WB, Telangana govt discuss partnerships in skill development, Net Zero

During the trip to the United States, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and World Bank President Ajay Banga held discussions and decided to forge a roadmap to partner on several fronts and projects, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a release on Wednesday.

According to the release, the potential areas for partnership being outlined through explorations and deliberations would include initiatives on skills development, urban rejuvenation and reimagination, Net Zero developments, citizens' healthcare, diagnostics and electronic records, among others.

In the over-an-hour-long meeting between the head of the World Bank and the Chief Minister and his team, it was decided to create a cross-functional team to conceptualise viable projects in each of the areas in an accelerated mode. People, planet, sustainability, health, skills and jobs were the major themes of the discussions between the two leaders.

The World Bank backing would give a massive boost to several of the key visions of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, including the Musi River rejuvenation project, Skill University, Future City, Citizen Healthcare and the development of Hyderabad 4.0, the CMO said.

"The World Bank, while expressing delight and optimism about the balanced vision of the Chief Minister for Telangana and Hyderabad, highlighted how the bank has enjoyed success in generating positive outcomes in the region with several project initiatives earlier. He also showcased a great interest in backing the vision for the creation of a Net Zero city," the CMO said in its release.

Chief Minister Reddy expressed delight after the marquee endorsement of several key initiatives of the state and promised to ensure each project is followed up on mission mode to ensure ambitious impact and outcomes but with the highest transparency.

It is the first time the state of Telangana has chosen to explore working with any of the Bretton Woods institutions. The Telangana team gave an overview of several other developments that impact the lives and livelihoods of citizens, the environment and sustainability in the state.

IT & Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu, Telangana Chief Secretary A Shanta Kumari, and other officials including Jayesh Ranjan, Ramakrishna Rao, V. Sheshadri, Vishnu Vardhan Reddy and Ajith Reddy attended.

World Bank executive director Parameswaran ('Param') Iyer, who also attended the discussions, praised the Telangana government for its holistic, balanced, sustainable and impactful vision, keeping the state and people first, the CMO added.