Lokesh banks on students to make AP number one
KAKINADA: Andhra Pradesh aims to become number one state in the country in all sectors and students should be active partners in that endeavour, Education, IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh said during an interaction with students at JNTU Kakinada on Friday. He took part in a programme titled ‘Hello Lokesh’, answering questions on education, jobs, technology, and development.
Lokesh said his main goal is to build a strong future for youth and reiterated that the government is working with commitment to improve opportunities for youth.
He said his pre-election ‘Yuvagalam’ padayatra had helped him understand the needs and expectations of people and young citizens across the state. He said meeting students regularly will help the government gather feedback and improve curriculum and skill training. He advised students to uphold moral values and said that noted spiritual speaker Chaganti Koteswara Rao has been appointed as adviser on value education.
Replying to questions, the Minister said he completed engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States and focused on learning and analytical thinking, rather than rote learning. He cautioned that Artificial Intelligence is useful but students should not depend on it fully and must protect their creativity and thinking ability.
On the conduct of Godavari Pushkarams, Lokesh said crowd management and digital monitoring are essential. He said preparations for the coming Godavari Pushkaram have already started and civil works are in progress. He requested JNTU to help develop a digital twin model for Pushkar Ghat to enhance safety and improve facilities.
Lokesh said the state is redesigning higher education courses based on industry feedback to reduce the skill gap. Labs linked to sectors such as petroleum, aqua and green hydrogen will be set up. He said a cluster-based research system is being developed. Through the state skill portal and AI-based assessment, thousands of youth are being screened and guided for jobs. He said many companies have come to the state after the present government took office and most jobs are going to local candidates.
On Davos meetings, Lokesh said the platform helps present the state’s strengths and hold talks with global experts and companies. He said quantum computing and data centers are being promoted and the long-term job target is 20 lakh positions through investments.
The Minister said steps are being taken to increase the number of buses due to higher passenger load and government hospitals will be strengthened with better standards. In school education, the ‘one class one teacher’ model is being expanded and thousands of teacher posts are being filled. AI tools are being used to measure student learning levels.
On green energy, Lokesh said the future belongs to renewable power and Andhra Pradesh is focused on solar, wind, pumped storage and green ammonia. He said the country’s first green ammonia export project has been launched at Kakinada. Plans are also in place to build a strong pharma and medical devices ecosystem in the state.
Lokesh said development must include ethics and social responsibility and income gaps are a global concern. He said technology opportunities in AI and quantum sectors must be used well. He also supported age-based limits on social media access for children and said libraries and sports facilities are being improved. The Minister inaugurated a new PG boys hostel building named ‘Nandanam’ at JNTU Kakinada and opened new CC roads and drainage works on the campus. The hostel was built with an outlay of Rs 10 crore covering over 53,000 sqft. Campus roads and drains were developed at a cost of Rs 21 crore.
Lokesh visited an innovation fair organised by affiliated colleges and examined student projects including banana fiber food products, a mobile banana extractor, and an intelligent energy management system.
University Vice-Chancellor Prof Chekuri Sivaramakrishna Prasad, Principal Dr N Mohana Rao, Innovation Head Gopala Krishna, MP Sana Satish, MLAs Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao, Yanamaa Divya, Varupula Satya Prabha, Adireddy Srinivas, TDP Zonal Coordinator Sujaya Krishna Rangarao, Kakinada District TDP president Jyothula Naveen, MLCs Karri Padmasri, Perabattula Rajasekharam and others participated.
