Naidu keen to bring Google to AP

The proposal came up for discussion during a meeting of Google India managing director Rajan Anandan with Naidu

Google Inc plans to open a development centre in Andhra Pradesh to serve clients in the Asia-Pacific region, according to official sources.

The proposal came up for discussion during a meeting of Google India managing director Rajan Anandan with chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently.

“The outcome of the meeting was very productive and Google has proposed to set up a huge development centre in the state. The facility will have the capacity to serve clients in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Parakala Prabhakar, adviser to AP government (communications).

There is a high possibility Google may choose between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada to set up the centre, the sources said.

The Google India managing director also showed  interest to work with self-employed women groups towards digitising their businesses, and for online listing the operations of small businesses in the state, Prabhakar said.

It is learnt that Naidu wants Google to work with some other groups also towards ushering in digital AP.

However, he said the facility’s location and size of the investment were yet to be ascertained. Google currently operates from four cities in India, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Hyderabad.

Naidu, who is credited with persuading global technology majors like Oracle and Microsoft to setup their R&D and product development centres in Hyderabad, is now focusing on the growth of IT sector in Andhra Pradesh.