Stating that Andhra Pradesh would play a key role in ushering in startup revolution, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday declared his government’s resolve to develop Visakhapatnam along with new State capital Amaravati and pilgrimage centre of Tirupati as world-class cities.
Inaugurating two-day ‘StartAP Fest,’ a networking event for entrepreneurs, students and young professionals being held at the beach-facing Saipriya Resorts here on video-conferencing mode from Hyderabad, he said AP was the first to unveil an exclusive startup policy with a slew of measures to create congenial ecosystem.
The two-day event sponsored by Innovation Society of AP Government and OMICS International is attended by over 1,000 delegates, majority of them students.
He said Visakhapatnam, the largest commercial and industrial city of the new State, was already drawing attention from all over the world after successfully hosting the CII Partnership Summit and the International Fleet Review. “Its denizens got acclaim from all over for exhibiting their resolve to bounce back in shortest possible time after Cyclone Hudhud left behind a trail of devastation,” he remarked and recalled how the people proved their nature by not lighting a single cracker when he appealed to them to not celebrate Deepavali, which came some days after Hudhud.
The Chief Minister asked the youngsters to focus on innovation. “In today’s knowledge-based economy, only innovative ideas and technologies can make a difference,” he said adding that in e-Pragati – the complete e-governance project, they were giving preference to supporting startups.
Mr. Naidu pointed out how out of the box ideas could pave the way for substantial reduction in expenditure and declared that the government had reduced the amount for its fibre grid project from Rs.5,000 crore to Rs.320 crore by opting to lay cables by connecting to electric poles instead of underground network. The Chief Minister said by June, every household would get 15 to 20 Mbps broadband connection. He said students should explore enormous opportunities for startups in rural and backward areas.
CII-AP Chairman Suresh Chitturi, Telangana CII Chairperson Vanitha Datla, Innovation Society CEO Nikhil Aggarwal, OMICS International CEO Srinubabu, Progress Software Vice President (Products) Ramesh Loganathan, StartAP Fest CEO Siddharth Marupeddy and others spoke.
Selfie with CM!
Known as CEO of Andhra Pradesh Inc, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu once again proved his passion for using technology by inaugurating and addressing the StartAP Fest on Saturday. He could not hide his pleasure when some of the startup entrepreneurs took selfie with him.
After a standing ovation from over 1,000 delegates participating in the two-day event, Mr. Naidu was pleasantly surprised after his address when he was requested to stay for some time for a selfie in front of a digital screen. “This is a real innovation,” he remarked and asked the participants to think and act with some difference.
