Education and IT minister Nara Lokesh continued investment outreach in Russia, meeting industrial and transport leaders to solicit projects in Andhra Pradesh's manufacturing, logistics, mobility and technology sectors. He invited the Russian metallurgical firm Novostal-M to establish an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel plant in Andhra Pradesh to produce premium rebars and wire rods. He proposed additional metal industry investments, including a structural section and railway track rolling mill at Sri City, owing to its rail connectivity and proximity to the Chennai–Bengaluru industrial corridor. He also sought investment for a galvanised hardware wire manufacturing unit serving automotive and shipbuilding sectors, and proposed a joint venture to develop a raw material logistics hub with dedicated waterfront berths. He encouraged collaboration on low-carbon steel production linked to renewable energy corridors and advanced manufacturing solutions. Novostal-M officials indicated the company produces two point eight million (mn) tonnes (t) of steel annually and exports to more than 60 countries, and would examine the proposals presented by the state. Lokesh met the president of Russian conglomerate Sistema to outline partnerships in electric river metro projects, green hydrogen and ammonia initiatives, satellite ground stations, autonomous maritime technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based coastal surveillance and electric vehicle charging networks. He invited Sistema to engage with Andhra Pradesh's Quantum Valley initiative and explore cooperation in cybersecurity, biometric systems and AI-based urban governance, and the conglomerate said it was already active in the Indian digital ecosystem and small and medium enterprise (SME) financing and would study the proposals. Meetings with Moscow's transport minister and deputy mayor focused on technical cooperation for metro rail development, AI-based transit tracking, smart traffic management and electric bus fleets. The minister proposed integrated transport command centres, digital freight corridors, multimodal logistics hubs and advanced cargo tracking platforms to strengthen links between ports and rail networks. The outreach was presented as part of the state government's effort to attract global investment and advanced technologies into infrastructure, manufacturing and the digital economy. The discussions were described as exploratory steps to convert interest into concrete investments and technology partnerships.