Amaravati: Nearly three decades after he managed to secure a 10-minute appointment with a reluctant Bill Gates, CM Chandrababu Naidu met the Microsoft founder here Monday. During the meeting, also attended by Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan and state ministers, Naidu and Gates went over how Andhra Pradesh is integrating technology across key sectors.
Faster civic services through WhatsApp governance, for instance, was a case in point.
A release issued by the government said Gates, who visited with his six-member team, also reviewed implementation of various projects supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, of which he is chairman.
“The Gates Foundation, led by Mr. Bill Gates, was present at the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat at Amaravati for strengthening cooperation and partnership in technology-led governance initiatives, to transform the state into a global hub for healthcare, innovation, and education,” the release said.
Of particular interest to Gates and his team was the progress of the Sanjeevani Digital Health Project, an ambitious public healthcare initiative that digitises healthcare records of more than 72 lakh citizens in Andhra Pradesh, mapping their diseases, and providing options for treatments—all using AI. This project was launched in Kuppam, Naidu’s constituency, as a pilot programme and promises to focus even on preventive healthcare.
This technology-led aspect, which the release stated is being carried out with the Gates Foundation’s assistance, will soon expand to other districts.
The visit also included an hour spent by the team at the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) centre, headed by Information Technology and Human Resources minister Nara Lokesh. Officials led by the chief secretary made presentations to Gates’ team on digital initiatives, including Data Lake, AWARE 2.0, and WhatsApp Governance, aimed at improving the delivery of citizen services at the RTGS centre.
Following the scheduled secretarial and project review engagements, Gates then proceeded to Undavalli, a small village on the banks of the Krishna River, to witness how drones are used in agriculture to improve efficiency and precision. Amidst the lush, fertile fields of Andhra Pradesxh, Gates also got a flavour of the regional cuisine when women farmers offered him ‘punugulu,’ a tasty, fried snack made of fermented lentil batter and spices.
As Gates enjoyed the little, dollop-shaped goodies, Naidu is said to have explained how the AI-generated advisory systems help farmers customise crop planning, assess soil fertility, and gauge rain availability to ensure maximum yield.
The briefing to Gates also covered the chief minister’s plans to create expansive green and blue spaces in Amaravati, the capital city, which won his appreciation. “Chandrababu is ahead in vision and thinking among global leaders,” Bill Gates is learnt to have told Andhra Pradesh cabinet ministers and officials.
Replying to a question by one of the ministers, Gates said that Chandrababu Naidu promoted IT, and that Microsoft has a majority of its IT experts from the Telugu states.
Although Bill Gates’ visit to Andhra Pradesh is part of his trip to India for the AI Summit in New Delhi (February 16–20), this marks his third visit to the Telugu-speaking states since 2002.
Naidu and Gates’ friendship
Gates visited Hyderabad, the former capital of united Andhra Pradesh, in 2002, and Visakhapatnam in 2017.
His relationship with Naidu dates back to 1997, when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief secured a reluctant 10-minute appointment with Gates.
This meeting included a compelling 45-minute PowerPoint presentation, and they discovered a shared passion for technology and governance. This meeting forms the backstory to Gates’ visit to Amaravati and their friendship, which has blossomed over the last 29 years, as Naidu recounted in an earlier conversation with The Print.
Between 1995 and 1999, Naidu met several stalwarts in the technology and biosciences industries, with Microsoft at the top of the list. “I knew that if Microsoft came, the others would soon follow,” Naidu recounted his conviction to The Print in a previous conversation.
After a spell-binding presentation to Bill Gates at New Delhi in 1997, Naidu followed him to Seattle, and later Redmond, the company’s headquarters.
There, he persuaded Gates that Hyderabad was best positioned to take advantage of the Internet revolution. Soon enough, Gates was convinced, and at a joint press conference, they announced that Microsoft’s first foreign research and development centre, the largest outside of the US, would come up in Hyderabad. A year later, in 1998, the Microsoft India Development Center (MSIDC) was set up on 54 acres, blending in seamlessly with the city’s landscape to focus on strategic and IP-sensitive software product development.
Microsoft’s arrival not only transformed Hyderabad into India’s next IT capital after Bangalore but also helped the firm expand further. MS now has 10 offices in India and employs more than 20,000 people across different Indian geographies. A host of other companies, including Google and Facebook, have followed suit since.
Over the years, despite adverse political scenarios leading to Naidu being in the Opposition between 2004 and 2014, the two are known to have been in touch.
K. Ratnaprabhas, a former IAS officer who was CEO of the Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone during Naidu’s time and also played a crucial role in drafting Andhra Pradesh’s tech policies, was witness to this growing friendship. “Sir had a knack for spotting talent and opportunity. So, when he had the chance to meet Mr. Gates, he left no stone unturned because he knew that a well-forged professional partnership could be a potential personal friendship,” she told ThePrint.
Naidu met more than 25 corporate moguls during his 14-day trip to Seattle in 1998, but it is this special friendship with Gates that has lasted many political seasons. A former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh who served during Naidu’s tenure described that a shared fascination for technology and an undying passion for bettering public welfare outcomes unite them.
“One is a permanent political operative. The other is a corporate mogul devoted to technology and human welfare, besides the motivations of profit. But the core of their friendship is a shared interest in technology and innovation; they are visionaries. This is what makes their friendship unconventional,” the former civil servant said.
Naidu is believed to have shared his idea of the ‘Age of Infinity’ (where everything can be made possible through thought and belief) with Bill Gates several times. Gates, in turn, has spoken of how his artificial intelligence experiments had cascading impacts, improving the lives of people across continents where the Gates Foundation works.
Their bonhomie was visible to all when the two met during the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, as recently as 2025. After a customary handshake and warm hug, Gates gifted Naidu a signed copy of his unreleased memoir, Source Code, with a note: ‘To my friend, Chandrababu Naidu. It is great working together.’
On previous occasions, the two have also endorsed each other. Gates described Naidu as a visionary who believed in digital technology more than he did, noting that Naidu’s commitment to using technology for governance “is inspiring”.
On his part, Naidu referred to Gates as a good friend and has credited their early relationship with transforming Hyderabad into a global hub.
Today, twelve years after the new Andhra Pradesh was created, Naidu presented his vision for Swarnadhra Pradesh 2047 and made his case yet again to his friend. This time, to develop Amaravati as the ‘Future Knowledge Hub and Quantum Valley City of the World’.
“Welcome back, Mr. Bill Gates! AP Welcomes Bill Gates,” Naidu said in a post on ‘X’, as Gates and his team landed at the Vijayawada International Airport. The dispatch of a retinue of Andhra’s ministers to receive Gates and his team at the airport perhaps indicates the mutual respect and admiration that exists between them.
(Edited by Varnika Dhawan)
Also Read: Andhra Pradesh missing from Budget spotlight, why Chandrababu Naidu’s still happy