Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said his government was taking steps to make the state Indias “innovation valley” with its capital Amravati housing nine “happy cities” with a perfect work-life balance for its residents.

“The crucial part of Amravati will be the Amravati Media City (AMC), which will focus on media, entertainment, social media and other cutting edge technologies. This city will act as its hub,” Naidu told a group of businessmen explaining the steps his government is taking to make Andhra a new investment destination.

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Naidu was addressing a workshop – “Andhra Pradesh: The Emerging Hub of Indian Media”, organised by Centre for Strategy and Leadership in Delhi.

“We are committed to make Andhra Pradesh the best state to work and live in the country. We will make it the innovation valley. Amravati will be the hub of this innovation which will comprise nine cities – Media City, Government City, Justice City, Finance City, Knowledge City, Tourism City, Electronics City and Sports City.

“Our hardships have posed as obstacles but haven’t distracted us from taking our minds off our single-minded goal of developing Andhra Pradesh,” Naidu said.

He was referring to the central government’s refusal to give the state a special category status to compensate for the losses it suffered due to 2014 bifurcation that led to the creation of Telangana.

The Chief Minister said despite having to start from the scratch the state grew around 10-11 per cent per annum with significant increase in per capita income.

The government’s vision 2036 for the Media City at Amaravati is to develop it into a world class media hub with a long term vision to host International events like Cannes Film festival and Grammy awards.

Naidu stressed that his government’s vision is to make the nine proposed cities not just the best in terms of technology and services but “as ‘happy cities’ with a perfect work-life balance for its residents”.

“No compromises will be made. These cities will not just be sustainable and state-of-the-art, but will bring out the best in people,” the Chief Minister said.

Naidu said the media city would act as the hub for four elements – films and TV, animation, VFX and gaming, digital advertising and social media and telecom.

Vikas Sharma, Director, Centre for Strategy and Leadership, said Amravati would be India’s first future city that would fuel the growth of India, particularly southern parts of India.

“It will be hub of all major activities in India. It will also attract other countries and organisations to associate and invest with Amravati.”