Andhra CM seeks industry, academia support for Ratan Tata Innovation Hub

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday urged industrialists, corporate leaders, professors, and intellectuals to support the development of the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH).

He sought their backing to realise the vision of 'One Family–One Entrepreneur', positioning the state as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

"Andhra Pradesh should become a center for innovation and entrepreneurship, attracting significant investments to drive economic growth," Naidu said, adding that the innovation hub is named after Ratan Tata to inspire excellence.

According to the CM, Andhra Pradesh aims to establish 20,000 startups over the next five years, creating one lakh jobs and setting up 10 centers of excellence.

Amaravati will serve as the epicenter of RTIH, with Tata Group as the lead partner, while L&T and another entity will act as key stakeholders, he said.

The innovation hub will be supported by five regional spokes across Andhra Pradesh, led by JSW Group in Anantapur, Adani in Tirupati, MEIL in Vijayawada, Greenko in Rajahmundry, and GMR Group in Visakhapatnam.

During a discussion on the hub at the Secretariat, Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran joined virtually. He is serving as the vice chairman of RTIH.

RTIH will feature startup incubators, MSME facilitation centers, banking linkages, training programmes, and venture capital funding.

Other facilities will include high-performance computing infrastructure, market linkages, raw material sourcing support, prototyping centers, testing tracks, and high-speed internet access, Naidu added.

He emphasised that geographical distance is no longer a barrier in today’s digital world, stating that Andhra Pradesh is shifting from 'Ease of Doing Business' to 'Speed of Doing Business'.