Andhra Pradesh Approves A 512 MW AI Data Center And Reports Put Jobs At 1,000

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Now on Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh's cabinet approved an AI data center of 512 megawatts, costing 31,387 crore rupees. And reports put the jobs it will create at about 1,000. Now in April, the state's IT minister, Mr. Nara Lokesh, said Google's 1 gigawatt hub in the same city would create at least 2 lakh, which works out too well. Two jobs a megawatt in one case and 200 in the other. And you know what? Both numbers come from the same state. So, to see why those numbers stand so far apart, it actually helps to look at what the cabinet actually cleared. It approved a robotics and physical AI policy to 2036, a gaming and animation policy to 2031, and changes to the semiconductor fab policy. But none of the reports we found gives the incentives or targets. So, basically for now, the policies are mere promises. Now the projects approved with them are where actually the real numbers tend to surface. EPAC will invest 570 crore rupees at Rambili, and employ 2,565 people. And then we have Ravali spinners who will spend 237 crore rupees, invest Godavari and employ 1,569 people, which is roughly 22 lakh and 15 lakh rupees of investment per job respectively. Now when we put the two factories together, they bring 807 crore rupees and 4,134 jobs. So, the data center takes about what? 39 times the investment for just under a quarter of the jobs. Land also, by the way, does not always turn into a factory. At Naidu Peta, where a 4,000 crore rupees advanced materials plant was cleared, the cabinet also took back land and had earlier given to WebSoul Renewables and Metro Decorative. That gap between factories and data centers is exactly why the Google claim deserves a detailed look. Now, Mr. Lokesh says the hub will create 188,000 to 200,000 jobs direct and indirect. Once, by the way, it is running. While exports quoted by the federal put that figure at 20,000 to 30,000 jobs. And the cabinet's own number for a data center, half that size lies much closer to the experts. So, jobs are actually only part of what these centers ask of the state because they also need water. Absolutely, when we talk about data centers, they go hand in hand. Now, the state wants 6.5 gigawatts of data centers around Vishakapatnam and about six ventures have been named including Google and Reliance which got 25 acres at Bogapuram on Tuesday. Now, the city itself gets about 410 million liters a day against a want of 480 million liters. Now, Mr. Lokesh says data center water will come from Pulavaram through dedicated pipelines and that drinking water will not be touched. While a former IAS officer EAS Sarma wants an independent water audit. Then we, of course, have the power front. Now, the cabinet approved biogas plants, a study of small nuclear reactors and a 15 megawatt waste to energy plant which are very sensible and small beside a 512 megawatt data center. Which brings me to the front page take. Now, Andhra Pradesh has made a very serious bet on AI and it has moved way faster than most states on land and policy. But a bet this size needs honest numbers. The state says Google's hub will create two lakh jobs while its own cabinet figures show a thousand jobs for a data center half that size. And the power and water for 6.5 gigawatts are still plans. So, before the next project is cleared, the state should publish the jobs, the power and the water for every project it has already approved. I do believe Andhra Pradesh is marveling and championing the cause of speed. But I believe with a revelation of such numbers, it will only bring a lot more credence to the table. Please do let us know what are your thoughts in the comments below. This is front page by the AM network. Like, share, subscribe and always remember, think AI, think AI.