Hyderabad, Aug 23: The former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and TDP national president, Mr Nara Chandrababu Naidu, on Wednesday called upon the youth and the other sections to think as global citizens and associate themselves with the global economy to take the nation much ahead.
In an interaction with the faculty, other staff members, students and the alumni of the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) here, which is his brainchild, Mr Chandrababu Naidu strongly felt that the youth should not remain as the technology providers but grow as entrepreneurs. “You can then see and even create wonders,” Mr Chandrababu, popularly known as a visionary, said.
Recalling how he developed Cyberabad with his vision and created the infrastructure in the Financial district, the former chief minister of the combined Andhra Pradesh said now he is proposing P-4 (People, Public, Private and Partnership) not only for the progress of the Telugu States but for the development of the whole nation. “If we can achieve this it is a great asset to the nation,” Mr Chandrababu remarked.
Going back to 25 years when only BSNL for making calls in the nation and VSNL for international calls, Mr Chandrababu recalled that for making a lightning call to speak to someone in an emergency it used to take eight hours if not eight days to talk to that person concerned. “With my Vision-2020 I was successful in modernising technology and you are all enjoying it now for which I feel extremely happy,” he said.
Explaining in detail as to how he struggled to meet Mr Bill Gates to get the Microsoft unit to Hyderabad, the former chief minister said he managed to convince the then prime minister, the Late Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to get the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to Hyderabad which resulted in the formation of Financial District there. Narrating the story behind developing Gachibowli, Mr Chandrababu Naidu said he could visualise this 25 years ago and now Hyderabad is on the global map.
Maintaining that the roads in Hyderabad were very narrow and the city was once considered to be only as a semi-urban area, the TDP supremo recalled how he battled with the circumstances to widen the roads and later design the Outer Ring Road (ORR), the International Airport at Shamshabad and other projects which only convinced the investors to set up their units here. “No other city in the country has such beautiful facilities like Hyderabad even today,” said Mr Chandrababu proudly.
Explaining in detail how Hyderabad city is now considered as a technical, financial and pharma hub, the former chief minister wanted the youth to make use of the facilities available here and grow as global citizens. “No doubt I want the nation to progress well but my first and top priority is Telugus should lead the world,” Mr Chandrababu said.
“The IIIT, the Indian Business Management (IBM) and Nalsar University all these institutes of excellence are here and I feel happy that experts are coming out of these institutes to lead the nation and the world,” Mr Chandrababu Naidu said. Expressing confidence that the Telugus to lead the world, he pointed out that the Vice President of America and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom have Indian links while Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of various top companies too are from the country.
Calling upon the youth to make proper utilisation of the technology to take India much ahead in knowledge economy and in pharma, Mr Chandarbabu felt that the nation has a lot of advantages which no other country in the world has. “If we can make use of all these advantages, I am confident that India will lead the world by 2047,” the TDP supremo said.
Narrating how power can be generated from various sources to bring down the cost of the fuel and how the energy which generated thus can be utilised, he felt an immediate need to go for interlinking of rivers. Satisfied over the usage of digital currency now, a visionary Mr Chandrababu wanted all the payments in future should be only through digital.
Admitting that he once strongly recommended population control, he, however, admitted that he now promotes population growth in the country, particularly in South India. South India is being looked down upon due to poor population growth and there is every need to promote for more population here, Mr Chandrababu Naidu said.
The former chief minister whose brain is behind the establishment of the most prestigious institute, the IIIT, in Hyderabad, expressed deep satisfaction that the institute is considered to be one among the top 10 in the country. He appreciated the efforts of all the faculty, particularly Prof Raji Reddy, in taking the institute to the top level. Mr Nara Chandrababu Naidu clarified the doubts of all those participants on technology, economy and on other matters.
