Andhra Minister Lokesh Promotes Anantapur for Tesla's EV, Battery Units

By siliconindia  |  Monday, 28 October 2024, 03:47:05 PM IST

Andhra Minister Lokesh Promotes Anantapur for Tesla's EV, Battery Units
Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information Technology, Electronics & Communications, and Human Resources Development, Nara Lokesh, has requested Tesla to establish electric vehicle (EV) and battery production units in Anantapur. As part of his tour to the United States, Lokesh met with the management of Tesla at the latter's headquarters in Austin, where he discussed the opportunities that the state can present as an EV manufacturing location.
Lokesh tweeted about his meeting with the CFO of Tesla, Vaibhav Taneja, to explore the vision of transforming Andhra Pradesh into a leader in green energy. The state, he said, had already geared up to produce 72 GW of renewable energy by 2029 under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's leadership. "Andhra Pradesh is ready to lead the green energy revolution", Lokesh added, putting emphasis on the state's eagerness to work with innovators like Tesla.
Lokesh thanked MLA of Gannavaram Yarlagadda Venkata Rao and TDP volunteers and people for a warm reception to him at Austin Airport. Lokesh continued his tour and called on Ross Perot Jr, Chairman of the Perot Group and Hillwood Development at Dallas. He spoke elaborately about the possibility of development of industry and logistics along the coast of Andhra Pradesh on the lines of Perot Group's 27,000 acres of Alliance Texas development. He sought the support of Perot to construct smart cities and industrial hubs in the state.
Lokesh pitched Andhra Pradesh as an investment destination during the roundtable event held by the Consul General of India in San Francisco. He emphasized India's second-longest coastline and pro-business industrial policy, promoting employment generation and decentralized development, which he explained to be the state's selling proposition to global investors. Lokesh also declared that development in the capital region of Andhra Pradesh will start in December with a $5 billion investment and made Visakhapatnam the financial hub of the state.
Lokesh pointed out the gains accrued in Naidu's regime and gave the example of Kia Industries, an avatar of the 'Speed of Doing Business' model of Andhra Pradesh. The state, already accounting for 25 percent of India's mobile phones and 50 percent of its air conditioners, plans new industry-specific clusters. Kurnool is to become a 'Drone Valley', while Chittoor and Kadapa will be developed as electronics manufacturing hubs. Additional thought process is underway for the creation of four new seaports, which should further boost state infrastructure and industrial expansion.
Lokesh's talks in the U.S. reflect an ongoing theme by Andhra Pradesh that has been focusing on a number of elements to achieve prominence as the technology capital and green energy hub while ensuring industrial investments.

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