IT & Electronics and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh said Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) was positioning itself as a trusted long-term partner in the emerging global nuclear economy as rising AI-driven electricity demand and industrial decarbonisation reshaped global energy strategies.
IT & HRD Minister Nara Lokesh felicitating Denis Alipov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to India, in New Delhi on the sidelines of a meeting of the US Nuclear Executive Mission to India on Monday | Photo Credit: ARRANGEMENT
Addressing the US Executive Nuclear Mission to India Summit in New Delhi, jointly organised by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) on Monday, Mr. Lokesh said A.P. offered significant opportunities across nuclear manufacturing, engineering ecosystems, industrial supply chains, advanced energy infrastructure and next-generation clean technology partnerships.
He observed that global energy systems were entering a structural transition driven by AI growth, industrial electrification, energy security concerns and decarbonisation commitments and A.P. intended to play a meaningful role in that transition.
He said advanced nuclear technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and next-generation reactor systems were creating opportunities far beyond electricity generation, particularly in modular manufacturing, precision engineering, distributed supply chains and industrial-scale deployment ecosystems.
Vizag making strides
Mr. Lokesh said A.P. was simultaneously building industrial corridors, electronics manufacturing clusters, renewable energy infrastructure and large-scale digital infrastructure ecosystems and noted that Visakhapatnam was being developed as a major AI and data center hub with nearly 6 GW of data center capacity expected to come up over the coming years.
“These next-generation industrial ecosystems require massive volumes of reliable, affordable and round-the-clock clean power. Energy planning thus became central to economic planning,” he stated.
Highlighting the impact of AI-led infrastructure expansion, Mr. Lokesh said global electricity demand was entering a new phase, pointing out that a single hyperscale AI-native data center could consume electricity comparable to that of a mid-sized city.
A combination of AI infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, electronics clusters and industrial corridors would set the power demand soaring, he said, adding that India-U.S. cooperation had already deepened significantly across technology, semiconductors, defence and clean energy sectors and nuclear energy could emerge as the next major pillar of the strategic partnership.