These days, entire Telangana State is in the grip of 75th Independence Day celebrations. And state government already made it a grand success with inspiring patriotism and motivating Indian with a zeal to participate in these celebrations.
The youngest State in India, Telangana, ever since its formation has been witnessing rapid development backed by its effective policies in a variety of sectors. Be it agriculture, women empowerment, support to the backward communities, building a world-class start-up ecosystem, or its top performance in ease of doing business, Telangana has bagged almost all the accolades.
Keeping these massive developments in mind, on this 75th Independence Day, #khabarlive decided to look at how this youngest State is doing across many of the key segments, its one-of-kind projects, and the ones upcoming, that are inspiring other Indian States.
At the national level, the highlights of this Independence Day has been the Center’s “Har Ghar Tiranga” campaign encouraging people to bring Tirange home and Prime Minister Narendra Modi changing his display picture on social media accounts to a ‘Tiranga’ to start the collective movement and many more. Talking about Prime Ministers, we think that today might be a good time to explore some of the historic decisions taken by former Indian Prime Ministers.
Telanagana’s Exemplory Show in Education
Education has been the State’s strong foothold, proven by the fact that the State had an almost zero dropout rate in primary schools in 2019-20. The percentage of schools with ICT (Information and Communication Technology) labs has doubled from 17% to 35%, and a similar is the story with the number of enrolments (per lakh population) in the higher-education field, which increased from 9.7 to 15.7 during 2020-21. For improving the quality of graduates coming out from IT, and E&C departments, the State even has in place a unique skill development initiative (called TASK) that has already trained 1 lakh youth from 800 colleges across the State.
The government has also started implementing its Rs 7,289 crore project under its new scheme “Mana Vooru – Mana Badi” which aims to provide basic amenities at 26,065 State-run schools to make them at par with corporate schools. Basic amenities covered in this program include toilets with running water, electrification, drinking water, furniture for staff and students, painted buildings, digital education, and other aspects that government schools usually lag in. Four schools, two each in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy district have already been developed under this pilot project.
Upcoming Projects: Under its upcoming initiatives, the government is aiming to help polytechnics and engineering institutions in the State by providing them with Technology Enabled Laboratories (TEL). To achieve this, the government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BITS (Birla Institute of Technology and Science) which would design, develop, and deploy these laboratories. The State is even planning to set up advanced institutes in hot-demanding fields of aviation and automobile.
IT-Sector & Startup Ecosystem
Contributing to over 11% of India’s IT exports, Telangana has been a leading IT destination in the country since the 2010s. During 2021-22, Telangana’s IT/ITeS sector recorded a phenomenal growth of 26.14% (compared to the national average of 8.09%), with exports worth Rs 1,83,569 crore, all of which increased the State’s employment rate by 23.78% and added 1,49,506 new jobs. These new jobs represent 30% of all the IT jobs created in the country – an impressive figure.
Besides being a leading player in the IT sector, Telangana has also been at the forefront of India’s startup revolution. This is apparent from the figures, as the State’s number of startups increased from just 400 in 2016 to 2,000 in 2022. The list includes names like healthcare tech startup eKincare, footwear startup Neeman, business management company NowFloats, HR management software Darwinbox, and others. A big contributing factor behind such startup growth has been T-Hub (Technology Hub), which has been providing 1000s of national and international startups with technology, mentors, investors, corporates, and government agencies access since 2015. The State has even gone to create a WE Hub (Women Entrepreneurs Hub) that’s helping women entrepreneurs with financial, societal, and support barriers to create innovative ideas and solutions.
Social Welfare Initiatives
A great government takes care of its underprivileged section, but the Telangana government has gone a mile extra by implementing tons of welfare schemes. Here are a few of them that deserves to be mentioned:
- Dalit Bandhu Scheme: Launched in 2021, this scheme is built to instill a sense of financial security in Dalits by providing them with a one-time grant of Rs.10,00,000.
- Kalyana Lakshmi/Shaadi Mubaarak Scheme: This scheme provides brides from SC/ST and minority families with parental income of less than Rs. 2 lakh per annum with the financial assistance of Rs. 1,00,116 at the time of marriage.
- Asara Pension Scheme: This scheme was launched to help vulnerable sections of society like old ones, people with HIV-AIDS, disabled, widows, incapacitated weavers, senior citizens, widows, beedi workers, filaria victims, single women, handloom weavers, and toddy tappers, by providing them with minimum financial assistance. The assistance value can range from Rs.1000 to Rs. 3,016 per month.
- Housing For The Poor: To provide homeless poor people with quality and respectable housing, the Telangana government is building 2-BHK flats from them in cities like Hyderabad and independent houses in rural areas. A pilot urban project with 396 units is already underway at Bhoidguda, Secunderabad.
- Rice Distribution: Under this initiative, the government provides families that meet BPL criteria with 6 kgs of rice per person at just Rs.1 per kg, with no ceiling on the number of family members. A whooping 2,86,00,000 (two crore eighty-six lakh) people benefit from this scheme, including 56 lakh school and college students.
- Sheep Distribution Program: Designed for the upliftment of 4 lakhs Yadava/Golla/Kuruma families, this program allows these families to buy up to 21 ships on a whooping 75% subsidy.
Besides launching social initiatives for the poor, the government has also launched some programs for the general population too. Two of them deserve to be mentioned.
- Kanti Velugu: This is a State-covering program that provides comprehensive and universal eye screening to the State’s entire population.
- T-Fiber: This initiative, launched as a part of ‘Digital Telangana’, is connecting every household, government, and private institution in the State with affordable & reliable high-speed broadband connectivity.
- Mission Bhagiratha: Telangana’s another ambitious project that’s providing clean piped water to the State’s towns and villages by utilizing the surface water of the State’s perennial rivers and major reservoirs.
Agriculture & Irrigation Projects
Telangana runs the first direct farmer investment support scheme in India by the name of ‘Rythu Bandhu’ that provides a grant of Rs.5,000 per acre per season to farmers for the purchase of agriculture inputs like seeds, and pesticides, fertilizers, labour, and other investments. Introduced in the 2018-19 Kharif season, the program is designed to enhance farmers’ income & agriculture productivity, and help them to break the rural indebtedness vicious cycle. Another program, known by the name of Rythu Bima, provides assistance of Rs.5 lakhs to the enrolled farmer’s family members/ dependents, in case of farmer’s life loss due to any reason.
To restore all the minor irrigation tanks and lakes in the State, the KCR-led Telangana government launched the Mission Kakatiya project in 2015, which had completed works on 27,713 lakes and provided water for 20 lakh acres of land by March 2018. The project stabilized over 2.88 lakh acres of new ayacut, restored the fisherman’s livelihood and resulted in the return of many migratory birds.
In-Progress Rythu Vedikas Project: Through this project, the Telangana government is building 2,604 Rythu Vedikas that can be used as godown space along with holding meetings and discussions. The first vedica was inaugurated in 2020, and as of now, the construction of all the Rythu Vedikas seems to have been completed. This first-of-its-kind project in India is being hailed by many as a revolutionary step that would change the State’s farming sector contours.
Women Initiatives & Women Glory
Telangana government runs two schemes namely Arogya Lakshmi and KCR Kit for pregnant women to provide them with assistance during both pre-delivery as well as post-delivery phases. The first scheme, the Arogya Lakshmi scheme, is providing 21,58,479 pregnant women, 18,96,844 lactating mothers, and 5,18,215 infants with one nutritious meal every day through its network of Anganwadi Centres. The other scheme, known by the name KCR Kit, provides financial assistance of Rs 12,000 to women giving birth at government-run hospitals.
The kit includes baby oil, soaps, mosquito net, toys for the child, diapers, towel & napkins, a baby bed, and other useful necessities. An extra 1000 rupees of financial assistance is given if a baby girl is born.
The State even has been implementing the world’s largest and most unique Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program that provides a package of services for the development and welfare of women and children including supplementary nutrition, health check-up, immunization, pre-school non-formal education, and referral services.
Women’s security has also been on the State’s forefront agenda. That’s why 100 SHE teams have been operational in the city under the direct supervision of Smt. Shikha Goel IPS, curbing eve-teasing in all aspects and facilitating a healthy environment for women’s mobility.
Women’s security has also been on the State’s forefront agenda. SHE teams, division of Telangana Police for enhanced safety and security of women, has been an instrumental player in this. While Swati Lakra, Additional Commissioner, Hyderabad, has been the agency’s key player ever since its inception, now Shika Goel, IPS, Addl. Commissioner of Police (Crimes & SIT), is heading the division.
The state has also launched a number of initiatives aimed at women’s economic empowerment. Economic empowerment of women’s community has also been a KCR-led Telangana government priority. For example. this current financial year 2022, it would be providing Rs 3,700 crore loans to the women groups at the lowest interest rate of 11.5% to help them set up dairy or poultry businesses, buy electric autos, or open small grocery shops in their local region.
Now, let’s talk about some of the glorious women-centered accolades from the State that deserve to be mentioned:
- The State has the highest percentage of working women among all States in India.
- Telangana recently launched India’s 1st women-owned industrial park in Hyderabad.
- Women judges account for more than 30% at the high court level, and 52% at the district level.
- The State, in its 174-history of Hyderabad police Commissionerate, appointed a woman (K Madhulate) for the first time as the Station House Officer (SHO) of a law and order police station.
- The State boasts 6 all-women railway stations (Gundla Pochampally, Begumpet, Vidyanagar, Ramavarapadu, Ramavarapadu, and New Guntur Railway Station).
- Syeda Fatima, one of the few Muslim women in India to hold a commercial pilot’s licence, comes from the State’s capital city of Hyderabad.
Sports
The State has been India’s shining jewel when it comes to sports like football, badminton, tennis, and recently boxing too. Let’s talk about some of the key players.
- Nikhat Zareen, who is working as the staff officer in Hyderabad’s one of the Bank of India branches, recently won the gold medal in boxing at Commonwealth Games 2022.
- The State has put India on the world’s badminton world map by producing players like Saina Nehwal (former world No.1 badminton player with 24 titles under her name), P.V. Sindhu (two-times consecutive medal winner at Olympic games), Srikanth Kidambi (former No.1 in BWF rankings), and others.
- Telangana’s capital city Hyderabad has been the producer of the highest number of Olympian footballers during Indian football’s golden period from the 1950s to the 1970s producing players like Syed Abdul Rahim, Peter Thangaraj, and Shabbir Ali.
- VVS Laxman, India’s elegant former international cricketer and commentator, is a Hyderabadi who played and perfected his cricketing skills at State’s capital city.
- Anup Kumar Yama, India’s Arjuna Award recipient roller skater and several national titles winner, is another national gift given by Telangana’s capital Hyderabad.
- Gagan Narang, who was in all the limelight for bagging India’s first medal during the 2012 London Olympics, perfected his shooting skills in the backyard of his home in Begumpet – a residential and commercial suburb in Telangana’s capital Hyderabad.
Law & Order
As once aptly described by State’s IT Minister KT Rama Rao, the State has managed to remain peaceful & incident-free since its formation, shattering all rumours and fears that if Telangana’s new State is created, law & order would go for a toss. Rao pointed out that measures taken by K Chandrashekhar Rao in 2014 like introducing an entirely new fleet of vehicles, improving equipment and infrastructure for the police, replacing old vehicles with interceptor vehicles, increasing the number of commissionerates to 7 from 2, and setting up 100 new police stations played a key role in achieving this.
The State recently launched its 600 crores Integrated Command Control Center (ICCC) which is a surveillance behemoth and the hub of predictive policing. This 6.42 lakh square foot structure has five towers, comprising of command, control, and data centre, a media, and training centre, a three-level theatre, a sewage treatment facility, and solar panels for electricity production. The State also happens to be the most surveilled State in India, and one of the most surveilled cities in the world, with 36 CCTV cameras per 1,000 people, 61% of all police CCTV cameras in India (as of January 2020), and the highest number of facial recognition technology projects of any Indian State .
Conclusion
Telangana, formed under turmoil and tons of divided opinions, has continued to be an inspiring example of stable governance, great public welfare initiatives, economic progression, and women-centered reforms ever since its inception. Considering its history, current policies and the pipeline projects, things only look brighter for the State. #KhabarLive #hyderabadlive #hydnews
