Proposed Signature Tower will make Vizag IT hub: Naidu

Google will develop internet facility in Telugu and bring all the 7 million self-help group members in the state online. It would also connect all the SMEs of the state

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to construct 'Signature Tower', better than Hyderabad's Hitec City, in Visakhapatnam to attract a large number of IT companies, said chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

"Soon the government will call for tenders to take up the project," he said on Monday after inaugurating the facility of Sunrise Startup-Technology at the newly-built Research and Incubation Park at Rushikonda in Madhurawada near here.

Later, addressing the CEO conclave, Naidu said the government would provide all support to make Vizag as the second financial capital of the country and the number one mega metropolis in the entire east coast region.

Heads of over 200 IT companies across the country and the US attended the conclave. The state government has also announced incentives on land rentals and prices and introduced a single-window system for early clearances. Besides, it would also supply uninterrupted power to these units in the near future, he stated.

MoU with Google India
The government on the occasion signed a memorandum of understanding with Google India, targeting to transform the state into 'Digital AP' over the next 4-5 years.

Under the MoU, Google will develop internet facility in Telugu and bring all the 7 million self-help group members in the state online. It would also connect all the SME units in the state.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajan Anandan, vice president and managing director, Google India, said, "Creating awareness about the benefits of Internet and promoting its adoption amongst women, small medium businesses and children can deliver a huge economic impact for the state. Improving accessibility to government websites and scaling the local language web can open up a whole new opportunity for local entrepreneurs and make the Internet more meaningful to non english speaking users."

The collaboration would launch a number of initiatives aimed towards bridging the digital divide, and enabling skill development. "Our endeavour is see each family have one computer-literate member and one entrepreneur," the chief minister added.

The government also signed MoUs with Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Sameer, Tessolve and MobME, for setting up their facilities in Visakhapatnam.

Post bifurcation, AP has allotted land/space to 16 IT companies in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada and these companies have proposed to invest about Rs 1,100 crore with an employment opportunity of 6,500.

IT & Communications secretary Sanjay Jaju said the state government was expecting $7 billion investment in IT and electronics sectors over the next five years on the back of these initiatives.

The government is planning to create a 5-million sft space in Vizag and a 10-million sft space in Vijayawada, Kakinada, Tirupati and Anantapur to set up new IT units over the next 4-5 years, according to him.