Noted economist and former member of the Planning Commission, Ch Hanumantha Rao showered praises on the Telangana economy. Releasing the Telangana Development Report at the Centre for Economics and Social Studies (CESS) on Saturday with State Planning Board vice chairman B Vinod Kumar and others, he said in nine years the very face of Telangana has changed. Those who cursed the region of dark days ahead are now praising the state.
Mr Hanumantha Rao said with a per capita income of Rs. 3.17 lakh, Telangana stands at number one and with a growth of Rs 12.93 lakh in GSDP, the state ranked second in the country. The farmers’ suicides which were 1,358 in 2015 have come down to 352 in 2021. The projects such as Mission Kakatiya, Mission Bhagiratha, Kaleshwaram irrigation project and others changed the very face of old Telangana. The investments that the state attracted resulted in providing employment to lakhs of people, the economic expert observed.
The state made rapid progress in education and medical and health sector as well. The number of residential schools rose from 293 to 1,002. The Dalit Bandhu scheme launched by the BRS government is unique in the country and so also other schemes such as Kalyana Laxmi and Shadi Mubarak. The unemployment rate in Telangana state in 2021-22 was 4.2 per cent which lesser than the national average. Self-employment which was 53 per cent rose to 74 per cent in Telangana state, Mr Hanumantha Rao pointed out.
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao