Telangana Budget Session begins: Governor announces internet as basic right, AI City

The focus would not just be to create digital infrastructure but also to make it accessible and affordable to all sections of society.

Hyderabad: Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, addressing the State Legislative Assembly and Council at the joint budget session that began here on Thursday, said the State government would soon introduce the internet as a basic right. The focus would not just be to create digital infrastructure but also to make it accessible and affordable to all sections of society.

The government would implement a very thorough digital literacy programme to ensure that every household, regardless of its economic status or location, would be able to benefit from the rapid digital adoption of opportunities that are arising, she said, also stating that the government would position Hyderabad and Telangana as the Artificial Intelligence (AI) capital of the country by inviting the top global and national technology companies to set up their AI Centres here.

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“We will set up a dedicated AI City in 50-100 acres,” she said.

Earlier, the Governor said that as promised during the elections, the government was committed to realizing the six guarantees. Pointing out that two guarantees were already being implemented, she said more than 15 crore trips were already utilized by women through the free TSRTC bus transportation services under the Maha Lakshmi Scheme. The government would implement two more guarantees very soon under the Maha Lakshmi scheme, which would be LPG cylinders to eligible families for Rs.500 and under the Gruha Jyothi scheme, 200 units of free domestic power would be given to every eligible household.

Through initiatives like Rythu Bharosa and crop loan waiver, the government aims to empower the farming community with crop diversification programmes, horticulture promotion, quality seeds and advanced agricultural practices, she said, also announcing a new Industrial policy that would be based on a thorough study of existing ground realities, feedback from stakeholders, and taking cognizance of global best practices.

A new MSME Policy to help with improved technology, the ability to recruit skilled manpower, financing, market access, and the prevention of industrial sickness, would also be brought in. An exclusive institutional mechanism would also be set up to handhold MSMEs and support their grievances.

Stating that the government would continue to support champion sectors like IT and Pharma, Soundararajan said the government would set up 10-12 Pharma village clusters of extents between 1000 and 3000 acres, which would be away from habitations and also self-contained with facilities for effluent treatment, testing labs, logistics infrastructure, and social infrastructure for housing, education and healthcare.

Stating that all Government ITIs in the State would be converted into Advanced Technology Centres with an estimated project cost of about Rs. 2000 crore, she said these centres would offer NCVT approved long-term and short-term courses in high demand trades and benefit nearly one lakh youth in Telangana.

“Telangana has been meeting its energy needs predominantly through coal. In order to optimise the cost of power, meet the demand profile of the State, and increase the energy share from clean energy, the Telangana government will come up with a comprehensive “Energy Policy” to promote all types of green energy, viz., solar, wind, hybrid (solar and wind), as well as storage (pumped or battery) to meet peak requirement. The Government aims to improve the share of green energy significantly and reduce carbon emissions by 2030,” she said, also announcing a comprehensive Tourism Policy for the promotion and preservation of architectural wonders, culinary delights, reservoirs, and temples.

Reiterating the government’s recent announcement of a Caste Census, the Governor said a Caste Survey would be taken up via a door-to-door household survey with the goal of eliciting the data required to estimate the Social, Educational, Economic, Employment and Political opportunities for various castes in general and BCs in particular.