Amravati, June 15 (IANS). The Andhra Pradesh government and Google on Monday agreed to form a special joint task force to enhance cooperation and explore new possibilities in several areas, including artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and digital governance.
The decision was taken during a meeting between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Google Asia-Pacific region president Karan Bhatia on the first day of his visit to Singapore.
During the talks, both sides discussed opportunities to establish Andhra Pradesh as India’s leading hub for AI, data centers and digital infrastructure.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the Chief Minister invited Google to play a bigger role in the state’s digital governance initiatives and sought support from Google Cloud in leveraging AI-based technologies to improve public service delivery.
The Chief Minister informed that Andhra Pradesh aims to strengthen its real-time governance ecosystem through advanced cloud technologies and AI-powered solutions. He expressed interest in expanding AI-skilling and cloud-certification programs in partnership with Google Cloud.
He told Google representatives that the state is setting up AI and cloud computing centers in universities and engineering colleges and sought Google’s support in creating a strong innovation ecosystem.
Chandrababu Naidu talked about the Sanjeevani project, which aims to provide accessible and efficient health services through digital technologies. They invited Google to partner with the project and contribute their technical expertise.
The Chief Minister also stressed Andhra Pradesh’s commitment towards green energy development and said the state is building a sustainable energy ecosystem to support data centers and other energy-intensive industries.
He briefed Google about the state’s significant progress in renewable energy and green infrastructure development.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu also met UN-Habitat Executive Director Anacladia Rossbach and invited the organization to set up a Center of Excellence in Andhra Pradesh. He expressed the State Government’s willingness to allocate land for the proposed facility and expressed interest in developing a comprehensive partnership with UN-Habitat.
UN-Habitat representatives responded positively to the proposal. Collaboration among universities, incorporating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in urban planning, professional knowledge-sharing networks and sustainable urban development initiatives were discussed in the conversation.
The Chief Minister sought help from UN-Habitat for sustainable development of urban centers of Andhra Pradesh. The meeting also discussed implementing the ‘Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme’ (PSUP), formulating an urban planning framework for fast-growing medium-sized cities and strengthening the economic condition of municipalities in innovative ways.
Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P. Narayan participated in these meetings along with senior officials.
–IANS
ASH/DKP