Success stories have been many — from the world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation project to hosting the world’s biggest businesses’ ‘only office’ outside their headquarters, to farm revolution. The State’s focus on 3Is — innovation, infrastructure and inclusivity — is spearheading growth across sectors.
Up, Ahead
The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Telangana increased 130% from Rs 5 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs 11.54 lakh crore in 2021-22, not to mention the Per Capita Income (PCI) growth of 125% in the past seven years — from Rs 1,24,104 in 2014-15 to Rs 2,78,833 in 2021-22.
The State recorded a staggering growth of 19.1% at current prices with Rs 11.54 lakh crore in 2021-22, over the previous financial year as of February 28, 2022.
Further, the State has secured top rank among major States in the PCI with Rs 2,78,833 ie, 18.78% higher over the previous fiscal. The compound average growth rate (CAGR) of PCI at current prices in the last five years (2017-18 to 2021-22) for Telangana (11.7%) was 4.9 percentage points higher than India’s 6.8%.
Verdant Lands
The Telangana government has adopted a comprehensive irrigation development strategy to provide irrigation facilities to about 125 lakh acres of land across the State. A six-pronged strategy has put the completion of pending irrigation projects on a fast track.
According to Telangana State Development Planning Society, irrigation in the State was dependent on the Godavari and Krishna Rivers having an allocation of 1266.94 tmc (967.94 tmc and 299 tmc in Godavari and Krishna respectively) of assured water besides 500 tmc of surplus waters in both the rivers.
The State has undertaken speedy completion of projects, neglected for years in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, apart from modernisation of old projects including Nagarjuna Sagar, Nizamsagar and Sri Ramsagar.
Restoration of all minor irrigation tanks and water bodies under ‘Mission Kakatiya’ was also taken up, besides linking of major irrigation tanks with major and medium projects by constructing sluices and check dams for rejuvenation of streams and rivers flowing through the project command areas.
Power On
Frequent power cuts, industrial power holidays and a series of protests demanding supply of continuous power used to be common in undivided Andhra Pradesh. But after the formation of separate Telangana, the power sector has witnessed a massive change with the TRS government according top priority to it. This has resulted in continuous power supply to all categories of consumers in the State since 2014.
Telangana’s total contracted capacity of electricity stood at 16,613 Mw as of September 1, 2021, of which 51% was generated by the State, while 16% by the Central and 33% by private companies.
The generation capacity of the Telangana State Generation Company (TSGENCO) is 6,215 Mw. Of this, 60.70% is thermal, 39.28% hydel while solar energy accounts for 0.02%.
The total contracted capacity of the private sector is 5,453 Mw, of which 64% is solar energy while 14.79% is gas-based and 15.38% is thermal energy. Over 5.81% is non-conventional energy other than solar.
Benchmark for Single Window System
Invest India, the first point of contact for global companies wanting to set up their operations in India, a couple of months ago launched a single-window clearance system. The inspiration for this, according to Invest India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Deepak Bhagla, was the Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System, popularly known as TS-iPASS.
Bhagla, who affirms TS-iPASS is one of the most effective single widow systems in the country, says India will be a completely new destination for the global investor community to look at if the national single window is brought to the same level of efficiency as Telangana’s.
Telangana has indeed raised the bar and set a benchmark for other States to emulate. TS-iPass so far has cleared about 18,000 applications worth Rs 2.3 lakh crore investments and is in the process of creating employment for about 1.6 million people. It allows entrepreneurs to know the reasons for the delay in getting the clearances. Ranked among the top three States in the Ease of Doing Business (from the 13th position), Telangana is the only State that penalises officials if a project is delayed without valid reason. The approval time ranges from one day to 30 days and post that the proposal gets a deemed approval.
IT’s Trending
Telangana is eyeing IT exports of about Rs 3 lakh crore and total direct employment of 10 lakh in the IT sector by 2026. IT and ITeS exports grew 13% during 2020-21 at Rs 1.45 lakh crore, from Rs 1.28 lakh the previous year. The sector employs about 6.28 lakh people, up 8% from 5.81 lakh during 2019-20. The BPO/KPO segment accounts for about 20% of the employee base.
Telangana also plans to develop an Investor Playbook with details on the process flow of steps involved in setting up an office space in the State, list of potential organisations they can collaborate with and a list of empanelled vendors. The State recently announced its second ICT Policy to harness the opportunities in product development, engineering, research and development, electronics, innovation and entrepreneurship, skilling, contactless and paperless governance and digital infrastructure among others. The State is moving towards a product-led IT economy for a multiplier effect on the ICT sector and is strengthening its intellectual property output. It will also support SMEs with business development.
The government aims to develop Tier II and III cities as IT powerhouses and facilitate the growth of a complete ecosystem like Hyderabad in these locations. Cities like Khammam, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Warangal and others have already been established.
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