New industries, industrial investments fall drastically during Congress rule

Telangana’s industrial sector has seen a sharp decline in investments and job creation since the Congress government took office in December 2023. Despite high-profile investment commitments, TG-iPASS approvals have dropped significantly.

Hyderabad: Telangana’s once-celebrated industrial growth engine appears to be losing steam, with a sharp fall in both investments and employment generation since the Congress came to power in December 2023.

Industrial investments in the State under TG-iPASS decreased by more than half to Rs 13,730 crore in 2024-25, against Rs 28,100 crore in the previous year.

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Compared to 2022-23, when the BRS was in power, when there were 3,103 new industries and Rs 26,916 crore in investments, with 1,00,966 new jobs created, there were only 1,125 new industries till September in 2025-26, with Rs 6,008 crore in investments and just 27,881 new jobs.

In 2024–25 itself, the first full fiscal year under the Congress government, industrial approvals had plummeted to Rs 13,730 crore for 2,049 industries, down from Rs 28,100 crore across 2,659 units in the previous year.

In the current fiscal of 2025-26, the State gave approvals for 1,125 industrial units with an investment of Rs.6,008 crore till September end. Job creation too fell steeply, from 84,342 posts in 2023-24 to just 50,311 in 2024-25. In the first half of the current financial year, only 27,881 jobs were created by industries established under TG-iPASS.

A deeper look shows the manufacturing sector bore the brunt, with project approvals declining from 2,469 to 1,819 units. Even the service sector, once buoyed by IT and logistics investments, saw stagnation, rising only marginally from 190 to 230 units.

During the decade-long BRS regime, Telangana had built a reputation as one of India’s most investment-friendly States, consistently drawing major industries and maintaining approvals above Rs 26,000 crore annually. However, that momentum seems to have reversed within just a year of political change.

The decline is particularly striking given the government’s repeated claims of having attracted Rs 2.2 lakh crore worth of investment commitments at the World Economic Summit in Davos over two years including Rs 40,832 crore in 2024 and Rs 1,78,950 crore in 2025.

The contrast between such high-profile announcements and the ground reality of falling TG-iPASS approvals, raised doubts whether the State’s current global optics were translating into actual economic outcomes.

Economists cautioned about growing perception of uncertainty among investors, who once lauded Telangana for its fast-track clearance system and political stability. While the government maintains that it was streamlining processes and focusing on sustainable and inclusive growth, the numbers tell a different story.

For now, Telangana’s industrial growth stands at a crossroads, with industrialists emphasising on the State government to focus on industrial policy stability and restore investor sentiment.