Naidu wants 3 central IT R&D institutes in Vizag

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has requested the Union IT ministry to open the branches of three premier agencies working under it, namely Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), in Visakhapatnam.

The chief minister wants these three agencies to start their activities at the port city as part of creating the necessary ecosystem to build Vizag as an IT hub for the state. The Centre had promised to set up an electronic hardware park at Kakinada near Visakhapatnam in the Union Budget while the AP government had also sent proposals to declare Vizag as an IT Investment Region (ITIR).

The Centre had already circulated the proposal to 13 departments though the approval process is expected to take sometime, according to the officials. The state government had recommended 40.4 square km area around Visakhapatnam as the ITIR with a total processing area of 4,074 acres and a non-processing area of 5,905 acres.

STQC provides quality assurance services in the area of electronics and IT through a countrywide network of laboratories and centres.

C-DAC is a premier R&D organisation mandated to carry out R&D in IT, electronics and the associated areas.

The NIELIT was set up to carry out human resource development and related activities in IT. It is also one of the national examination bodies, which accredits institutes and organisations for conducting courses in the non-formal sector.

The state has also requested the Centre to sanction a skill development mission under the Electronic Systems Design and Manufacturing (ESDM), an IT department official said.