T-Hub young India’s aspirations: CM KCR

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday said the new facility of the internationally-acclaimed T-Hub was Telangana’s answer to a young India that was aspirational with a huge appetite for entrepreneurship.

“The young India wants to be challenged and seeks to compete globally and our government recognises this aspirational India. We are keen on building an India that is known equally for its entrepreneurial as well as technological capabilities,” the Chief Minister said.

Hyderabad, he said, had already won global recognition for having a robust startup ecosystem and hoped that the new facility of T-Hub that he formally inaugurated on Tuesday would catapult Telangana onto a higher orbit and establish it as the startup State of the country. “The Telangana government invested in the second phase of T-Hub to create incubation facility for the next generation of startups that would emerge as strong pillars of the Indian economy in future,” Chandrashekhar Rao said, addressing the gathering after inaugurating the new facility, the largest innovation campus in the world.

Phase-2 of T-Hub, the country’s leading innovation and startup catalyst will support over 2,000 startups under one roof with a total built-up area of 5,82,689 sq ft. The facility will serve as a launching pad for young Indians to kick-start their startups in a collaborative innovation ecosystem.

Chandrashekhar Rao, pointing out that the country would be celebrating its 75th year of Independence on August 15, 2022, said it was important at this juncture to provide a clear vision and roadmap for the nation on its future, especially for the youth. “Telangana is building a resilient startup ecosystem in India,” he added.

Stating that there was a huge appetite for entrepreneurship among the youth in India, the Chief Minister said the Telangana government decided to launch Phase 2 of T-Hub and provide them with the best support for startups. “I am sure these startups will bring global recognition to the State and the country. The startup ecosystem in Telangana is ranked among the top 10 global ecosystems in affordable talent besides featuring among the top 15 in Asia in terms of attracting funds. Further, Hyderabad offers the best standard of living in the country,” he said.

Telangana’s startup policy, the Chief Minister said, was progressive that helped fruitful partnerships, with stakeholders from academia, research and development institutions and corporate firms coming together to synergise and support innovation and entrepreneurship. Hyderabad-based startups are providing valuable collaborations in the fields of IT, life sciences, aerospace, defence, and automotive including electric vehicles, he said.

“T-Hub was founded to bring together the best talent from across the country to nurture a startup ecosystem, and in the process, it emerged as a national model. It has impacted 2,000 entrepreneurs and witnessed funding of $1.19 billion. We made doing business easier for the startups,” the Chief Minister said. He went on to elaborate how the State government supported associated institutions such as We-Hub, T-Works, TSIC, RICH and TASK which had emerged as champions in their own right.

Chandrashekhar Rao urged IT Minister KT Rama Rao and the officials concerned to create infrastructure on par with the growth of IT and startups in Hyderabad to ensure that the ecosystem remains healthy. He also requested T-Hub Board chairman and Cyient founder BVR Mohan Reddy to submit a representation on his suggestions for improving the teaching system to support the startup ecosystem. “We will discuss this issue in the State Cabinet to take a positive decision. The State government is ready to provide whatever support is required for the industry,” he asserted.

Earlier, Mohan Reddy urged the Chief Minister to ensure that the young talent becomes knowledge-centric, even as he emphasised the need to increase the vigour and innovation in teaching in this regard to encourage entrepreneurship. Stating that change provides a lot of new opportunities, he said the demand for technology talent was extremely high across the world.

IT Minister KT Rama Rao, MP G Ranjith Reddy, Principal Secretary for IT and Industries Jayesh Ranjan, DGP M Mahender Reddy and T-Hub CEO M Srinivas Rao along with officials, diplomats, representatives of corporate giants, Indian unicorns and startups, participated in the event.