Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday called for greater participation of women in politics and business.
Addressing the Women and Growth Summit 2026 held alongside the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam, the CM underlined that the state government is committed to increasing participation of women in the workforce from the current 35.8 per cent to 50 per cent in the near future.
Those who attended the summit, held under the theme – The Women Who Will Shape the Next Economy: Leadership, Capital, Ambition – included former union minister Smriti Irani, CII president Suchitra Ella, representatives of CII’s Alliance for Global Good, industrialists, and women leaders.
Naidu pointed out that the alliance has given eight mayoral positions to women, although only five posts had been statutorily earmarked for them in the recent municipal corporation elections.
Further, women accounted for 50 per cent of elected representatives in local bodies.
The Chief Minister called on all political parties to work towards implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in various legislative bodies.
Highlighting the role of women’s self-help groups, he said 1.13 crore women are members of SHGs in Andhra Pradesh.
These groups have built a corpus fund of ₹30,000 crore and their annual business turnover is nearly ₹1 lakh crore.
On employment opportunities, Naidu said the textile manufacturing facility at Brandix in Visakhapatnam employs around 20,000 women, while the proposed Global Toy Park is expected to generate 30,000 jobs for women.
Investments coming into Kuppam, Anantapur, and other parts of the state would also create employment opportunities for women.
The CM referred to natural farming being promoted across 25 lakh acres in the state, with women playing a significant role in training farmers and expanding sustainable agricultural practices.
He asked women to embrace emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, space technology, drones, and robotics.
This would help them secure jobs in Tirupati, which is being developed as a global design hub and semiconductor manufacturing centre.
Naidu announced that five women entrepreneurs from Andhra Pradesh would be encouraged to participate in the forthcoming World Economic Forum summit at Davos.
Earlier, CII president Suchitra Ella credited Naidu with laying the foundation for the growth of IT, biotechnology, and life sciences in the region.
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