KTR: Union government should back progressive States, like Telangana

Hyderabad: Highlighting the achievements of the State in areas of manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and other sectors, Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday demanded the Union government to support progressive States, like Telangana.

The minister participated in the 'PM Gati Shakti South Zone' virtual conference here, which was chaired by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. He said 35 per cent of global vaccine production takes place in Hyderabad. Despite being a performing State, Telangana is not getting enough support from the Union government, alleged Rao, expressing displeasure. He said performing States need to be incentivised.

KTR said Hyderabad has several decades old history of having a strong defence- related ecosystem, but the Union government has given the defence corridor to Bundelkhand where no ecosystem exists and neither firms. He made a strong pitch for a defence corridor for Telangana. The State is a major hub for defence institutions such as DRDO, DRDL, DMRL, RSI, ANURAG. Recently many private defence companies have made Hyderabad a base.

"We submit that we are an automatic candidate for any defence corridor being considered, as the State has a very conducive ecosystem in place," he said, adding this would make international companies re-think their plans of moving to the new area with no ecosystem and might lose on the opportunity.

The minister said Telangana, a landlocked State, is considered by few businesses as a hindrance for free movement of goods. He highlighted the need for providing an exclusive cargo rail network to different ports with increased frequency. If additional financial incentives are sanctioned for creation of logistic infrastructure, the State will set up dry ports, integrated and multi-model logistics parks, he said highlighting the need for better road, rail and air network connectivity. Rao urged the Union government to consider increasing the frequency of trains for faster movement of goods. He informed that trains are often cancelled owing to lesser load, often with little notice, creating uncertainty among exporters, who are being forced to use trucks as the mode of transport – which was significantly leading to increased logistic costs.

KTR brought to the notice of Gadkari that the North-South Freight Corridor passes through Telangana, but without touching the Hyderabad region. As most of the logistic facilities, industrial clusters are in and around Hyderabad, it would be a win-win situation for all if the freight corridor passes through Hyderabad to unlock the increased possibilities and multimodal last-mile transport, he added. The minister opined that the ongoing flagship programme 'Make in India' had become an 'Assembly in India' programme. The electronics as well as IT/ITeS sector have to be given a big push as not even a single chip is manufactured in the country. The State has a clear candidature for any electronic manufacturing cluster and would definitely be able to host a plug and play facility, he said. "If States like Telangana are encouraged, it would benefit the entire Indian growth rate, and can contribute significantly to meeting India's export target," he stated.