Lokesh calls for IIT alumni to aid Andhra’s economic development

Andhra Pradesh IT and education minister Nara Lokesh on Saturday sought the support of the Pan-IIT alumni community in transforming the state into a developed economy and contributing to the national goal of Viksit Bharat-2047.India NewsAddressing the Pan-IIT Andhra Pradesh Summit 2026 in Vijayawada, Lokesh urged IIT alumni to connect Andhra Pradesh with experts, entrepreneurs, investors and institutions across sectors and help guide the state’s cluster-based development strategy.The summit, themed “Andhra’s Resilient DeepTech Decade — Anchored by PanIIT,” is being attended by more than 800 delegates from the global IIT alumni network, including over 50 corporate CEOs and CXOs, more than 100 unicorn founders and startup leaders, over 50 investors and family offices, IIT directors, academicians and policymakers.Lokesh called for collaboration between IIT alumni and the state government to develop systems based on the concept of “Visible Governance, Invisible Government.” He said the government was seeking to institutionalise faster decision-making rather than relying on ad-hoc mechanisms.“In the first phase, speed was our mantra. Then we used jugaad to get things done. Now we must institutionalise speed. Every system must withstand the test of time and political change,” he said.The summit is expected to seek commitments for 100 industry research chairs, a 100-member global IIT mentor network, an Amaravati DeepTech Fellowship and a technology-transfer pipeline involving the IITs and 25 NMICPS hubs.Lokesh invited delegates to visit Amaravati to assess the pace of development. He said the government was working with international planners and architects while seeking to combine global expertise with Indian execution and knowledge transfer.Lokesh said Amaravati was also being developed as an education and research centre, with six universities already present and an ecosystem being developed around advanced research and quantum technologies.He appealed to the Pan-IIT community to partner with the State in its development over the next decade. He said the State government was working with three broad principles — Speed, Service and Stability.On speed, Lokesh said the government was focusing on converting investment commitments into operational projects and employment rather than limiting itself to signing memoranda of understanding. “People have given us five years. We have to show results within that period. Our focus is execution,” he said.On service, he said the government viewed entrepreneurs and industrialists as partners in economic development and was seeking to work with industry on policy formulation and implementation. On stability, Lokesh said policies should be capable of withstanding legal scrutiny and political transitions.Lokesh said the state was also exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence in policy-making and preparation of government orders, including analysing past experiences to develop more robust policies. “Policies must be built to withstand scrutiny. Technology can help government learn from the past and create more robust systems,” he said.He said Andhra Pradesh was simultaneously developing a quantum technology ecosystem with the objective of becoming a major global centre in the sector.He urged IIT Tirupati to explore collaboration with the University of New South Wales to establish a rapid-prototyping and research ecosystem, particularly in areas such as solar technology. “The state’s objective was to build institutions and systems that could sustain economic growth beyond individual projects and political terms,” he added.