Naidu calls for cooperation among Asian govts

BANGALORE: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has called upon
Asian countries to work in tandem to promote technology among the masses.
Delivering an address at the Asia Society’s 12^th Annual Corporate
Conference in Bangalore, Naidu stressed the need to have better co-ordination
among the Asian countries for setting up joint technology hubs. Wherever, there
is competition, we will compete. But wherever we are strong, we must work
together in order to excel in the IT field, he said.

Calling upon the government to play the role of a facilitator in providing
its citizen access to technology, the cyber-savvy Chief Minister also listed the
steps undertaken by his government including the building of technology hubs in
his state. Reflecting on the state of computer literacy, Naidu said that all
schools and colleges in Andhra Pradesh would be connected via satellite. This
apart, steps will also be initiated to develop regional hubs in several cities.

According to Naidu, the government had gone full steam in computerizing all
its records. At present, the Andhra government was in possession of nearly 76.7
million computerized citizen databases and data of nearly 16.8 million
households. The process of computerization of available land records was also in
progress, he said.

On the power front, he said that the State had surplus power with it and
hence had not suffered any major power cuts in the entire year. "During the
next two years, 3000MW of power would be added to the grid," he added. This
apart, the State Government, in coordination with a private firm, will develop a
portal that will offer one-stop access to all government records and services.
By the year-end, the State plans to offer at least 25 such personalized services
to the public.