Mumbai: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday received the prestigious Economic Times Business Reformer of the Year award from Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, with the Chief Minister using the occasion to outline his ambitious vision for the state's economic transformation and Amaravati's emergence as a world-class city.

Amaravati as the Next Quantum Valley

Speaking in an interview with the Economic Times on the sidelines of the event, Naidu said Andhra Pradesh would become the number one state in the country in tandem with India's rise as a global economic power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, driven by the state's Swarnandhra Vision 2047. Drawing on his earlier experience of developing Cyberabad, he said Amaravati would be built as a futuristic blue and green city with a net-zero concept. "People used to look towards Silicon Valley for IT — now Amaravati will emerge as a quantum valley," he said, adding that the city would surpass Hyderabad in its scale and ambition.

Green Energy Push and Global Investments

The Chief Minister said his government was actively promoting green energy, battery storage, pumped storage and green ammonia sectors. While the Prime Minister had set a national target of 500 GW of green energy, Andhra Pradesh had set its own target of 160 GW and had already achieved 90 GW. He noted that global companies, including Gold Centre, had come forward to set up a data centre in Visakhapatnam at a cost of $15 billion, with the foundation stone scheduled to be laid within days.

Reforms, Welfare and the P-4 Programme

Naidu reiterated that economic reforms were essential for wealth creation and, by extension, for the effective implementation of welfare schemes. He highlighted the state's P-4 programme, under which the top ten per cent of affluent sections of society are encouraged to support the bottom twenty per cent of the poor, as a model initiative for inclusive growth.

Women's Reservation Bill

Commenting on the Women's Reservation Bill, Naidu expressed his unequivocal support for the Central government's position and said he was unable to understand the logic behind the opposition parties' resistance to the legislation. He pointed out that if the bill were passed, the number of seats in southern states would increase by fifty per cent, opening up greater political opportunities for women. "If women strongly determine to see this through, the passing of the bill will be possible," he said.

Modi as Best Performer and Reformer

Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the best performer and reformer the country had seen, Naidu said the liberalisation of rules under the current Central government had resulted in a significant surge in investments. He stressed that the promotion of industries remained central to wealth creation and long-term economic prosperity.

Population Management Policy

On the question of demographic challenges, Naidu expressed concern over India's declining fertility rate, currently at 1.9 per cent, and particularly Andhra Pradesh's rate of 1.5 per cent. He said population management was essential to ensuring a young India in the future and noted that the state had already introduced a dedicated population management policy to address the issue.

Technology-Driven Governance

The Chief Minister highlighted his government's adoption of cutting-edge technology in public services, including AI Doctor, AI Tutor and AI Agronomy initiatives, aimed at improving service delivery and productivity. He reaffirmed the government's commitment to transparent and efficient governance through what he described as the principles of Speed of Doing Business and Speed of Delivering Governance.

Receiving the award, Naidu expressed hope that the recognition would further boost investor confidence and help attract greater investment to Andhra Pradesh, calling it a key priority of his administration.