Will make India proud globally in quantum tech, says Nara Lokesh; urges IIT alumni to support Andhra's cluster-based development

Stressing that Andhra Pradesh will make India proud in quantum globally, the state's IT and HRD minister Nara Lokesh today said the state is poised to deliver growth and governance no other state in the country has witnessed. Lokesh urged the members of the IIT alumni body, PanIIT, to support the state's cluster-based development approach with R&D and investments.

"As a team, we are passionate about bringing about change. Our CM Chandrababu Naidu ji is in version 4.0. What makes him different this time is that he is backed by a young team. As a team, we are passionate about bringing about change," Lokesh said at the PanIIT Andhra Pradesh Summit, 2026, in Vijayawada today.

"No state has witnessed the growth and governance we can deliver. Andhra Pradesh will be No. 1 in every sector we choose," he added.

"Now India is at the cusp where one decade is enough to become a developed nation," Lokesh said.

What is Andhra's cluster-based development model?

Lokesh said the state is following a cluster-based development approach and 23 sector-specific clusters are coming up. He urged the IIT alumni globally to come and support the state in this initiative.

"Andhra Pradesh is hungry. We are eager to be part of your growth story. We are here not only to attract investments. We are here to redefine industries," Lokesh said.

"China did it in three decades. India will do it in a decade. AP will show the way for cluster based development," Lokesh said.

Explaining the state's cluster-based development model, Lokesh said the idea is that the entire ecosystem of suppliers, inputs providers pertaining to one particular industry should be in one particular place.

"We are keen to work with the IIT graduates who have gone to the world. We are not just inviting companies (founded by IITians) to invest but also to help us with research," Lokesh added. With alumni from 23 IITs and a tital strength of 5 lakh, the entire PanIIT ecosystem is very strong, he said.

Bhaskar Katamneni, Secretary, IT and Communications, Govt of Andhra Pradesh, said the state is looking at IITs to build AP 2.0. Katamneni said the state would like to collaborate with the PanIIT alumni platform on two fronts—IT-based outcome oriented interventions for government processes and garnering investments in the state from the companies founded by the IIT alumnus and the companies where they are working.

"We are looking at investments in the state. We have rolled out policies to generate investments in the state. We have come out with quantum policy and semiconductor policy, among others and are looking at AI, quantum, drone, space tech etc," Katamneni said.

"We have gained momentum in investments in data centres, GCCs and quantum. We hope lot more investments can come via IIT alumni network. We invite IIT alumni-founded companies to evaluate Andhra Pradesh as an investment destination," Katamneni said.

He added that the state would like to work with the alumni platform to improve the government processes. "We would like the students and IIT alumnus to address the problems of the people and the government. We want to be a government, which is transparent," he said.

Addressing the event, PanIIT chairman Prabhat Kumar said that it is a milestone moment for PanIIT to have entered in a long-term partnership with a state.

"IIT was created for the basic purpose of nation building. It is time that we we put all our energies together towards that goal. From Silicon Valley, to Amaravati's quantum valley will create a huge ecosystem," Kumar added.

Kumar said he is thankful to the state for opening up investment opportunities to 5 lakh IIT alumni to invest in the state.

"India is no longer a market but an opportunity. India is the place where growth is happening," he said adding that Andhra Pradesh offers a lot of scope to entrepreneurs to come and invest in the state.