Visakhapatnam to become ‘AI Patnam’, says Vaishnaw as $15-billion project takes off
India is poised to emerge as a “trusted value chain and supply chain partner” in global electronics manufacturing, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday, citing policy support and expanding domestic capabilities.
He was speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Google Cloud India AI Hub in Visakhapatnam, held in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Union and State Ministers, and industry representatives.
The project, with an estimated investment of $15 billion (around ₹1.25 lakh crore), is being developed in partnership with Adani Group’s Adani ConneX and Bharti Airtel’s Airtel Nxtra. It will include a 1 GW hyperscale AI data centre. The Andhra Pradesh government has allocated about 600 acres across Turluvada, Rambilli and Adavivaram for the facility.
Push for electronics manufacturing
Vaishnaw said India had already established itself as a global leader in IT services and was now making rapid progress in electronics manufacturing. “Mobile phones have become one of India’s top export items, and nearly 50% of domestic electronic demand is now being met through local production,” he said.
Referring to the government’s Semiconductor Mission, the Minister noted that commercial production had begun and called on global technology firms to manufacture servers, GPUs and chips within India. He also underlined the need to build capabilities in sectors such as semiconductors, quantum computing, space and artificial intelligence.
‘AI Patnam’ vision for Visakhapatnam
Describing the project as transformative, Vaishnaw said Visakhapatnam would evolve into “AI Patnam”, driven by advanced digital infrastructure and global investments.
He credited Naidu’s vision for building IT ecosystems and said the data centre would have a wide-ranging impact across sectors, including education, healthcare, logistics, agriculture and aerospace.
The Minister also noted that Google had laid three subsea cables from Visakhapatnam, connecting international digital routes spanning Australia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the United States.
Industry sees strategic opportunity
Google Cloud’s Global Infrastructure Vice-President Bikash Koley said the AI Hub would serve as a foundation for India’s long-term development goals and play a key role in the global AI economy.
Jeet Adani, representing the Adani Group, said the 1 GW hyperscale data centre marked a milestone in India’s AI journey and would position Visakhapatnam as a digital gateway.
The project is expected to strengthen India’s ambitions to become a hub for next-generation technologies while enhancing its role in global supply chains.
