Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, was born in Naravaripally
village of Chittoor district on April 20, 1950. His late father
Sri N.K. Naidu was an agriculturist and his mother Smt. Ammanamma
is a housewife. Mr. Naidu had his school education in Chandragiri
and his college education at the Sri Venkateswara Arts College,
Tirupati. He did his Masters in Economics from the Sri Venkateswara
University, Tirupati. He was doing research for a Ph.D. degree at
the same university, when he took to politics.
Mr. Naidu has been active in politics since his student days. He
held various positions in his college and organized a number of
social activities. Following the 1977 cyclone, which devastated
Diviseema taluk of Krishna district, he actively organized donations
and relief material from Chittoor district for the cyclone victims.
Mr. Naidu has been evincing keen interest in rural development activities
in general and, the upliftment of the poor and downtrodden sections
of society in particular.
Mr.Naidu was elected to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
in 1978 from Chandragiri constituency in Chittoor district. He served
as a Director of the A.P. Small Scale Industries Development Corporation
for some time. He subsequently became a Minister and held the portfolios
of Archives, Cinematography, Technical Education, Animal Husbandry,
Dairy Development, Public Libraries and Minor Irrigation between
1980 and 1983. He also served as the Chairman of the State Karshak
Parishad, constituted for the first time to look after the welfare
of the farming community.
Mr. Naidu was the General Secretary of Telugu Desam Party since
1985, in which capacity he was instrumental in building up an effective
party organization from the grass roots. He was the moving force
for designing and organizing large scale multifaceted training programmes
for party functionaries.
He was elected again to the State Legislature from Kuppam constituency
of Chittoor district in 1989. He served as Coordinator of the Telugu
Desam Party, in which capacity he effectively handled the partys
role of main opposition in the assembly which won him wide appreciation
from both the party and the public. His role during this phase both
inside the legislative assembly and outside was a critical factor
for the subsequent success of the party at the hustings.
In 1994, he was reelected to the Assembly from Kuppam constituency
with a large majority of 57,000 votes and held the important portfolios
of Revenue and Finance. During this tenure Mr. Naidu systematically
introduced transparency in Government, thus breaking the tradition
of inordinate secrecy in the Finance department.
The mantle of leadership fell on the shoulders of Mr. Naidu at
a most critical juncture in the States politics. Following
a popular upsurge in the party Mr. Naidu, was unanimously elected
as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on 1st September 1995.
Following the elections to the State assembly wherein the Telugu
Desam Party led by Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu emerged as a winner,
he was sworn in on the 11th of October, 1999 as the Chief Minister
of Andhra Pradesh for the second term. He was elected with
a majority of more than 65,000 votes.
The Chief Minister has a modern outlook to administration. His
style of functioning is more akin to that of a CEO as compared to
a traditional politician. The Chief Minister has a firm conviction
that modern technology should be used in the service of the common
man. Consequently, he has been laying great emphasis on the use
of modern information technology in Government. He would like the
State to be run professionally as an efficient organization rather
than as a bureaucracy saddled with red-tape.
The Chief Ministers vision for the future includes multidimensional
development of all citizens of the State. He is keen to develop
the full potential of all citizens based on a strong moral foundation.
The Chief Minister has been propagating a return to ethical and
value based precepts in day to day life. In keeping with this commitment,
he has launched new initiatives, like the Janmabhoomi programme
which aims at achieving excellence in all walks of life and focuses
on community building through team work.
In order to achieve greater involvement of the people in the implementation
of Government programmes, the Chief Minister has been encouraging
the concept of social audit, which involves making information available
to all citizens about the works being taken up with public funds
in their area. The Chief Minister has also taken the initiative
for setting up self help groups like Water users associations,
for involving farmers in the management of irrigation systems. Other
self help groups like Watershed Development Committees, Womens
groups, Youth groups, Village Education Committees and Village Health
Committees have also been set up. These self help groups have significantly
contributed to removing intermediaries and have been widely acknowledged
for improving the condition of the poor.
The Chief Minister has initiated an exercise to define the Vision
2020 for the state. According to the Chief Minister, "Our vision
of Andhra Pradesh is a State where poverty is totally eradicated;
where every man, woman and child has access to not just the basic
minimum needs, but to all the opportunities for leading a happy
and fulfilling life; a knowledge and learning society built on the
values of hard work, honesty, discipline and a collective sense
of purpose." This vision reflects the Chief Ministers
forward looking perspective on the states development, and
the details of the vision are proposed to be fine tuned in consultation
with the people on a continuing basis.
The Chief Minister is undertaking administrative reforms in right
earnest and would like to emphasise as much on processes of transformating
as on informating within Government. As part of the
Administrative Reforms, the Chief Minister would like to use Information
Technology for providing better quality of governance for the common
man.
At the Chief Ministers initiative, a State Wide Area Network
has been set up linking State Secretariat and all the
district Collectorates using fibre optic networks. This is being
used for purposes of video conferencing, training and live demonstrations.
Campus Area network in the Secretariat and local Area Networks in
various government offices at different locations will be linked
to APSWAN.
An Executive Information System for monitoring the progress of
various governmental programmes has been set up in the Chief Ministers
Office. The information is now being fine-tuned and expanded to
cover more details and a large number of subject areas. Geographical
Information System (GIS) applications for the road network in the
State, the Irrigation and Drainage System, Forestry and Wasteland
development are also under implementation.
The Chief Minister is keen to set up distributed data warehouses
in different government departments as part of a Governmental Intranet.
The Chief Minister feels that the Internet technology holds immense
potential for the future and should be used to provide high quality
service to the citizen. It is therefore contemplated that all information
relevant to the citizen should be made available on electronic networks.
This will ensure one-stop non-stop information
to all citizens. As part of his vision for Information Technology
the Government of Andhra Pradesh is moving towards the concept of
paper-less offices using workflow concepts and enterprise wide computing.
The Government of Andhra Pradesh is in the process of setting up
a unified portal and is expanding on a pilot project called TWINS
(Twin cities Integrated Network Services) for providing one stop
services. With this, multiple citizen services like payment of bills,
registration of births and deaths, issuance of licenses will be
provided in a convenient manner.
At the Chief Ministers behest, the computerisation of the
registration department covering 214 sub-registrars offices has
been completed. This computerisation will enable citizens to access
services in a fraction of the time previously taken. For example,
registration of a land sale that previously used to take one week,
can now be accomplished in less than one hour.
In recognition of the Chief Minister's leadership and vision in
the field of Information technology, Mr.Naidu was designated as
the Co-chairperson of the National Task Force on Information technology
set up by the Government of India to prepare the IT road map for
the future. The Chief Minister in his capacity as the Co-chairperson
of the National Task Force, has taken a number of initiatives for
dismantling the monopoly in the telecommunications sector and for
promoting the use of Information technology for common citizens.
The stellar role played by the Chief Minister in promoting Information
technology for better governance has been widely recognised, both
within and outside the country.
When the Chief Minister took over in 1995, the States finances
were in very poor shape. Following the initiatives launched by the
Chief Minister, there has been a remarkable improvement in the States
economic performance.
The Chief Minister is a firm believer in accountability of the
Government and has taken steps to systematically incorporate accountability
as an intrinsic feature of Governments functioning.
The Chief Minister would like to achieve tangible results in a
short time frame. His working hours extend from 6.30 in the morning
to late into night. During this period, the Chief Minister devotes
a significant portion of his time for meeting a large number of
common citizens and addressing their problems and concerns. A grievance
cell has been set up in the Chief Ministers Office for monitoring
the redressal of public grievances. The Chief Ministers itinerary
also includes surprise visits to the districts which are aimed at
keeping administration on its toes. These visits are directed at
curbing administrative corruption and lethargy.
The decision making within the government has been expedited by
making effective use of communication by the Chief Minister. For
example, a videoconferencing unit enables the Chief Minister to
simultaneously address all District Collectors or consult the Cabinet
ministers on various issues. The Chief Minister has been conducting
videoconferences with Collectors on various issues like the power
situation, clean and green programme, rythu bazaars, monitoring
of prices, implementation of road works, sanitation and public health,
law and order etc. The system has been extremely effective in overcoming
the routine bureaucratic delays in the course of responding to issues
of immediate public concern during these videoconferences.
The Chief Minister is well known for innovative concepts and
programmes. The Dial your Chief Minister programme,
telecast by the Doordarshan Kendra of Hyderabad is one such programme
which is telecast every Monday. The Chief Minister addresses the
citizens over a large number of issues. A subject is identified
for the week and the citizens come up with their problems and communicate
it to the Chief Minister . The "Dial your
Chief Minister" programme is a very popular one with citizens
and the viewership of the programme is rated very high.
The Chief Minster has laid a lot of emphasis on water conservation
and water harvesting. He has taken up a campaign for sensitising
the people of the State and the administration for better management
of water to prevent drought situation in the future. Launching
of an innovative programme called Neeru Meeru, formation
of Watershed Committees, promotion of Water Shed development have
all been taken up in the State for better management of water
on the insistence of the Chief Minister. Water Conservation Mission
has been formed as a step in this direction. Inspired by his efforts
there has been a voluntary participatory movement amongst the citizens
of the State towards water conservation. A number of households
have built rain water-harvesting structures towards this cause.
Mr. Chandrababu Naidu has drawn attention and has concentrated
on evolving a new way looking at Centre State fnance relations.
He has spearheaded the campaign for fiscal federalism in the wake
of the recommendations of the Eleventh Finance Commission. He has
emphasised on equity and efficiency in the devolution of Central
revenues and sharing of resources between the Centre and the States.
The Chief Minister was awarded "The Business Person of the
Year" award in the year 1998, by the Economic Times. The award
recognised the progressive policies pursued by the Chief Minister.
While presenting the award, the citation mentioned that "it
is a vote for reform, for a politician who means business and sees
himself as a Chief Executive and his people as shareholders".
When World Link magazine of the World Economic Forum, decided to
pick a dream cabinet of political leaders in the year 1998, it selected
15 truly outstanding leaders after consultations with various experts.
Since political leadership was not necessarily confined to national
governments, they also looked at successful regional leaders and
pan regional institutions. Mr. N.Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister
of Andhra Pradesh who made the grade to World Links dream
cabinet shared the honours with the British Prime Minister, Mr.
Tony Blair; Iranian President, Mr. Mohammed Khatami and Foreign
Minister of New Zealand, Don McKinnon among others.
The Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu was given the "IT
man of the year" award by the Computer World in the year 1999,
for his vision and contributions in harnessing IT for improving
the lives of common citizens.
The Chief Minister has been voted as the "IT Indian of the
Millennium", in the year 1999, in a poll
conducted by a leading weekly magazine, 'India Today'. Mr.N.Chandrababu
Naidu was the only politician to be so preferred by the voters.
The Chief Minister has been declared as the South Asian of the
Year, 1999 by the Time Asia magazine.
The Chief Minister has been chosen as one of 50 leaders at
the forefront of change in the year 2000 by the Business Week magazine
for being an unflinching proponent of technology and his drive to
transform the State.
The Chief Minister is married to Mrs. Bhuvaneswari and has a son
Lokesh. His father-in-law the late Mr. N.T.Rama Rao was one of the
most accomplished film actors of Telugu cinema, who later founded
the Telugu Desam Party and was also the Chief Minister of Andhra
Pradesh.
What they have to say:
"In Andhra Pradesh in India, a state of 70 million people,
the Chief Minister has a programme for 2020. A programme for literacy,
for improved access to health care, for livelihoods, empowering
women, developing backward areas, creating safety nets -- a programme
with clearly monitorable targets that can be regularly checked"-
Mr.James Wolfensohn, President -The World Bank, (Oct 6, 1998) .
"Chandrababu Naidu, the visionary chief minister of Andhra
Pradesh, is trying to make government more transparent and responsive
by making it electronic .......The sort of revolution Mr. Naidu
is aiming for in Andhra Pradesh a managerial, not an ideological
one is exactly what India needs"-The Economist, ( May
22,1999) .
"Chandrababu Naidu has pioneered people centred development
process in the State which is designed to make the government sensitive
to the needs of the smallest village and galvanise government officials
into tackling them"- 'The Independent, London, (Sep 28,1999).
"As India's states become increasingly important in the drive
for the economic growth that is needed to pull hundreds of millions
of Indians out of poverty, state leaders like Naidu are at the vanguard
of efforts to modernize local economies and integrate them into
the global marketplace" - New York Times, (Sep 10, 1999) .
"In just five years, he has turned an impoverished, rural
backwater into India's new information-technology hub .More than
that, he has shaken up the state's moribund administration into
the most efficient civil service in South Asia. "- Time Asia,
( 31 Dec 1999)
" Naidu has emerged as a symbol of reform not just for Andhra,
but for all Indians eager to replace the politics of populism and
patronage with a new mantra of economic growth and efficient governance
....... the ripples from the Andhra experiment will be felt
all over the country"- The Far Eastern Economic Review,
(Jan 20, 2000)
"N. Chandrababu Naidu, the 49-year-old chief minister of the
southern state of Andhra Pradesh, emerged from October's polls with
unique stature. His ambitious and internationally-backed reform
programme (and enthusiasm for "e-governance") confounded
the pundits and triumphed over the populist bribes which are the
staple of Indian elections"- Financial Times, (Jan 31,2000)
"Again, I want to say that I think Chief Minister Naidu deserves
a lot of credit for giving you the right kind of governance"
- Mr. William Jefferson Clinton - US President (Mar 24, 2000)
"N. Chandrababu Naidu is an unflinching proponent of technology
and what it can do for a poor country like India............In his
five years running Andhra Pradesh, Naidu, 50, has used his decisiveness
and drive to transform the state"- Business Week (July 3, 2000)
"For the last five years the chief minister of this mainly
rural state has tried to lift its 80 million inhabitants by using
information technology and by following the economic model of East
Asia's success stories...........The world is watching Mr. Naidu
and his experiment, waiting to learn whether a state larger in population
than most Southeast Asian countries, heavily reliant on farming
and light industry, can leapfrog the traditional path to development
by focusing on software and the Internet...So far, many of the early
results of Mr. Naidu's experiment are encouraging. " - Herald
Tribune (Aug 30, 2000)
"He is a politician who has been voted the country's best
CEO. He has catapulted his state from the backwaters of the old
economy to the cutting edge of the new. He has transformed his sleepy
capital city into snazzy showcase of high technology."- Times
of India ( Oct 12, 2000)
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