A 15-point agenda for Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu to counter Trump’s H1B visa move

I write this open letter to Chandrababu Naidu as Indian emigration and return becomes a hot issue. Many H-1B workers in the US are from Andhra Pradesh: Jaithirth Rao

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu at PMML in New Delhi on 15 July, 2025 | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Dear N Chandrababu Naidu,

You are one person who never misses an opportunity. Hence this letter to you, in the context of Indian emigration and return becoming such a hot issue in recent times. Many of the H1B workers in the US are from your state, Andhra Pradesh. There must be considerable worry among upwardly mobile, middle-class families. You can embark on a bold course of action that transforms their worries into hopes, aspirations, and opportunities.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Please announce the establishment of four “Techno Parks” in Andhra, with a special focus on incentivising startups and new ventures set up by returning NRIs and PIOs.
2. These Techno Parks should include offices for AI companies, software product and services companies, as well as factory spaces and warehouses for chips, drones, and other hardware manufacturers.
3. Please do not entrust construction to the PWD or even a state PSU. Instead, let multiple developers, investors, and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) participate through a transparent process. These firms should also be encouraged to develop an ecosystem for maintenance services.
4. Please invite Chartered Accountant firms, Company Secretaries, and law firms to locate in these parks to provide services to the tech firms setting up there. Also, invite service providers who handle registration and compliance services. This will be far superior to the much-touted “Single Window Clearance”, which has never worked.
5. Please invite banks, venture capitalist firms, angel groups, and private equity firms to set up branches and small offices in these parks.
6. Right next to the Techno Parks, please invite world-class developers (again through a transparent process) to set up residential layouts that include bungalows, townhouses, apartments, and residences for domestic service providers.
7. In the same neighbourhood, please invite at least two international schools to establish themselves.
8. Please ensure decent highways from the Techno Park locations to nearby airports. Work with civil aviation authorities and airlines to enable international flights from these airports.
9. Please work with existing telecom service providers to ensure excellent communications and internet connectivity within the Techno Parks and their vicinities.
10. Consider volunteering to make small equity investments, not exceeding ten percent, in startups in the Techno Parks. This must be voluntary and not forced on founders. The entry price should be the same as that offered to angel investors, ensuring probity and the appearance of probity.
11. Please invite ISRO and the Ministry of Defence to open offices in the Techno Parks, and request them to post proactive officials there to help companies do business with these organisations.
12. Please send two of your ministers and two of your most articulate officials to visit several cities — not only in the US, where the visa issue has become critical, but also in Canada and Australia, where racist tropes are visible, and in the UK, which has a somnolent economy. These representatives should make attractive presentations to Indians and PIOs, inviting them to consider relocating to these Techno Parks. Please partner with a few hospitality companies (again through a transparent process) to ensure that visitors are warmly received and presented with attractive options.
13. I have referred to “transparent processes” frequently. Please note this does not mean settling for the lowest-cost L1 provider. The relevant Request for Proposals (RFPs) should emphasise quality and speed of execution and should be openly shared on the web.
14. Now, for the last and perhaps most important point: Where should these Techno Parks be located? I suggest four locations: Amaravati/Vijayawada; Visakhapatnam; Sri City; and Lepakshi/Hindupur.
15. As you can see, all these locations are within driving distance of major cities and airports. This locational advantage will be crucial to making the project a success.

Chief Minister Naidu, you will go down in history as the creator of modern Hyderabad. You now have an opportunity to go down in history again — as the technophile who brought home our brilliant prodigals, expanded the country’s human capital base, and launched not just Andhra Pradesh, but India into a great new orbit. Let us not forget that China has reportedly confiscated the passports of DeepSeek AI developers so they cannot leave the country. We are a democracy. We need not prevent people from going abroad. But we can, and should, welcome our talented sons and daughters back. And you, CM Naidu, are uniquely positioned to lead such a welcoming effort.

I wish you the best of luck.

Jaithirth ‘Jerry’ Rao is a retired entrepreneur who lives in Lonavala. He has published three books: ‘Notes from an Indian Conservative’, ‘The Indian Conservative’, and ‘Economist Gandhi’. Views are personal.

(Edited by Prashant)