The state cabinet approved land allocations to several organisations, including Tata Consultancy Services. However, larger land allocations were made to URSA Clusters Private Limited, a company established just two months ago.
Published Apr 22, 2025 | 7:25 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 22, 2025 | 7:25 PM
Synopsis: A two-month-old company with no office or prior business record, URSA Clusters Private Limited, has been granted 59.6 acres of land worth nearly ₹1,000 crore by the Andhra Pradesh government to support a ₹5,728 crore investment project. This allocation, more than double the land given to established giant TCS, has raised serious concerns about transparency, due diligence, and potential favouritism under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s industrial push. (This piece was originally published on thewire.in)
Since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) trounced the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government in the general elections last year, Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has wanted to rebrand Andhra Pradesh as the best investment destination.
In a major push to attract investments and accelerate industrial development, the recently elected Andhra Pradesh government offered huge tracts of land to investors in anticipation of reasonable employment generation.
The policy offers large tracts of land at concessional land rates, single-window clearances, and sector-specific incentives to improve ease of doing business in the state.
However, the government’s recent land allocations to multiple companies to attract investments and generate employment have raised eyebrows.
The state cabinet approved land allocations to several organisations, as per the board’s resolutions on 10 April, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
However, land allocations were also made to URSA Clusters Private Limited, contingent on factors such as companies proposing viable investments and projects, proper approval of their land requirements, provision of necessary infrastructure, and the extension of a special package of incentives as per the relevant procedures.
The projects for the two companies have been approved so far through the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB).
Given the standing of TCS as an internationally reputed and market-recognised company which earned close to ₹50,000 crores as profit, would it not be able to buy the required land at prevailing market rates?
What made Andhra Pradesh offer land worth nearly ₹1,000 crore at just a thousand rupees? Similarly, what made it give land to the recently incorporated, largely unknown company Ursa Clusters? What happens to the land availability for the poor and homeless?
Apart from allocating the 21.16-acre land to TCS at ₹0.99 per acre, the Andhra Pradesh government granted a substantial 59.6 acres to the second company that had been established for less than two months.
The Wire’s investigation into this significant land allocation has brought surprising facts to light. The allocation to Ursa Clusters, a company with no corporate footprints and no prior business history, was not even prominently featured in the announcements.
Yet, it received land allocations more than double in size compared to what was allocated to TCS. Questions have been raised about how this company came to propose an investment of ₹5,728 crore.
The revelation has sparked serious concerns over transparency, due diligence, and potential favouritism in the Chandrababu Naidu-led coalition government’s land allocation policies.
Ursa Clusters Private Limited, headquartered in Hyderabad, was established on 12 February 2025.
According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website, Satish Abburi and Vijayakumar Pendurthi are the Directors, while Koushik Pendurthi is one of the Directors of the United States-registered Ursa Clusters LLC. He is currently employed as a Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO) at a company called Talas Pay.
Registration form of Ursa Clusters Pvt Ltd. Credit: The Wire.
Abburi is also the Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Elysium Analytics.
Notably, Ursa Clusters LLC was also registered in the United States a few months after the current coalition government assumed power, on 27 September 2024, while its apparent Indian subsidiary, Ursa Clusters Private Limited, was incorporated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 12 February 2025.
The registered address for Ursa Clusters Private Limited is: Flat No. 705, Ekta Basil Heights, Kothaguda, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500084. When The Wire visited the registered address of the firm, it found no corporate presence there – only a residential family occupying the premises. The building is purely residential, consisting of 28 flats – seven floors with four 3-BHK units per floor.
There is no indication of corporate activity at this location. This raised significant doubts about the Andhra Pradesh government’s decision to allocate prime land worth thousands of crores of rupees to a company that lacked even basic credentials including a functional office, contact numbers, official email IDs, and websites.
Adding to the dubiety, the company which has pledged a staggering ₹5,728 crore investment shows a shockingly meagre capital base, with just ₹10 lakh in authorised capital and a mere ₹1 lakh in paid-up capital.
The glaring mismatch between its financial standing and its grand investment claims has raised red flags, with critics questioning the due diligence behind the deal.
The Telangana government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States-based Ursa Clusters LLC during the World Economic Forum in Davos on 24 January 2025.
The Hyderabad address where Ursa Clusters Pvt Ltd is registered. Credit: The Wire/Balakrishna M
The agreement promised an investment of ₹5,000 crore to set up a 100 megawatt AI-powered data centre hub in Hyderabad.
However, the company was only three months old, as a result of which its credibility with regards to such a high-value partnership for multi-crore investments in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh was questionable.
Interestingly, when The Wire team visited the United States address also, they found no evidence of corporate activity or any signage indicating an office.
The company has no official phone number or email listed, and its registered address – 6807 Singletree Ct, Pleasanton, CA 94588, United States – is a modest 1,560 square feet single-family home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
The two affiliated companies – Ursa Clusters LLC, registered in the United States, and Ursa Clusters Private Limited, registered in India – have pledged investments worth approximately ₹10,000 crore across the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
However, an investigation by The Wire has uncovered that neither company lists a phone number or email address for contact. Furthermore, there is no verifiable record of any prior business activity by either firm.
The California address where Ursa Clusters LLC is registered. Credit: The Wire/Balakrishna M
Finally, The Wire secured an email ID of one of its authorised signatories, Satish Abburi, and sought clarifications. This story will be updated as and when the clarifications reach us.
URSA Clusters Private Limited’s agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government for a ₹5,728 crore project in Visakhapatnam, with the government allocating 59 acres of land valued at approximately ₹1,000 crore, is expected to create 2,500 jobs, as per the government.
That a newly established company, with a capital investment of just ₹10 lakh, could enter into agreements with the governments of both Telugu states for multi-crore investments has led to several speculations about who might be behind the company.
(Balakrishna Medabayani is a veteran journalist. This piece was originally published on thewire.in and has been reproduced with permission.)
