Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday approved the allocation of 21.16 acres to TCS in Visakhapatnam at a token lease price of 99 paise.
The tech giant will use the earmarked land on IT Hill Number 3 for an IT campus where it is expected to invest Rs 1,370 crore. The project is set to generate 12,000 jobs.
“Cabinet approved the allocation of 21.16 acres of land to TCS at Visakhapatnam IT Hill Number 3 for setting up an IT campus to generate 12,000 jobs,” according to a release.
The land, at IT Hill number 3 at Rushikonda, was leased to the tech giant for a symbolic sum, similar to what Narendra Modi, then CM of Gujarat, charged Tata to set up its manufacturing plant at Sanand on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
Lokesh visited Tata House last October to pitch for TCS to set up a large development center in Andhra Pradesh, with the state government focussing on developing Visakhapatnam as an IT hub. After several rounds of negotiations, on January 29, Lokesh said TCS would set up its facility within 3-4 months.
Officials said that while TCS will take at least two years to construct a permanent building to house the development centre, it will shortly start working from a rented place.
Lokesh said this was the beginning of turning the port city into an IT and technology hub.
The state government is looking to create at least 5 lakh jobs in the IT sector in five years and is expecting other tech companies seeking to expand to set up their facilities at Visakhapatnam.
Google Cloud, the third-largest cloud provider globally, has already established two cloud regions in Delhi and Mumbai. It recently signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up a Data City in Visakhapatnam and artificial intelligence (AI) applications while fostering skill development opportunities for local youth.
The Cabinet also approved the draft ordinance proposal made by the Social Welfare Department to implement sub-categorisation among Scheduled Castes in Andhra Pradesh for the integrated and equitable progress of various sub-castes in the society.
The main objective of this ordinance is to ensure the integrated and equal advancement of all Scheduled Caste communities in society, Social Welfare Minister Dr Dola Veeranjaneya Swamy said.
The 59 Scheduled Castes in the state have been divided into three categories based on population, backwardness and social cohesion. As per the draft ordinance, the percentage of reservations for these three categories is 1 per cent for sub-castes in Group 1; 6.5 per cent to Group 2; and 7.5 per cent to Group 3.
The government hopes that through this ordinance, all Scheduled Caste communities in Andhra Pradesh will get equal and fair access to education and employment opportunities, Swamy said.
