Nara Chandrababu Naidu is a prominent political leader. He was born at Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh in 1950. He did his schooling at Chandragiri and later joined Sir Venkateshwara Arts College, Tirupati. He got his Masters in Economics. His father N.K. Naidu was an agriculturist. In 1980, he became a Minister in the State Government. Naidu became the General Secretary of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1985. n 1994, the TDP swept the Legislative Assembly polls and Naidu became the Minister for Revenue and Finance. Following a major split in the party, he was chosen as the President of the party and became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1995.
A post-graduate in Economics, Chandrababu Naidu is an intellectual at home with Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes, the Monetarists as well as the farmers of interior Andhra Pradesh in Southern India.
He has served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for two consecutive terms from September, 1995 to May, 2004 and he is the current and first Chief Minister of dived Andhra Pradesh.
Under Naidu, AP was 22nd among Indian states in 1995-96. It moved up to the 5th place in 1996-1997. It was the 3rd best place to invest in after Maharashtra and Gujarat (Business Today survey – 2000) and 2nd in terms of investor perception. Even at the personal level, Chandrababu Naidu, the Telugu Desam Party President has to his credit, the merit of being the longest serving Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
He modernized administration by computerizing a number of Government Operations and took initiatives for the convenience of public like eSeva – through which all the utility bills and taxes could be paid at a single counter.
He was also instrumental in the development of the new Hyderabad international airport. During his tenure many ports and IT parks were developed with private public partnership. On the rural front he launched schemes like ‘Janmabhoomi’ (Motherland), a project that invites people participation in developing the state.
He also was instrumental in creating DWCRA (Development of Women & Children in Rural Areas) groups whose mission is to provide social and economic infrastructure to the women of Andhra Pradesh.
Following his diverse initiatives, there was a complete turnaround in the State’s economic performance. Developmental activities were on in every sector, every region and every sphere of activity. The State zoomed past the development threshold.
Call him IT Naidu or even the CEO of Andhra Pradesh, the fact remains that he ushered in the IT revolution into Andhra Pradesh and laid the foundation of a management-centric governance, far removed from the ideological governance of his predecessor.
Chandrababu Naidu intellect, vision and vigor augur well for the future of Andhra Pradesh.
During his period, the state of Andhra Pradesh became the leading investment destination in the country through his reformist policies. A very rare leader who has implemented an ambitious strategy that unfolds in a synergy of technology and innovation aimed at socio-economic development in Andhra Pradesh, which rolled out as his Vision 2020 programme.
Considered the subcontinent’s most visionary politician, in just five years, he has turned an impoverished, rural backwater into India’s new information-technology hub. More importantly, he shook up the state’s comatose administration into the most efficient civil service in South Asia.
While his achievements have been nothing short of legendary, it is what the world thinks of him that sets him apart from predecessors as well as peers.
Media Talk :
In 1998, when the World Link magazine of the World Economic Forum decided to pick a dream cabinet of political leaders, Chandrababu Naidu shared honors with British Prime Minister Tony Blair; Iranian President Mohammed Khatami and Foreign Minister of New Zealand Don McKinnon among others.
“A true visionary leader” said the Indian Express (Bombay Group), Business Publications Division in 1999.
In 1998, he was awarded “The Businessperson of the Year” award, by The Economic Times (India’s largest financial daily), appreciated for his progressive policies and for being “ a politician who means business”.
Naidu was designated as Co-chairperson of the National Task Force on IT set-up by the Government of India to prepare the IT road map for the future.
Naidu was given the “IT Man of the Year” award by Computer World in 1999 for his vision and contributions in harnessing IT for improving the lives of common citizens.
TIME has reported time and again, on Naidu’s astonishing remodeling of Andhra Pradesh. Naidu, as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, was declared as the South Asian of the Year, 1999 by the Time Asia magazine.
He was also voted the “IT India of the Millennium” in a poll conducted by India Today, the only politician to be so preferred by voters.
Profit a leading American publication has profiled the achievements of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Information Technology and described him as an ‘emerging IT force to be reckoned with.’
New York Times – December 27, 2002:
Andhra Pradesh is becoming an international model for certain public policies. Keith Bradsher (A High-Tech Fix for One Corner of India)
National Geographic, November 2002 issue:
Hyderabad is poised to become the hi-tech capital of the subcontinent. Not only is it remarkable that all this has happened, but that it has happened so fast.
Economist 22 May, 1999:
The sort of revolution Mr. Naidu is aiming for in Andhra Pradesh “ a managerial, not an ideological one “ is exactly what India needs.
New York Times Sep 10 ,1999:
State leaders like Naidu are at the vanguard of efforts to modernize local economies and integrate them into the global marketplace.
Independent 6th Oct, 1999:
He has therefore pioneered what he calls a “people-centered development process” designed to make government sensitive to the needs of even the smallest village in the hinterland, and galvanize government officials into tackling them.
The World Bank called Andhra Pradesh – ‘The most reforming state in the country in 1998.