Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has been selected for the prestigious ‘Business Reformer of the Year’ award by a prominent media house, in recognition of his leadership in implementing business-friendly policies, driving industrial reforms, and attracting large-scale investments to the state.

The award will be formally presented at a special ceremony scheduled to be held in March, where Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will confer the honour on the Chief Minister. The selection was made by an eminent jury comprising leading industrialists, economists, and legal experts. The jury includes Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal, Kotak Mahindra Bank founder Uday Kotak, Narayana Health founder Dr. Devi Shetty, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata.

The award has previously been conferred on prominent national leaders, including Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw (2024), S. Jaishankar (2023), Nirmala Sitharaman (2021), former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (2019), late Union Minister Arun Jaitley (2017), and Piyush Goyal (2015). Observers noted that this is among the rare instances where a sitting state Chief Minister has been chosen for the honour.

The announcement was made during a collectors’ conference in Amaravati, triggering a standing ovation from ministers, senior officials, and district collectors present at the event. Minister Atchannaidu described the recognition as a matter of pride for the state, while Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav said the award had become a national talking point, remarking that it marked a shift from past governance failures to a renewed focus on growth and development.

Responding to the honour, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said he generally refrains from accepting awards and recalled having politely declined honorary doctorates from foreign universities in the past. He asserted that the credit for the award belonged entirely to his colleagues, officials, and district collectors.

Highlighting the state’s economic reforms, the Chief Minister said Andhra Pradesh had consistently topped national Ease of Doing Business rankings after Gujarat, despite repeated changes in assessment norms. He noted that the government had introduced 25 new industrial and investment policies over the past 18 months and was now focusing on a “Speed of Doing Business” and “Speed of Delivering Governance” model. He also announced the introduction of an escrow mechanism for industrial incentives, an initiative he said was unprecedented in the country.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan congratulated Chandrababu Naidu, describing him as a visionary leader whose efforts in attracting investments, promoting IT and green energy, and reforming governance were paving the way toward the ‘Swarna Andhra 2047’ vision. He expressed hope that the recognition would further strengthen the state’s development trajectory.