A decade ago, when the rest of the world was just beginning to utter the phrase "disruptive technologies," Naidu was already giving PowerPoint lectures on the subject.
Published May 04, 2025 | 2:07 PM ⚊ Updated May 04, 2025 | 2:07 PM
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. (X)
Synopsis: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu makes optimal use of technology. He employs the latest innovations to drive the state’s development.
Unlike any other state, Andhra Pradesh seems to have turned into a tech-startup in itself. Its Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, doesn’t just talk tech — he practically lives in bits and bytes. He reels off tech jargon like a seasoned CEO of a global tech giant.
Name a sector — any sector, for that matter — and Naidu can go on and on and on. Be it Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing, Internet of Things (IoT), Edge Computing, or that shapeshifting entity we call the tech sector, like the amoeba.
He is also startlingly fluent in the technology dialect. Words like “seamless,” “sustainability,” “digital transformation,” “tech-enabled growth,” “next-gen solutions,” “game-changer” (no, not Ram Charan’s celluloid disaster), “scalability,” and “data-driven decisions” tumble out of him as if by their own volition.
He will keep going until the cows come home, connecting to the cloud, walking on it with his head held high and writing his thoughts on cyberspace.
No one really knows how many hours he spends glued to his laptop or mobile, brushing up on the latest in tech. However, officials, especially those tasked with running the state’s IT machine, are often seen sweating, fretting, and desperately trying to catch up, while Naidu has already moved on to the next level.
Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi couldn’t help but admire him. At the re-launch of Amaravati works on 2 May, he undertook a journey into the deep recesses of his memory when he became the chief minister of Gujarat for the first time and reflected on how he watched Naidu in awe as he was building Cyberabad —brick by brick, or more so, byte by byte.
Andhra Pradesh’s secretariat in Velagapudi these days appears more like the boardroom of a software company. Naidu, as its CEO, tells officials how to make the best use of technology in delivering services to people. While most politicians speak of poverty, unemployment, development, and welfare, Naidu makes everyone feel like Alice, who fell down the digital rabbit hole into a land of code and innovation.
A decade ago, when the rest of the world was just beginning to utter the phrase “disruptive technologies,” Naidu was already giving PowerPoint lectures on the subject. According to one former principal secretary, it was Naidu who taught him about the tech revolution — not the other way around. Apparently, advising Naidu is like trying to teach Google how to search.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
