MoU Signed Between AP and Google for Base in Vizag

Vijayawada: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Andhra Pradesh government and Google, to set up a base for it in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

The pact was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. He praised IT Minister Nara Lokesh for facilitating this agreement.

A team from Google led by Bikash Koley, vice president, of Google Global Networking and Infrastructure (GGNI) met the CM for the MoU signing process.

An MoU had been signed on Dec 5 between Google and the state government to collaborate in various AI initiatives.

The delegation briefed the chief minister on Google’s operations in India and its strategic investment plans, particularly for Visakhapatnam.

Minister Lokesh, Chief Secretary Neerabh Prasad, secretary to Industries N Yuvaraj and other officials and Google representatives were present in the MoU signing programme.

The chief minister explained how Andhra Pradesh is transforming the country's IT landscape. He welcomed Google’s proposed investments in the state and promised it the state government’s support and incentives.

Later, addressing a Collectors’ conference, Naidu stated, “I used to talk about Hitech, AI, and then Deep Tech. The MoU with Google will be a game changer. With a Data Centre and AI, Vizag will become a hub for AI. You need to do smart work, not just hard work,” he told the collectors and HoDs.

The MoU with Google will, among other things, help identify Ganja crops and destroy them.

Bikash Koley emphasized that Andhra Pradesh is a key partner state for Google.

Minister Lokesh recalled his recent meeting with the Google leadership during his visit to the US when he visited its headquarters.

He said, “The alliance government has effected a remarkable shift in investor perception. Within a few months of its formation, the state has attracted major investment proposals from global and Indian majors, including Reliance Industries, the Tata Group, Arcelor Mittal / Nippon Steel and Bharat Forge.”

“These developments firmly position Andhra Pradesh as a burgeoning growth engine for the country,” he claimed.