Andhra Pradesh targets $1 trillion investment boost, says Nara Lokesh

Andhra Pradesh has drawn $120 billion in investments in four months and plans to attract over $1 trillion more in energy, steel, and IT sectors with new incentives and infrastructure support

Andhra Pradesh aims to attract investments worth over $1 trillion in the next few years as the state is prepared with incentives to lure industries in energy, steel, information technology (IT), and other key sectors, according to the state’s Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh.

 

“So, let’s take the ArcelorMittal investment, for example. It will be invested in three phases over time. Similarly, the Google investment will be over the next three years in phases,” he said.

 

The state had secured investments worth $120 billion in the last four months, including a $15 billion investment from Google to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) hub. Andhra Pradesh had also secured a ₹1.4 trillion investment by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel to set up India’s largest steel plant, he said.

 

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel investment was announced in early November, 2024.

 

Andhra Pradesh has also prepared a “first come, first served” early bird incentive structure for stepdown industries established with significant investments, such as those of Google or ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel, Lokesh said, adding that these incentives would be on a par with those offered by any other state in India. 

 

“We have this early bird scheme for them because we believe that they are the catalysts that will supercharge the process. This is something that we have already discussed. We are ready to offer the incentives and the infrastructure necessary to support them,” he said.

 

Over the last 16 months, Andhra Pradesh has secured the maximum number of investments from companies in energy, including renewable energy, steel and IT sectors, Lokesh said.

 

Andhra Pradesh is also ensuring that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) receive a fair share of incentives from the state’s purse, depending on the industry they propose to establish, he said.