Revanth Reddy meets Satya Nadella, discusses avenues for Telangana, Microsoft to enhance engagement 

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy discusses with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on enhancing Telangana's tech ecosystem and infrastructure development.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy met Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, who is visiting Hyderabad, and discussed avenues for Telangana to enhance engagement with the tech major, particularly to shape a robust global technology ecosystem in Hyderabad, contribute to the growth of the proposed AI City and partner the skills university to impart AI skills.

The Chief Minister, accompanied by IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu, Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and top officials, briefed to the Microsoft head infrastructure development plans for the State, including the regional ring road, radial roads, Future City, which would include AI City, and new manufacturing clusters. He highlighted how the government proposes to create a pool of industry-ready talent through its Young India Skills University (YISU).

Speaking on Telangana’s plans to harness the power of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Gen AI and Cloud, Mr. Reddy and the IT Minister sought Microsoft’s support to develop a robust ecosystem that will enable Hyderabad to emerge as a global technology leader, the Chief Minister’s office said.

One of the first tech majors to set up operations in Hyderabad, Microsoft has substantially ramped up operations and grown footprint from the time it established its first India Development Centre here more than 25 years ago. It employs 10,000 people and is also setting up 600 MW Data Centre, across four locations near Hyderabad. Mr. Reddy thanked Mr. Nadella and Microsoft for continuing to back Hyderabad.

The Microsoft CEO reiterated the company’s commitment to partner with the State government. Appreciating the Chief Minister’s vision to enhance skills and improve infrastructure, he said such a two-pronged strategy would propel Hyderabad into the list of top 50 cities globally contributing to economic growth.

Besides investing for the data centre — at two locations in Chandanveli and one each in Mekaguda and Shadnagar — Microsoft in recent times has undertaken expansion of the IDC that remains key to the company’s products and solutions research, engineering and development.

Sources familiar with the discussions on Monday said the Chief Minister and IT Minister were keen on Microsoft coming on board as anchor partner for the State government’s proposed centre of excellence in cloud computing. They also wanted the tech giant to consider setting up a dedicated R&D and product development vertical in the AI City planned as part of the Future City.