Budget, trade deals will provide boost to industry: BJP president
Ahmedabad (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Friday said the trade deals struck with various countries coupled with the Budget for 2026-27 will provide a boost to the Indian industry.
He was addressing a gathering of industrialists, Chartered Accountants and entrepreneurs from Gujarat here.
At a time when the world is going through a period of economic instability, India is the fastest growing economy, achieving a growth rate of 7 percent while controlling inflation through discipline and financial management, he said.
India has struck trade deals with many countries in the last one year, including the "mother of all deals" with the European Union and another with the United States, he said.
These deals were negotiated with patience and they safeguard India's interests and support its future roadmap, Nabin added.
The trade deals along with the recently passed Budget which supports them are part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "roadmap" for development, and it will help the Indian industry, he said.
The AI summit in Delhi, which saw participation of many heads of states and industrialists, reflected PM Modi's vision to make India a leader in Artificial Intelligence, the BJP president said.
"PM Modi always says we are moving forward with the ease of doing business, but I feel that now the era of `ease of growing business' has also arrived. Modi has created a great platform to provide better services to businesses," the BJP chief said.
India is emerging as the number one country in mobile manufacturing and many other spheres, and the foreign markets which have opened up due to the trade deals will benefit the domestic industry, he said.
Banks in the country are now profitable with NPAs declining from 10-11 per cent to below 1 percent, Nabin said.
The demographic dividend too will provide a boost to the country, he added.
The BJP president also hailed the announcement of a new dedicated freight corridor which will connect Gujarat's industrial and export centers with other parts of the country.
Tax holidays for GIFT City will help investors significantly, he said.
The BJP government in Gujarat has prepared a roadmap to make Gujarat a developed state by 2035 with a focus on "infrastructure, innovation, individuals, and institutions," Nabin said.
The Commonwealth Games, which the state will host in 2030, will not only bring business but also give Gujarat a new identity, he said.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
