Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced that the steel plant in Kadapa district will commence production by 2028 after the foundation for the Rayalaseema Steel Plant is laid on July three at Sunnapurallapalle in Jammalamadugu constituency. He made the announcement while addressing a public meeting at Jonnagiri in Kurnool district. The move forms part of efforts to accelerate industrial development in the region. The state was described as both the nation’s food bowl and a repository of minerals. Key deposits cited include barytes in Mangampeta, limestone in Kadapa, uranium and bauxite in the Visakhapatnam agency, and granites in Chimakurthy, Kuppam and Srikakulam. The inventory highlighted geological diversity for extraction and processing. Additional resources noted included mica in Gudur, silica in Nellore, beach sand along the north coast, iron ore in Anantapur and Kadapa, and gas and petroleum reserves in the Krishna Godavari basin. The government is promoting value addition industries to use these resources and to build local supply chains. Officials expect growth in the cement and steel sectors to generate substantial employment for local youth. The Chief Minister said the state had emerged as a model for the speed of doing business and was attracting investors, reversing earlier losses attributed to corrupt practices. Every district in Rayalaseema is being developed with an industrial base and investments are being targeted to sectors such as space, aerospace, defence, electronics, automobiles, steel, cement and clean energy. Work on industrial nodes is being prioritised to support manufacturing and services. He also announced that the country’s largest drone city will be set up in Kurnool district and that Orvakal industrial node is being developed rapidly, reiterating plans to bring a high court bench to Kurnool. Referring to recent investments, he highlighted Kia Motors in Anantapur, a fifth-generation fighter jet project underway, the Kopparthi industrial node in Kadapa and a Royal Enfield unit in Tirupati. Senior ministers and officials attended the meeting.