Vijayawada/Chennai, Nov. 17 -- Sometime in August 2024, Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh's minister for human resources development (HRD), information technology (IT) and electronics, offered to drive Tata group chairman N. Chandrasekaran to the airport. The latter was in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh's capital, to co-chair the task force for economic development of the state.

"What should a young politician who wants to do good for society do?" Lokesh asked Chandrasekaran during the 40-minute drive. "You should promise and deliver on the speed of doing business," he responded.

Ticket sizes of investments, the Tata chairman explained, were increasing and even a few months delay can cause the business case of the project to go for a toss.

That a...