Andhra Pradesh pitches ‘speed of doing business’ to global investors at Davos

The Andhra Pradesh government used its platform at the World Economic Forum on Friday to make a strong pitch for faster clearances, regulatory deregulation and policy certainty, as it seeks to attract large investments in data centres, artificial intelligence, manufacturing and renewable energy.

Speaking at a CNBC-TV18 panel at the state’s pavilion, IT Minister Nara Lokesh said Andhra Pradesh is shifting its focus from ease of doing business to what he called the speed of doing business, promising sharply reduced approval timelines and a review of regulations that slow project execution.

Lokesh said the government has begun challenging service-level agreements across departments, citing an instance where an environmental clearance that typically takes three weeks was granted in four hours. “We are questioning every regulation and asking whether certain permissions are even required,” he said, adding that the goal was to institutionalise faster decision-making across the bureaucracy.

The comments come as global technology companies look to expand AI and data infrastructure in India. Sanjay Gupta, President for Asia-Pacific at Google, said the company’s recently announced $15 billion investment in Andhra Pradesh was among its fastest large-scale projects in the region.

Gupta said the project, which includes over 1 GW of data centre capacity and subsea cable infrastructure, was cleared within a year of initial discussions. “Speed, transparency and a partnership approach were key factors,” he said, adding that India’s AI opportunity could expand technology usage to nearly the entire population as language barriers fall.

IT services firm Cognizant also signalled expansion plans in the state. Jatin Dalal, Global CFO, said Visakhapatnam had emerged as a strategic location as the industry prepares for what he described as a multi-decade shift driven by AI. He cited talent availability, cost competitiveness and policy predictability as key considerations.

Consulting firm Kearney highlighted speed as a competitive advantage in global manufacturing. Suketu Gandhi, the firm’s Global Chair for Strategic Operations, said countries that combine rapid decision-making with execution at scale would attract a disproportionate share of investment as supply chains are restructured.

Renewable energy company ReNew said Andhra Pradesh has also become a preferred destination for clean energy and manufacturing investments. Chairman and CEO Sumant Sinha said the state’s responsiveness and faster approvals had led the company to commit to a solar manufacturing facility and explore additional projects.

Lokesh said the government is anchoring its investment strategy around job creation, cluster-based development and long-term policy continuity under its Swarnandhra 2047 roadmap. He added that Andhra Pradesh aims to position itself as a scalable model for industrial and technology-led growth in India.