by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao
By Prashant Sood,
Hyderabad : Notwithstanding the suspense maintained by his father and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, state IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao has hinted at the party eyeing early Assembly polls to cash in on its performance in the last four years.
He also appeared to keep all the options open at the national level where it seeks to play a decisive role in the formation of next government at the Centre after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In interview to IANS, Rama Rao, whose party held a massive rally on Sunday, said the time has come for the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to go back to the people and seek their support.
He also said the party will contest the assembly and Lok Sabha polls on its own and work for formation of a federal front that will be opposed to both the BJP and the Congress.
He said there was a lot of speculation in the media about the party going for early dissolution of state assembly and seeking a fresh mandate from the people.
“Certainly there are advantages (of early election). Once a decision is taken, when it is taken, if it is taken, I will be able to say a lot more,” Rama Rao told IANS.
Addressing the rally, the Chief Minister, who said the state cabinet has authorised him to take any decision in the interest of the state, kept up suspense over whether the party would go for early polls merely saying would soon form an election manifesto committee which will come out with several new promises.
There is speculation that the assembly could be dissolved by September 10 and Telangana would go for elections along with four other states by December this year. The term of Telangana assembly comes to an end in June next year and the assembly polls in normal course would be held along with those to the Lok Sabha.
Rama Rao claimed that if elections are held early, the party will win both the state as well as Lok Sabha polls convincingly.
“It will give us room to talk to potential partners and friends for 2019 polls. We will play a decisive role in the national level,” Rama Rao said.
He said TRS would win at least 100 of 119 seats in the state assembly and 16 of 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
“Last time we won 11 Lok Sabha seats and this time we hope to improve our performance,” he said.
Rama Rao said neither BJP nor Congress will be able to form government on their own in 2019 and there are many parties which want to be equidistant from the two.
“We will bring together strong regional parties that want to be equidistant from the Congress and BJP. We will form an agenda and move forward in the interest of the country.
“We believe both Congress and BJP have let down the people of the country. There is a strong need for an alternative force to emerge in the country in the form of a federal front. And like TRS there are other a number of other parties which believe in the same theory, same ideology of non-Congress, non-BJP federal front. I believe it is imminent and possible” Rama Rao said.
He said that there was “no national party” and Congress with 48 MPs was also a regional party.
“We are confident that when 2019 election results come, there can be several possibilities and TRS will have an important role. Post election we will do, what we have to,” he said.
Asked if Chandrashekar Rao could move to the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls, Rama Rao said: ” He (KCR) has a lot of work to do here and the state needs his leadership. I am keen that he should stay as CM for at least 10 more years. This is in the interest of the state and the party.”
Answering a query, he said the party will contest the assembly and Lok Sabha on its and there will be “no coalition, no partners, no alliances.”
Asked about possibility of a tie-up with BJP for the Lok Sabha polls, he said: “none whatsoever.”
Answering a query, Rama Rao said the party’s effort was to convert its support among people into votes.
He said Telangana was witnessing a strange situation where the ruling party is signalling readiness for elections while the opposition appears against early polls.
Asked about the charge that TRS was practising dynastic politics with him and his sister K. Kavitha, MP, given important roles, Rama Rao said they had to work hard to make their way up and had come through an agitation.
(Prashant Sood was in Hyderabad at the invitation of the TRS. He can be reached at prashant.s@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Corporate, Corporate Governance, Events, Social Round-up
Hyderabad : India’s largest makerspace, a prototyping and design centre, will come up here next year and will have equipment worth over $20 million, Telangana’s Industry Minister K.T. Rama Rao announced here on Tuesday.
To be known as T-Works, the facility will come up over 250,00 square feet with many partners offering their software tools and equipment.
Modelled on the lines of makerspaces in other countries and customised to Indian needs, this will probably be the world’s second largest facility of its kind, he said.
Anybody with an idea can collaborate with other people at T-Works and convert his or her designs into working prototype.
“T-Works will be up and running around this time next year,” the Minister said, while addressing India Design Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, adding anybody could use freely available tools — software, test and measurement equipment — to build any product.
“T-Works will allow anyone young or old school student, graduate or retired professor, man or woman to collaborate with other intelligent individuals and converge their designs on paper or PC and convert it into working prototype,” said Rama Rao, son of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
Open to all Indians, the facility will have CNC machines, cutting machines of all kinds, welding and carpentry tools, PCB assembly machines, and 3D printers of all ranges.
“This I believe is going to change the way we do business especially with respect to design and hardware space in India,” he said.
The Minister said T-Works will help in making products in domains like mechanical, electro mechanic, electronics and semiconductor spaces.
It will also help in making products in automobiles, IoT, avionics, drones, med devices, medical instruments, defence equipment, consumer electronics, telecom products, mobile devices, gadgets and sensors.
“T-Works will become one of cornerstones and essential hub in the wheel in heralding a new wave of entrepreneurs, makers, tinkerers and designers of all kinds, aesthetic, textile, fashion, lifestyle, mechanical and technological,” he added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Commodity Market, Emerging Businesses, Entrepreneurship, Investing, Large Enterprise, Medium Enterprise, Startup Basics
Industries and Commerce Minister K.T. Rama Rao
Kolkata : Bengal business houses have shown interest in investing in Telangana and a city-based business group has signed an MoU with the state in packaged food segment, a Telangana minister said on Monday.
“We have met several business houses, staring with Emami, to discuss a number of potential business opportunities. We met R.P.-Sanjiv Goenka group and entered into an MoU with them for a specific expansion plan for packaged food,” state Industries and Commerce Minister K.T. Rama Rao said here.
He said his state’s officials also met other Kolkata-based business houses like Srei Group and had one-on-one meetings with Keventer Agro, Titagarh Wagons, mjunction and others.
“With Emami, we discussed for cement plants, bio-fuel (businesses), FMCG but these are all discussions. Srei Group has significant investments in the state. Keventer looks for a food testing lab and we are keen to get that in our state.
“Today (Monday), we have met the business groups here and tried to understand their expansion plans. We are also trying to position ourselves and not trying to takeaway anything which rightfully belongs to Bengal. We have fruitful meetings and looking forward for more,” he added.
The state has two lakh acres of land with the Telangana State Industrial Investment Corporation (TSIIC) for industrial usage, he said during the roadshow organised here by CII.
“In the last three years of our existence, we have been able to attract top companies. Top five technology companies — Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon — have their offices in the state. These offices are the largest offices outside their headquarters in the US and these are cutting edge R&D centres, not KPOs or BPOs,” he said.
Telangana introduced its industrial policy two years ago and since then the state has cleared more than 4,400 units and attracted nearly Rs 80,000 crore of investments and aceout of which, more than half is in the commercial production stage, he said.
According to the minister, the IT exports was at Rs 87,000 crore in the last year growing at about 13 per cent and 4.5 employees were directly working in the sector.
He said the state has generated a direct employment of 2.3 lakhs in the industries while in IT, the employment grew by 1.5 lakh to 4.5 lakh.
The government is also setting up a 350,000 sq ft space to incubate start-ups (T-hub Phase 2), he said, adding that the state planned to set up a dry port near Hyderabad in public-private partnership mode.
A Global Entrepreneurship Summit will be held in Hyderabad in November, he added.
—IANS
