Telangana Model, a sought after concept

Schemes like Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima on welfare lines, the numerous irrigation projects including the mega KLIS and Mission Kakatiya which essentially is aimed at rejuvenating village tanks proved to be critical turning points in Telangana’s agrarian economy.

Hyderabad: The State government’s initiatives in the Agriculture sector and the consequent quantum jump in agriculture produce within a short period is something that has caught everyone’s attention, with many States making a beeline to study the ‘Telangana Model.’ Schemes like Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima on welfare lines, the numerous irrigation projects including the mega Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme and Mission Kakatiya which essentially is aimed at rejuvenating village tanks proved to be critical turning points in Telangana’s agrarian economy. Some of these schemes also inspired the Centre to launch similar programmes after seeing the impact it had on the agriculture sector.

Coming down to the brass tacks of the sector, not only did the agriculture sector emerge as the top employer with 54 per cent of the State population taking up agriculture activities, the primary sector grew by a phenomenal eight times since 2014, and its contribution to the Gross State Value Addition (GSVA) improved from 19.5 per cent in 2014-15 to over 24 per cent in 2020-21. The agriculture sector’s contribution to the GSDP was around 16 per cent, which is significant given the fact that Telangana in the pre-2014 era was a barren and parched mass of land.

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The tertiary sector comprising trade, hospitality, services and communication, among others, has been the back-bone of the State economy, accounting for 59.5 per cent of the State GSVA in 2020-21. The overall gross value added by this sector to the GSVA shot up by 86 per cent after State formation.

The secondary sector comprising manufacturing, construction, electricity and water supply, among others, also witnessed impressive growth with the sector’s contribution to GSVA hovering around 18 per cent. What is significant is that the ‘manufacturing’ sub-sector saw a massive 72 per cent growth in the past seven years that nails the opposition lies about lack of industrial development.

More importantly, Telangana has taken the numero uno position in per capita power consumption growth rate in the country between 2018-19 and 2019-20. From an installed capacity of a mere 7,778 MW at the time of State formation, Telangana more than doubled its power capacity to 16,931 MW with more projects in the pipeline. Incidentally, the young State is also among the eight States in the country that boast of achieving 100 per cent electrification of households.

To sum it up, Telangana’s rise to dizzying heights from abysmal depths on all counts in just seven years is truly a remarkable achievement!