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The Andhra Pradesh government will allocate 21.31 acres of land to Cognizant Technology Solutions for a nominal lease price of just 99 paise. As part of the deal, the company is expected to invest ₹1,582.98 crore to set up an information technology (IT) campus in Visakhapatnam.
Cognizant aims to create approximately 8,000 jobs in the region over a period of eight years, further boosting the state's IT ecosystem. The company sought 21.31 acres of land at Kapulauppada under the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority.
It plans to begin commercial operations by March 2029, with the entire project being 100 per cent self-funded.
The deal is part of the state government's approval on Thursday of 19 industrial projects worth ₹28,546 crore, including ₹18,910 crore in investments by the Adani Group. Other major projects include Reliance Consumer Products investing ₹1,622 crore in Orvakal, Chinta Green Energy ₹2,323 crore in Kadapa, and Raymond ₹1,201 crore across various locations.
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The agreement with Cognizant follows state IT Minister Nara Lokesh’s meeting with Cognizant Chief Executive Officer S Ravi Kumar at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, where Lokesh encouraged the company to consider setting up operations in Tier-2 cities like Visakhapatnam, according to Moneycontrol.
Similar deal with TCS
The decision also comes months after the state struck a similar deal with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Under that agreement, TCS will invest ₹1,370 crore to establish a development centre in the city, generating over 12,000 jobs in return for a 99-paise lease for 21.16 acres of land.
“With continuous follow-ups and discussions between the state government and TCS, (Nara) Lokesh has piloted an allotment of 21.16 acres of land in Vizag to TCS for a total consideration of 99 paise. It is a bold decision to signal to the industry that Andhra Pradesh is serious about attracting IT investments,” a government source told Business Standard at the time.
The Cognizant deal is seen as another success for Lokesh, who has played a key role in driving IT growth and attracting global technology companies to the state. The state government has set a target of creating around 2 million jobs and aims to attract investments worth over ₹40 trillion by 2029. It has also announced a special IT and global capability centres policy to attract multinational firms with strong financial incentives.
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