Telangana IT Minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu. / Courtesy Photo

Duddilla Sridhar Babu, the IT minister of Telangana, said that the state is actively encouraging all NRIs, particularly those of Telugu origin, to contribute to the progress of their regions and birthplaces. “We would like to create some platform. So, the benefits that NRIs would like to share with their own people will be given with proper audit and accountability,” he said in an interview with New India Abroad.

Babu highlighted the efforts of the then Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy in appealing to the US government to establish an embassy in Hyderabad. Previously, people from Telangana had to travel to Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, or Bengaluru for their visas, but they can now be obtained locally, he said. 

Babu also noted the substantial Telugu diaspora in the US and said, “We are seeking their contribution in terms of kind, in terms of their intellectual property, in terms of their expertise. And if need be, if somebody wants to contribute in terms of money or in cash, they can give back to the region or the place where they hail from.”

Economic progress, AI and missed opportunities

Babu, a Congress leader, emphasized that the state administration has been clear that its ultimate goal is the economic progress of Telangana. They intend to continue with progressive policies from the previous government, enhance them, and introduce new initiatives to further economic growth. 

“This is the confidence that we have been trying to instill in our investors in the state and who also become the stakeholders of our state's economy,” he said. This confidence will drive industrial development not just in Hyderabad, which is a major economic engine, but across the entire state, he added. 

Babu revealed that the plan is to replicate Hyderabad’s success in other districts and towns, encouraging investors to set up operations in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, fostering a holistic development approach. 

Babu also added that Telangana has historically played a significant role in the global IT landscape. Companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have relied on coding done in Hyderabad, contributing to their growth. “Most of the companies which have contributed to US growth too, we are also part and parcel of this growth,” he said.

The era of disruptive technologies, particularly AI and generative AI, is upon us, he said. The government must seize this opportunity and avoid the mistakes of the past, such as missing out on the semiconductor industry. “AI is occupying a major role in times to come. So, we cannot miss that bus. We cannot miss that, just like we have missed the semiconductor bus,” he said. 

“When our late leader Indira Gandhi started a chip manufacturing company in Chandigarh late in the 1970s, not many people knew about that. In the 1970s before China or Taiwan thought about the semiconductor industry. For some unknown reason, the factory has been burnt and the governance had also put that aside,” he added. 

Hyderabad’s advantage over Bengaluru

Babu stated that Hyderabad offers affordable living and a high quality of life, with no issues related to water or power supply. He noted that certain areas have a high population density, particularly the IT sector. The current focus is on developing all four corners of Hyderabad to distribute growth evenly across the city. Furthermore, the plan includes developing tier-2 and tier-3 cities to eliminate the concentration of resources in a single area.

"We have affordable living, quality of life is much better, you know, water, is never a problem, power is never a problem and when you see in some parts, the density of the population, especially the IT population, is high. Now we are concentrating on four corners of Hyderabad,” he said. 

He pointed out that while Bengaluru is losing its vitality, Hyderabad is growing and has learned valuable lessons from Bengaluru’s experience, ensuring that development is spread throughout the state rather than being centralized in one area or city. “When Bengaluru is losing its vitality, we are growing and we have learned many lessons in the process from Bengaluru too. Not to concentrate everything in one area or one city, but we are trying to concentrate in all parts of our state,” he said.