Google's mega Vizag investment comes with a regulatory wishlist

It is not uncommon for the governments to court marquee investors, either entirely or partly on the latter’s terms. The central government, the government of Andhra Pradesh, and Google are currently in a passionate courtship, with the tech giant’s $4 billion AI and cloud data centre investment—its biggest infrastructure-related spend in India till date—in Visakhapatnam at its heart.  

The state has promised nearly 300 acres of land for Google’s AI and cloud hub, which, according to a former company executive involved in regional expansion, will be the largest in Asia after Taiwan and Singapore—two major data centre hubs serving the entire continent. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, credited with the vision to develop Vizag as a tech and innovation hub, has already publicly stated how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurances regarding taxation stability was key in getting Google to invest.

Google, however, isn’t done with its wishlist. 

The CapTable has learnt the company has submitted a proposal to the central government—specifically to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Finance—seeking favourable regulatory terms in support of the Vizag investment in recent weeks.