Ratan Tata Associated Closely with AP, Left Lasting Impression on State
Vijayawada: tan Naval Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons and Tata Group, had been associated with Krishna district, now NTR district, as a philanthropist who worked for development of 264 villages of the district in 2015.
Ratan Tata supported the YSR Congress government in tackling the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekharan met then Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy proposing to invest in Andhra Pradesh.
On January 9, 2018, Ratan Tata visited holy Tirumala. On August 27, 2018, Chandrababu Naidu, as the CM of AP, met Ratan Tata at the Tata Experience Centre in Bombay House and discussed investment opportunities in Andhra Pradesh.
On August 24, 2015, then CM Naidu signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tata Trust in the presence of Ratan Tata to develop Andhra Pradesh as a Smart State by developing its villages as Smart Villages. The MoU was signed by R Venkataraman, CEO of Tata Trust, and Shanti Priya Pandey, additional secretary (Planning) of AP government.
On that occasion, launching the Village Development Plan and website for the Vijayawada Bamboo Mission along with Chandrababu Naidu, Ratan Tata said he looked forward to a great partnership between the state government and Tata Trust. He wished Chandrababu and the state all success in the coming years.
The then Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas alias Nani recalled that the Village Development Plan had been focused on nutrition, health, fisheries, skill development and related aspects. Tata Trust adopted 265 villages and designed interventions to address the challenges related to water, sanitation, agriculture, health, nutrition and education. With support of the state government, the trust constructed over 20,000 toilets, making the Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency open defecation-free.
Tata Trust offered telemedicine services in Krishna district. It helped more than 50,000 beneficiaries cut down on their out-of-pocket expenses by 50 per cent by providing them affordable medicines. To further supplement and increase the reach of this programme, Tata Trust introduced mobile medical units and lab services to provide inexpensive diagnostic facilities for patients.
Tata Trust set up a large hospital for cancer treatment in Tirupati with support of the state government and Alamelu Charitable Foundation.
The trust took up capacity-building exercises for over 13,000 Anganwadi workers. It refurbished more than 250 Anganwadi centres in four districts of the state.
Under the Lakshadhikari Rythu programme, Tata Trust helped create a new channel of income for farmers by training them in aspects such as bee-keeping and turmeric cultivation.
The trust imparted digital literacy to a staggering 4.20 million people. It extended internet services to rural areas in collaboration with Google under the Internet Saathi programme.
