Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday met several business leaders and participated in various sessions on the third day of his Davos tour.
Naidu met Global CEO, United Phosphorus Ltd, Jai Shroff, and invited them to test out a product that can retain and release 2000 litres of water per acre. UPL is a global player in the crop protection space with its portfolio ranging from patented, proprietary, and post-patented products.
UPL presented that they have a product that absorbs water in the field, and releases it slowly during a dry spell. They are now testing the product which has a 2,000 litre capacity in some parts of India. They further confirmed that it reduces the risk of drought and increases the productivity by about 30 percent - 40 percent.
Products by UPL aim to help farmers reduce labour cost and promote an economical use of water. The company is also collaborating with the Taiwanese military to produce advanced drone technology.
The Chief Minister then spoke about the different practices being adopted in Andhra Pradesh. He invited Jai Shroff to visit the state and test out their new and emerging technologies.
The Chief Minister also met the CEO of Airbus Defense and Space, Dirk Hoke, who is currently working on clearances to start manufacturing their transport aircraft C-295 in India.
"You will be receiving all the support and facilities in Andhra Pradesh", assured the Chief Minister.
Dirk Hoke too expressed satisfaction over the developments as they had submitted proposals to Andhra Pradesh Government last year. The Chief Minister was also informed that the process is currently in an advanced stage and is a joint venture between Tata and Airbus.
"This will also be a huge boost to the 'Make in India' initiative", Hoke said.
Expressing satisfaction over the developments, Hoke told the Chief Minister that the project will be executed in 2018 and also invited the Chief Minister to their manufacturing units in different countries.
The Chief Minister had another bilateral meeting with Chairman of Vedanta Resources Plc, Anil Agarwal, who are also planning a university township in India on the lines of the Boston University.
The Chief Minister assured him of all the necessary support, for establishing it in Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, Agarwal said that team from Andhra Pradesh is 'fantastic, cooperative and very responsive'.
Vedanta is building twin towers in Vizag called Vedanta towers, for which land and permissions have been approved. They are also planning a university township in India on the lines of Boston University.
Agarwal also explained the company's CSR initiatives in different states.
The Chief Minister assured him of all the necessary support, for establishing it in Andhra Pradesh. He asked him to assign one person to coordinate with Andhra Pradesh, to follow up on it.
Later in the evening, Naidu held a meeting with President of Nanyang Technological University- Singapore, Subra Suresh.
Suresh told the Chief Minister that they are transforming their campus into a smart campus which will be the most eco-friendly campus in the world.
Naidu also explained about the implementation of technology initiatives like e-Pragati and real-time governance in building smart Andhra Pradesh.
Joseph Lubin, Co-Founder of Ethereum Project and Founder of ConsenSys met the Chief Minister. Their discussion touched upon building the innovation engine in the state and how they can collaborate on creating the required use cases for the government. They have agreed to set up an academy soon, in collaboration with University in Vizag with focus on developing global talent pool for Blockchain and boosting entrepreneurship.
The Chief Minister also had a meeting with President of HP's 3D Printing Business, Stephen Nigro and invited him to open a centre in Visakhapatnam and deliver 3D printing experience to enthusiastic businesses.
Meanwhile, Tobias Dauth from Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economics, a technology research organisation also met the Chief Minister.
Fraunhofer offers market analytics to hundreds of medium and large companies in Germany and Europe. BMW and Bosch, both Fraunhofer's clients are exploring possibilities in India and similarly, they can enable many other companies to come to Andhra Pradesh. This organisation is located in Leipzig with an employee base of 20,000 people.
With a focus on management research and international management and the knowledge economy, Fraunhofer offers market analytics to hundreds of medium and large companies in Germany and Europe. It also offers expansion and knowledge solutions to a large number of its clients.
The Chief Minister told the officials that they would definitely collaborate in future and was invited to visit Leipzig by the officials.
The Chief Minister later participated in 'Technologies for Tomorrow', an interactive luncheon and gathering with top innovators in Technology.
While speaking on the occasion, he said, "Modern innovations are changing the way we live. We are now living in the period of fourth industrial revolution. We are now talking about Ease of Doing Business. But we should take another step from towards creating Ease of Living with Happiness".
He explained the vision for the development of Andhra Pradesh and various technology initiatives like e-office, e-cabinet, real-time governance, locked house monitoring system, biometrics and cloud being implemented in Andhra Pradesh.
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