eGovWatch: Transforming Andhra Pradesh into ‘Digital AP’

On the sidelines of 17th edition of Express Technology Sabha in Hyderabad, Dr. Parakala Prabhakar, Advisor (Communications), Government of Andhra Pradesh, spoke to Anoop Verma on the steps that the state government is taking to attract investments from IT and electronics companies.

The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has declared his vision for transforming the state into ‘Digital AP’. In the united Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad used to be the major centre for IT industry. How difficult will it be for the new state’s IT industry to recover from the loss of Hyderabad?
When the present Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh was the Chief Minister of the united Andhra Pradesh, we had built a significant infrastructure in Hyderabad for IT companies. We had also built another city called Cyberabad, where some of the world’s major IT companies have their development centres. Microsoft, Oracle, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and many others are based here. There is no doubt that the loss of Hyderabad has created a major challenge for us. Currently, the state does not have any other IT centre like Hyderabad. But, lack of an existing IT hub can also be seen as an opportunity for building a new greenfield city, one that will have world class infrastructure and facilities for catering to the needs of a new wave of IT companies that are keen on doing business in India.

In your opinion what kind of IT companies will be willing to set up their development centres in the new greenfield cities that you are planning to develop?
The scenario for the IT industry in India is now quite different from how it was two decades ago. Earlier, the companies used to focus on software development, BPO operations and back office  When the west sleeps, India is awake—so a software code written in USA during the day can be tested in India at night and shipped back through the Internet to be put to use in time for start of the work on following day. But now India’s talent in IT has grown phenomenally and the companies all over the world have realised that. They are now keen to make better use of this talent. Also, the nature of the IT industry has changed significantly. Now SMAC is having a huge impact.

The state government is concentrating on creating greenfield projects where the IT companies can do their cutting edge work in developing solutions for social, mobile, analytics, cloud, etc. There is a huge demand for electronics and hardware in the country. Going by the current estimates, it is expected that by the year 2020 the demand for electronics in the country will rise to $400 billion. Currently, most of our electronics requirements are being imported. This situation creates a unique opportunity for Andhra Pradesh to develop an electronics industry for fulfilling the burgeoning domestic demand in the country. Accordingly, the state government has initiated several initiatives for the development of electronics sector in the state.

What steps are you taking to facilitate rapid growth of the electronics industry in the state?
Andhra Pradesh has developed a policy for the electronics industry and in this we are offering huge incentives to the interested companies. For every person who gets employed in the electronics industry there is a certain incentive. The incentives being offered are not only in the form of rebate on taxes, but also in the form of reduction in the cost of  land that the IT company is buying. Several electronics manufacturing clusters are coming up in various parts of the state. Visakhapatnam is going to be a hub for both hardware and software. A startup village has already been started in Visakhapatnam, where an innovative ecosystem is being developed to ensure that the new software and hardware companies are easily able to set up and operate their development centres.

What kind of response are you getting from the electronics industry for investing in Andhra Pradesh?
Much of electronics manufacturing in the world has shifted from Japan to China and also to countries like Taiwan and South Korea. But now even in these countries the cost of doing business is going up, and hence, the electronics companies are looking for alternative locations for starting new manufacturing facilities. Due to its large coastline, Andhra Pradesh offers several advantages. To begin with, the state has 14 deep water ports and the potential to develop 10 more. In Visakhapatnam the ports are already quite developed.

We are of the view that the coastline of Andhra Pradesh and the availability of large number of deepwater ports is a very attractive point for electronics companies. Once they set up their manufacturing centres here, it will be easy for these companies to ship the finished products to different markets. The policies that the state has developed for helping the electronics industry is also a major attraction for these companies, many of which are now keen to relocate or locate their plants in the state. We are having good response.

The government of Andhra Pradesh is planning to provide broadband connectivity of 10 to 20 Mbps to twelve million households in the state.

What steps are being taken to implement this scheme?
We plan to provide every household in the state with high-speed broadband connectivity at the cost of only Rs. 150 per month. This project is being executed through the PPP route. The government will be the driver of the project and the private sector companies will be the partners. The cost to the consumer will be minimal. We are also going to involve the content providers and the service providers for enriching the quality of the broadband that the people are having in their homes. For instance, if someone has an internet connected television at their home, they  should be able to browse through the content that has been developed by the digital content providers. The children in the house should be able to access educational material. The digital content providers can share some of the cost of the broadband. The device manufacturers and software providers can also share some of the cost. The government too can share the cost. Essentially this project of providing high speed broadband to all the households  is going to be a partnership among players from many different sectors.

Are you talking to the private telecom companies regarding this initiative?
Yes, we are. The response that we are getting is quite positive. We have already established the Andhra Pradesh Fibre Corporation for managing the network and owning the assets. We will also be leveraging the ongoing National Optical Fibre Project, which aims to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the nation by December 2016, for implementation of our broadband project.

Andhra Pradesh is planning to develop a new capital city. What steps are you taking to ensure that the new capital will be a Smart City?
The good thing is that the new capital of Andhra Pradesh is being conceived and built in the 21st century—this is an enabling factor, as it will provide us with the opportunity of using the best city development technologies and techniques. The new capital of Andhra Pradesh will be the most beautiful city on this planet. It will come up on both sides of the River Kirshna—about 30 kilometres on each side, so almost 60 kilometres of riverfront will be there.  It will also be a smart city. The city administration will use latest technologies for water management, power distribution, garbage disposal, sewage management, etc. It will have state of art facilities for managing transportation, healthcare and education. It will be a healthy and a happy city.