In the wake of newly-created Telangana state taking away major portion of the IT infrastructure of united Andhra Pradesh, technology-friendly Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has unfolded his plan to develop the state as a knowledge and innovation hub of global repute by promoting IT, electronics and e-Governance, once again. The plan envisages IT investments to the tune of Rs.12,000 crore, while the electronics policy sets a target to attract investments up to Rs.30,000 crore by 2020. This would also create employment opportunities for about five lakh people in the state. Elaborating on the plan, IT Minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy said an amount of Rs.1, 750 crore would be provided in the budget to provide necessary amenities for the IT and electronics sector. The electronics policy, and innovation and start-up policy would also be announced soon, he added. Reddy said 20 electronic manufacturing clusters and 200 industries would be set up in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Guntur, Nellore, Chittoor, Anantapur and Tirupati, while a mega electronic hub would come up in Visakhapatnam and a hardware park at Kakinada. The department also plans mega electronic events in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati where electronic bazaars are proposed to be set up. More importantly, it has been suggested that the course curriculum in the technical institutes be upgraded with focus on skill development in concurrence with higher technical education department to match with the global requirements of the industry, the minister said. Emphasising the need to focus on the IT and electronics in the state, he said out of 350 electronic manufacturing clusters in the united Andhra Pradesh, only four were located in the successor state of Andhra Pradesh, and out of six electronics estates and three parks in the united state, only three parks were located in Andhra Pradesh. While the turnover in the electronics sector was Rs.6,500 crore in the united state, it was only Rs.375 crore for AP, he said. Similarly, out of 75,000 people employed in the electronics industry, only 650 employees are in Andhra Pradesh and it accounts for exports of only Rs.6 crore against the Rs.1,350 crore in the united state. The blueprint also recommended setting up three missions for Electronics and IT, Innovation and Capacity Building, and e-Governance.
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