IT, Education, Focus of Clinton's AP Visit

The five-hour visit of United States Bill Clinton here on March 24 will open up new frontiers of cooperation between America and Andhra Pradesh, in the field of information technology, officials said.

Without disclosing the number and kind of agreements that will be signed between the state and the U.S., because of "protocol constraints," J. Satyanarayana, IT secretary, told IANS: "IT education and imaging will figure prominently (in terms of new areas of cooperation between the U.S. and Andhra)."

"Hyderabad is already on the world IT map, but the visit will immensely boost the investment perception of investors as well as encourage the already upbeat local industry," Satyanarayana told IANS.

The official said that while the immediate investments that would accrue to the state will be quantified and revealed only on March 24, the long-term benefits would depend on the follow-up to the interactions between the two sides at a business meet at Hi-Tech City.

The meet is being organized by the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Confederation of Indian Industry, the state government and the American Chamber of Commerce.

During his visit to the Hi-Tech city, Clinton will inaugurate an Indo-U.S. Green Business Center set up by the United States Energy Association, the state government and the CII, with support from USAID. The Center will promote clean energy technologies and green business processes, and benchmark Indian firms according to international standards of energy efficiency and environmental impact, officials said.

Clinton will address the crème of the Indian industry, including the Who's Who of infotech sector, for 20 minutes. Before that, he will visit the knowledge exhibition put up by major industries in an air-conditioned hall that can accommodate about 1,200 people.

Leading industry majors are participating in the exhibition -- Satyam Infoway, Infosys Technologies, Compaq, Dr. Reddy's Labs, Global Trust Bank, Manufacturers Association of Information Technology, Mindtree Consulting, Oracle, National Institute of Information Technology, Tata Cellular, etc., besides the Andhra Pradesh government.

However, it is not IT alone that is expected to benefit from Clinton's visit.

T. Gopala Rao, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, told IANS that though he would not be able to specify the exact nature of partnerships, some sectors identified for the same include food-processing and agro-based industries and automobile spare parts. Meanwhile, the government of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is going all out to insure the success of the visit. It has even roped in ad guru Alyque Padamsee for designing hoardings, banners and arches to be placed on routes to be taken by Clinton.

D. Krishna Reddy, chairman of Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA), told IANS that the state government has directed HUDA to place four arches, including one at the Begumpet airport and another at Hi-Tech City.

The flower-decked arches will bear catchy slogans such as "A short journey from Silicon Valley to Cyberabad..." and "Thank You, Mr. President, together we have made it happen..." etc. The arches will also depict pictures of famous landmarks of the state, such as the Charminar etc., Reddy said.

The state administration is also reportedly planning to put up colorful cut-outs of Naidu and Clinton, measuring about 20 feet in height and 12 feet in width, something that people generally honor film stars with.