Amaravati, November 15, 2025: The morning sun glinted off Visakhapatnam's Bay of Bengal as the 30th CII Partnership Summit resumed its rhythm, transforming Andhra University's engineering grounds into a bazaar of blueprints and handshakes.
Day 2 brought the ink to paper: memorandums of understanding worth ₹3.65 lakh crore, a figure that could spawn 1.26 lakh jobs across energy, IT, and manufacturing. But beneath the polished pitches and LED-lit pavilions, the event was less a sales floor than a high-stakes negotiation. Andhra Pradesh is pitching itself not just as a state, but as India's eastern fulcrum in a world remaking its supply chains.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, ever the visionary, unveiled India's first Drone City, a sprawling testbed for aerial innovation that could redefine logistics and disaster response. "Vision. Innovation. Zeal. Aspiration. Growth," he intoned, coining an acronym for Andhra's ethos.
Naidu painted the state as a "gateway for global investments," blessed with natural bounty and a "speed of doing business" that rivals Singapore. He rolled out fresh incentives for tourism and renewables, while announcing pre-summit MoUs dominated by energy at ₹2.65 lakh crore.
"Vizag will showcase the best Andhra has to offer," he said, from quantum valleys to green hydrogen clusters, turning the port city into the "safest gateway for global trade." Naidu's delivery, data-packed and dream-laden, reminded delegates why he once built Hyderabad into a tech mecca and why Andhra might be next.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and Minister of State for Steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma rounded out the ministerial chorus. Naidu stressed aviation's connectivity role in growth, while Varma invited steel and heavy industry players to Vizag's ports.
Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Rural Development, highlighted Genome Valley expansions and millions of jobs through sectoral strengths. The voices converged on a theme: Andhra wasn't just pitching projects—it was selling a story of resilience, from cyclone-hit coasts to drought-prone interiors, all under Naidu's steady hand.
