Andhra Pradesh Offers Land to TCS for Just 99 Paise

The Andhra Pradesh government has approved the allotment of 21.16 acres of land to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for a token rate of 99 paise. In return, TCS will invest ₹1,370 crore to build a large development centre in Visakhapatnam, expected to generate 12,000 new jobs.

This move is part of a strategic push by the state to attract major tech investments. Minister for IT and Electronics Nara Lokesh played a key role in securing the deal, following a visit to Tata House in October 2024 and multiple rounds of talks.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu also met Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran in August 2024 to finalise the project. Chandrasekaran was later appointed co-chair of the state's Task Force for Economic Development.

The land allotment strategy echoes a similar move by PM Narendra Modi, who had granted land to Tata Motors in Gujarat for the Nano plant at 99 paise — a model Andhra Pradesh now seems to be adopting.

Developing Visakhapatnam into a top-tier tech destination was one of Naidu’s key election promises. The state aims to create 3 lakh jobs in the city over five years. Beyond TCS, Andhra Pradesh is also planning a 500-acre Data City and has signed an MoU with Google to establish an Artificial Intelligence Data Centre in the region.