IT Minister Nara Lokesh meeting Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, U.S. Photo: Special Arrangement

Minister for IT and Electronics Nara Lokesh met Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the company headquarters in Redmond on Tuesday (October 29, 2024).

Mr. Lokesh is on a week-long visit to the U.S. since October 25 to attract investments.

During their interaction, Mr. Lokesh recalled how under his father and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s visionary leadership, Hyderabad had been transformed into an IT hub.  He said Mr. Naidu was working on plans to make Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) a leader in the technology sector. 

The government needed the support of Microsoft in the development of IT hubs and innovation parks across the State. Mr. Lokesh said A.P. has land and policies favourable for investments, as well as cloud infrastructure and data centres, which give it the potential to become a regional centre for global companies. 

Mr. Nadella stated that Microsoft was a global leader in software, cloud computing, and enterprise technology, with a market cap of $3.10 trillion. He promised to look into the opportunities in various sectors in  A.P., especially enabling the State to adopt AI in digital governance. 

Later, the Minister visited the headquarters of Apple Inc. at San Francisco, where he met the company’s vice – president (operations) Priya Balasubramaniam and requested her to consider investing in A.P., by highlighting the State’s infrastructure facilities and business-friendly policies. 

On the occasion, Mr. Lokesh appreciated Ms. Subramaniam’s significant role in managing Apple’s supply chain and its manufacturing operations. He said the A.P. Government was prepared to support Apple’s expansion by providing the necessary resources and facilities. 

Mr. Lokesh pointed out that A.P. has four electronic manufacturing clusters and Apple could choose one of them to set up its manufacturing unit. AP has easy access to major markets and was strategically positioned for investments. 

It (the State) offers an ideal ecosystem for manufacturing and distribution with world-class infrastructure, including modern ports and roadways to support logistics and supply chain management, the Minister added. 

Further, Mr. Lokesh called on Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen at California. He sought Mr. Narayen’s support in developing A.P. as a technology hub and in improving the digital skills of youth.