In one sitting on Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh’s Cabinet approved a feasibility study of small modular nuclear reactors as an alternative to coal-fired power, a ten-year Robotics & Physical AI Policy, changes to its semiconductor policy, a 512-megawatt AI data centre near Visakhapatnam and a ₹4,000-crore battery-materials complex. Taken together, the decisions sketch an energy-and-compute strategy. What they do not yet provide is policy texts, reactor capacities, partners or timelines.
Two days before Visakhapatnam hosts the CII Partnership Summit, Andhra Pradesh’s Cabinet met at the Velagapudi Secretariat under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and cleared more than 30 agenda items. Deccan Chronicle counts “more than 30”; The Hans India counts 34. Most were industrial land allotments. A handful, however, carry a scientific and technological significance well beyond the state.
Small reactors, big questions
The most consequential decision is the least detailed. According to The Hans India, the Cabinet gave approval “to examine the feasibility of setting up nuclear power plants using SMR technology as an alternative to thermal power in the state”. Deccan Chronicle reports that the state generation utility, APGENCO, received approval to explore small modular reactor technology “as a future alternative to thermal power units”. A second Hans India report describes the study as covering “private participation” in nuclear generation, “subject to the availability of the technology”.
None of the reports names a reactor design, a capacity, a site, a partner or a budget. The decision is a study, not a sanction for construction.
Small modular reactors (SMRs) are fission reactors of up to about 300 megawatts of electrical output, the threshold commonly used by the International Atomic Energy Agency. That is a fraction of a conventional nuclear unit. The idea is to build the main components in factories and ship them, cutting construction time and cost. Because they are compact, SMRs are also proposed as replacements for coal units at ageing thermal plants, where the grid connections, cooling water and land already exist. This appears to be what “an alternative to thermal power” means in the Cabinet’s wording.
The national context is shifting. The Union Budget for 2025–26 announced a Nuclear Energy Mission with ₹20,000 crore for SMR research and development, aiming for at least five indigenously designed SMRs in operation by 2033. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is developing the Bharat Small Modular Reactor. Nuclear power generation in India has historically been reserved for central public-sector undertakings. A state utility or private company would need clearance from the Centre and the regulator, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, at every step. Worldwide, very few SMRs are yet in commercial operation, and costs remain uncertain.
A policy for robots that act in the world
The Cabinet also approved an AP Robotics and Physical AI Policy 2026–36. “Physical AI” refers to artificial-intelligence systems that sense and act in the physical world, such as industrial robots, autonomous vehicles, drones and humanoid machines, as distinct from software that only generates text or images. A dedicated, ten-year state policy in this field is unusual in India. No incentives, targets or institutional arrangements were reported, and the text has not been published.
Alongside it, the Cabinet cleared amendments to the AP Semiconductor and Display Fab Policy (4.0) 2024–29. Two reports describe the amendments as “draft”. None says what has changed. An AVGC-XR Policy 2026–31, for animation, visual effects, gaming, comics and extended reality, was also approved.
Compute, and the power to run it
The largest single number is the ₹31,387-crore, 512 MW “green integrated AI data centre” by AM Intelligence Labs at Bheemunipatnam, Visakhapatnam district. The Hans India says it is expected to generate 1,000 jobs. The project is not new: PTI reported a state Government Order approving it on 22 August, so Tuesday’s decision is a ratification.
The scale is nonetheless worth grasping. A facility drawing 512 MW continuously would use about 4.5 terawatt-hours (4,500 million units) a year, enough to make it one of the largest single electricity consumers in the state. None of the reports explains what “green” means in practice, or how the supply will be secured.
The Cabinet also allotted about 25 acres at Bhogapuram, Vizianagaram district, for a “giga-scale” Reliance Industries AI data centre. No investment figure was given. Deccan Chronicle says the land goes to the state industrial corporation, APIIC, for the project. These sit alongside Google’s AI hub in Visakhapatnam, announced in October 2025, and help explain the logic of the SMR study: AI data centres need large, steady, low-carbon electricity, which solar and wind alone cannot supply around the clock without storage.
Batteries and hardware
Carbon Cosmo Advanced Materials was cleared for a ₹4,000.20-crore complex at Naidupeta, Tirupati district, making iron phosphate and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material, with about 700 jobs. LFP is the chemistry behind most new grid-storage batteries and a growing share of electric vehicles, valued for safety, long life and freedom from cobalt and nickel. India currently imports most of its cathode material, largely from China. No production capacity was disclosed.
Other approvals included:
- Epack Data Centre Solutions: a ₹570.20-crore unit at Rambilli, Anakapalli, making modular components for AI and hyperscale data centres, with 2,565 jobs.
- Dixon Technologies: land in Tirupati for a ₹700-crore electronics project, with 2,300 jobs.
- Hetero: 173.82 acres in the Nakkapalli Bulk Drug Park.
- Clean energy: compressed-biogas plants in NTR, Prakasam and Vizianagaram districts, and APGENCO land for a 15 MW waste-to-energy plant in Vijayawada.
What to make of it
The package is coherent on paper: compute needs power, power needs to be clean and firm, and manufacturing ties both to jobs. But Cabinet approvals are where projects begin, not where they are proven. No minister was quoted in any report NSH found, and every figure above is an announced investment or job estimate.
