Premji requested for an NOC to develop an SEZ in Vizag to construct 5 lakh sft of additional office space and create employment for 6,400 in 5 years.
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji along with his team met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday and discussed Wipro's business options in the residuary State.
In the meeting, IT Minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy, IT Advisor J Satyanarayana, Industries & Commerce Secretary J S V Prasad, ITE & C Secretary Sanjay Jaju, APIIC Executive Director Satyanarayana and ITE & C Joint Director P S Murthy were also present.
WIPRO was given 7.14 acres of land in Visakhapatnam at Rs 80 lakhs per acre on an outright sale basis in 2004-05, with an employment commitment of 2,500. In this, the company constructed 2 lakh sft of office space in a 4-acre area, and currently around 650 professionals are working in the campus.
Premji has now requested for an NOC to develop an SEZ in the remaining 3.1 acres to construct 5 lakh sft and create employment for over 6,400 in 5 years from the date of the SEZ approval.
The Chief Minister immediately agreed to the request of Premji, as Wipro's presence with significant operations and enhanced number of IT employees in Vizag would boost not only the existing IT companies but also result in more IT companies coming forward and setting up their operations in Visakhapatnam.
The Chief Minister, while appreciating the activities of the Azim Premji Foundation, requested Premji to expand its operations to other locations in the new State of Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati, Vijayawada and Kakinada. He also requested the Azim Premji Foundation to offer its graduate and post-graduate programs to AP students, and subsequently absorb them into Wipro.
The Foundation should also help the State in curriculum, assessment, educational leadership and management, policy issues and advocacy, Naidi said.
"The Foundation should start concept schools and provide high-quality free education to the local communities, and develop new and innovative fonts in Telugu for localization and content development," requested Naidu.
Reacting to this, Premji assured that Wipro was committed to expanding its operations in a big way in AP in addition to providing additional employment of 6,400 in Vizag.
He also assured Wipro would enhance the activity of Training The Teachers in primary education, undertake Anganwadi training and awareness programs in healthcare, augment women and child welfare schemes, and start a training institute for training technicians in healthcare on medical devices such as CT scan, MRI, ultrasound etc.
He also expressed interest in setting up a soap and fatty-acid manufacturing plant near Hindupur, and requested 50 acres of land.
Naidu welcomed the proposals of Premji, and solicited the support of Wipro in developing the new State of Andhra Pradesh. (INN)