s advantage lies in execution speed. “Incentives alone don’t work — ArcelorMittal’s investment is a prime example. We understood their requirements, worked with them honestly, and got everything done efficiently,” he said, countering claims that AP offers excessive incentives to attract investors.
Confident about the upcoming Partnership Summit scheduled for November 14–15 in Visakhapatnam, Lokesh said the event is expected to pull in $100 billion in investments and create 700,000 jobs, with over 410 MoUs to be signed.
When asked about his verbal exchanges with ministers from neighboring Karnataka over investment competition, Lokesh responded candidly: “They pissed me off with their comments. We behaved in a dignified manner, but they provoked us. We’ll respond politically, but we won’t hit below the belt.”
He added that in regions without existing industry ecosystems, the state is offering land at as low as 99 paise per acre to attract companies. “Without such incentives, firms like TCS and Cognizant would prefer expanding in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, or Chennai,” he explained.
Lokesh also reiterated that employment generation remains a top priority. “Investments alone are not enough. The NDA government promised to create 2 million jobs. We are aligning the supply and demand of skill sets and closing the gaps to stay ahead in the race,” he said.
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