At the CII Partnership Summit, some of India’s most prominent business leaders sent a clear message about Andhra Pradesh: the state is not just talking about reforms, it is moving fast enough for investors to feel it on the ground.
From infrastructure and ports to healthcare, shipbuilding and retail, industry captains lined up to endorse the N. Chandrababu Naidu government’s focus on what they repeatedly called the “speed of doing business”, with Adani Ports & SEZ MD Karan Adani declaring that many investors are now queuing up to put money into the state.
‘AP is not just a destination, it is our destiny’: Adani’s big bet
Speaking at the two-day CII Partnership Summit, Karan Adani said the Adani Group is committing nearly ₹1 lakh crore across multiple projects in Andhra Pradesh, citing the state’s proactive policies and faster decision-making.
He outlined three pillars of the group’s current strategy in Andhra Pradesh:
- A proposed AI data centre in Visakhapatnam, under a memorandum of understanding with Google and Airtel, with an investment plan of USD 15 billion, along with
- A technology park in Visakhapatnam, and
- A broader portfolio of projects that together take the group’s exposure in the state close to ₹1 lakh crore.
Adani described the flagship Vizag Tech Park as more than a real estate or IT project. With an estimated investment of nearly ₹22,000 crore, he called it “the foundation of India’s digital sovereignty”, signalling the group’s view of Andhra Pradesh as a long-term digital and technology hub.
In a strongly worded endorsement of the political leadership, Adani praised Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu as “not only a Chief Minister, but an institution” and credited him with transforming Hyderabad three decades ago when many only saw uncertainty. He framed Naidu’s current term as a second opportunity for a similar transformation, this time anchored in Andhra Pradesh’s coastal strengths and digital ambitions.
Addressing Naidu and IT Minister Nara Lokesh, Adani said the group would “match your speed, match your scale and, most importantly, match your spirit,” echoing the government’s own language on swift clearances and execution.
‘Speed of doing business’ as lived experience, not slogan
For investors at the summit, the phrase “speed of doing business” was more than a catchy theme. Adani underlined that, for his group, it has become “a lived experience”, crediting the state’s approach to digital infrastructure, policy responsiveness and a sustained effort to make Andhra Pradesh a “fastest-growing start-up state”.
He also referred to Andhra Pradesh as the “Eastern Gate of India to the rest of the world”, arguing that geography alone does not create history. it needs vision and governance that are prepared to act like a startup: always building, always innovating.
Reflecting on his visit to Visakhapatnam, which he called the “City of Destiny”, Adani said the energy he perceived, in the people as well as in governance, reinforces his view that Andhra Pradesh is in the process of consciously “creating” its economic destiny.
Infrastructure and airports: GMR sees history ‘repeating’ in Vizag
GMR Group Chairman G. M. Rao brought the discussion back to a familiar chapter from Indian infrastructure: Hyderabad’s first greenfield airport.
He reminded the audience that the airport, championed during Naidu’s earlier tenure, had acted as an economic catalyst and played a major role in turning Hyderabad into a global IT hub. According to Rao, that model is now finding an echo in Visakhapatnam, which he said is poised to become the economic capital of the east.
The comparison between Hyderabad then and Vizag now served as a subtle bridge between Naidu’s past record and his present ambitions, strengthening the narrative that Andhra Pradesh is trying to engineer another infrastructure-led turnaround, this time on the coast.
From the financial sector, Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv, highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s geographic and logistical strengths.
He pointed to the state’s nearly 1,000 km coastline, its robust infrastructure and proactive governance, calling Andhra Pradesh a “strategic growth engine” for India. In his view, the state has emerged as a gateway for trade, technology and digital innovation, and will require sustained focus on empowering and skilling its youth to fully leverage this position.
Healthcare push: Apollo’s Shobana Kamineni flags quiet gains
Healthcare leader Shobana Kamineni, Promoter Director of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise and Executive Chairperson of Apollo Health Co, drew attention to the less headline-grabbing but critical work in health systems.
She said Andhra Pradesh has made “remarkable strides” by focusing on improving health indicators, expanding medical education and using technology to reach rural communities.
Kamineni cited initiatives such as Dr NTR Vaidya Seva and telemedicine programmes as examples of how quality healthcare has been brought closer to people who otherwise struggle with access. Looking ahead, she underlined that demand for advanced healthcare infrastructure and specialised services in the state is set to grow further.
Shipbuilding and manufacturing: Bharat Forge sees Vizag as anchor
For heavy industry, Amit Kalyani, Vice Chairman and Joint Managing Director of Bharat Forge, framed Andhra Pradesh, especially Visakhapatnam, as central to India’s manufacturing ambitions.
He said Vizag already has a strong ecosystem and deep knowledge base in shipbuilding, and argued that this makes it an ideal base for creating a large new shipbuilding complex that can become a growth driver for Indian manufacturing.
His remarks fit into a broader attempt by the state to position itself as a hub not only for services and technology, but also for core industrial sectors with high value-add and export potential.
Auto, retail and jobs: TVS and Lulu underline AP’s role in India’s growth story
TVS Motor Company CMD Sudarshan Venu placed Andhra Pradesh within the national vision of “Viksit Bharat 2047”, saying India’s journey towards that goal would be powered by manufacturing, services and access to new markets through multiple free trade agreements.
In that long-term story, Venu said, Andhra Pradesh has a “very special part to play”, describing it as one of the most attractive investment destinations in India today, with its strategic location and what he called a “dynamic vision and strong governance”.
Retail and logistics major Yusuff Ali, Chairman and Managing Director of Lulu Group International, focused on employment and consumption. He said Andhra Pradesh is “boldly reshaping its future” through visionary projects that promise to generate thousands of jobs and drive economic growth, and argued that the state has a significant role in India’s journey towards becoming a global economic powerhouse.
CII leadership: AI, energy and manufacturing as twin pillars
The leadership of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which hosted the summit, used the occasion to connect Andhra Pradesh’s pitch to larger national trends.
CII President Rajiv Memani said India is the fastest-growing major economy not only because of traditional sectors but also due to new growth engines such as semiconductors, defence, energy transition, services and global capability centres.
He highlighted India’s AI trajectory and the bullish outlook around data centres as signs of sustained investor confidence. In that context, he described Andhra Pradesh’s investor-friendly policies as “highly encouraging” for industry.
CII Vice President Dr Suchitra K. Ella framed India’s path to developed-nation status around two “powerful pillars”, energy and manufacturing. She stressed that aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) should be understood as partnership and shared growth, not isolation, and said India is ready to co-create solutions and strengthen global value chains in a way that makes prosperity more resilient and sustainable.
CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee urged participants to use the summit to surface ideas that could benefit both India and the world, and encouraged companies to actively engage, explore opportunities and build meaningful partnerships.
Taken together, the endorsements from a cross-section of industry, ports, airports, finance, healthcare, auto, shipbuilding, retail and industry bodies, signal that Andhra Pradesh’s leadership has, at the very least, succeeded in recapturing the attention of big business.
The central promise made from the government side is straightforward: faster decisions, smoother clearances and an administration that speaks the language of investors and young entrepreneurs alike. The promise from industry, articulated most emphatically by the Adani Group, is that they are prepared to match that speed and scale with fresh capital and long-term projects.
How fully that mutual promise is translated into jobs, infrastructure and long-term competitiveness will depend on execution in the months and years ahead. But for now, at the CII Partnership Summit, Andhra Pradesh has clearly succeeded in projecting itself as a state where “ease of doing business” is being upgraded to something boardrooms care about even more: the speed at which things actually get done.
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