‘Five revolutions to propel Telangana to next phase of growth’

Hyderabad: Five revolutions in agriculture and food processing over next one decade will propel Telangana to the next phase of growth, state minister for industry and commerce K. T. Rama Rao said on Monday.

He said that the state is already witnessing green revolution while four revolutions are in offing – blue, white, pink and yellow.

Telangana is already number one in inland fisheries in terms of fish production, heralding the blue revolution. The state is also setting up a large aqua hub in one of its reservoirs which will be India’s largest aqua hub and will give further fillip to fish production.

KTR, as the minister is popularly known, was speaking after releasing the annual report of the industry and commerce department.

He pointed out that the white revolution that is the dairy industry is shaping up very well. “Fourth thing which is likely to happen with sheep rearing and animal husbandry is the pink revolution, that is meat. The fifth revolution likely to happen is the yellow revolution. The government’s focus is on oil palm,” he said.

“It’s not just life sciences, IT, aerospace or textiles. These are the sectors which are going to give a huge shot in the arm, he added.

KTR said the state is focussed on manufacturing, food processing, agriculture and value addition. He pointed out that in eight years the agriculture output of the state has increased by 119 per cent.

He termed Telangana as a unique state and most successful startup state with balanced development. He claimed that the state’s policies are not lopsided and as a result there is an all-round and inclusive growth.

The minister pointed out that in eight years there has been 128 per cent growth in per capita income and 133 per cent growth in GSDP despite three impediments – demonetisation, Covid-19 and zero support from the government of India. “We have not lost hope, we have not lost heart and we continued to toil hard,” he said.

He said Telangana is the 11th largest state in terms of geography and 12th in terms of population but it is the fourth largest contributor to the Indian economy.

The minister revealed that agriculture and allied sectors contribute 16.3 per cent to GSDP. The industrial sector accounts for 20.4 per cent while the contribution of services sector has also grown to 18.3 per cent.

He said the state continued to attract investments. Through TS-iPASS the state attracted Rs 17,867 crores of investment in 2021-22 through 3,938 new industries and created employment for 96,863 people. It attracted cumulative investments of Rs 2,32,311 crore creating 16.48 lakh jobs.

Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) developed 13 new Industrial Parks, allotted 810 acres of land to 526 industries with an expected investment of Rs 6,123 crore and employment of 5,626 during 2021-22.

Life Sciences and Pharma sector attracted 215 investment proposals in 2021-22 worth Rs 6,400 crore, with a proposed employment of 34,000. The new investments are almost 200 per cent more than the previous year.