Page 4 - Telangana

Telangana govt reimburses ₹7,400 cr to RTC towards women free travel: Dy CM

Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Saturday said the Telangana government has reimbursed over Rs 7,400 crore to the State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) towards women's free travel. Speaking at a programme organised to distribute interest-free loans to Women's Self-Help Groups, Vikramarka said that despite doubts raised by opposition parties and others over the feasibility of providing Rs 20,000 crore in annual interest-free loans, the government had already disbursed Rs 21,632 crore in the first year, setting a record and proving its commitment. "Women have availed 222.50 crore free bus journeys, with the state government reimbursing Rs 7,422 crore to TGSRTC on their behalf, saving them nearly Rs 7,000 crore in travel expenses," he said. Listing the welfare measures implemented by the Congress government, the Deputy CM said 96 lakh families are being provided six kg of fine rice per person free of cost every month. The rice, priced at Rs 50 a kg in the open market, is

Telangana CM Reddy meets WEF chief, top firms announce fresh investments

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday met World Economic Forum (WEF) President Borge Brende, New Jersey Governor Philip D Murphy, and senior executives of top companies, including Godrej and Amazon, who assured their support for the state's development initiatives. Godrej and Amazon also announced fresh investments in Telangana, an official release said. Reddy held a one-on-one meeting with Brende on the sidelines of the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) annual conclave in Delhi, during which the WEF chief pledged full support to the state's Telangana Rising 2047' vision. "I have been reading up. Your state has been doing extraordinarily well in the last 12 months. What are the secrets of leading one of the most successful states?" Brende asked, to which Reddy replied, "Just hard work and support from everyone." Brende invited Reddy to next year's WEF conclave in Davos and promised to visit Hyderabad soon to explore deeper collaboration, the release said. Reddy hel

Hyderabad faces waterlogging after heavy rain; IMD issues yellow alert

The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Telangana, forecasting thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds at isolated places across all districts on September 18 and 19

Guv bound by ministers' advice on prosecution sanction: Telangana tells SC

The Congress-ruled Telangana government on Wednesday said ordinarily the governor is bound by the aid and advice of the council of ministers even while dealing with grant of prosecution sanction except for the instance where a minister or the chief minister is involved in a criminal case. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai was told by senior advocate Niranjan Reddy, appearing for the Telangana government, that the apex court while answering the Presidential reference will also have to look into the inherent bias on part of the governor by sitting over the bill. Referring to the instance of Tamil Nadu, where the governor sat over the bill, passed by the assembly for removing the governor from being chancellor of state-run universities, Reddy on the ninth day of hearing on the Presidential reference said the court will have to look into it. The bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, was told by th

SC dismisses BJP plea against quashing defamation case on Telangana CM

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by the BJP's Telangana unit challenging a high court order which quashed a defamation case against Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy over his speech during the 2024 Lok Sabha poll campaign. A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Atul S Chandurkar said it was not inclined to interfere in the matter. "We are time and again saying don't use this court for political battles. Dismissed. If you are a politician, then you should have a thick skin," the bench observed. On August 1, the Telangana High Court acted on Reddy's plea seeking quashing of the proceedings in the case pending in a Hyderabad trial court. The BJP's Telangana unit, represented by its general secretary, filed a complaint in May 2024 against Reddy, alleging that he delivered a defamatory and provocative speech against the party. Reddy, it alleged, connived with the Telangana Congress to develop a fake and dubious political narra

Suspended leader Kavitha quits BRS, MLC post; accuses cousin Harish Rao

A day after her suspension from KCR-led BRS, senior leader K Kavitha on Wednesday announced her resignation from the party and trained her guns against cousin and former minister T Harish Rao. Kavitha, daughter of party founder and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao(KCR), also announced quitting as Member of the Legislative Council and indicated there was 'pressure' on her father to act against her. She accused Harish Rao of conspiring against KCR's family. Addressing a press conference here flanked by her supporters, the 47 year-old former MP charged Harish Rao with having a tacit understanding with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. "I never aspired for any posts. I am sending a resignation letter to (Legislative Council) chairman...I am also sending resignation from primary membership of BRS to KCR," she said. Kavitha said her brother and BRS Working President K T Rama Rao should be "careful" about the alleged conspiracies by Harish Rao. She claimed her brother d

SC upholds Telangana's domicile rules for admissions in medical colleges

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Telangana government's domicile rule permitting students, who have studied for the last four years up to Class 12 in the state, for admissions in medical and dental colleges under state quota. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran allowed the appeal of the state government and upheld the Telangana Medical and Dental Colleges Admission (Admission into MBBS & BDS Courses) Rules, 2017, amended in 2024. The impugned rules entitled only those students, who have studied for last four years up to Class 12 in the state to admissions in the medical and dental colleges under the state quota. The Telangana High Court had held the state's permanent residents cannot be denied benefits of admissions in medical colleges only because they lived outside the state for sometime. The top court on August 5 reserved its verdict on the pleas, including one from the Telangana government, against an order that struck down its ...

Telangana govt announces to hand over Kaleshwaram project case to CBI

The Ghose Commission found several irregularities including negligence, deliberate suppression of facts and financial irregularities

Telangana govt to introduce bill ensuring 42% BC quota in local bodies

The Telangana government on Saturday announced its decision to introduce a bill in the assembly on August 31 to facilitate 42 per cent reservation to Backward Classes in local body polls by amending a legislation enacted in 2018. Briefing reporters after a meeting of the state cabinet, Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar termed as a "noose" the Panchayat Raj bill passed in 2018 during the previous BRS regime which caps total reservations for SCs, STs and BCs in local bodies at 50 per cent. The government had earlier issued an ordinance to amend the 2018 Act which was sent to the President by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma. Prabhakar said the proposed bill replaces the ordinance. It is a tradition and procedure to convert the ordinance into a bill when the House meets, he said. Prabhakar also said the cabinet decided to provide reservation on population basis to SCs and STs as per the 2001 census in the local bodies, while ensuring 42 per cent quota to the BCs. Congress h

Telangana may face ₹7,000 cr annual loss from GST reform: Deputy CM

With the proposed GST rate rationalisation, Telangana is estimated to lose nearly Rs 7,000 crore annually, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka said on Friday, requesting the Centre to properly compensate states for the losses expected from the new tax measure. Addressing the media in the national capital, Vikramarka said Telangana's accumulated losses since the introduction of GST are estimated to be nearly Rs 80,000 crore. "Estimates are saying that Telangana alone may lose Rs 7,000 crore annually (after the GST rate rationalisation). So when a state is estimated to lose Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 crore, it would impact welfare and developmental programmes of the respective states. However, we welcome the rate rationalisation and request the Centre to properly compensate," Vikramarka said. In order to compensate states for the losses due to rate rationalisation, the Centre should channel the revenue collected from taxes or cess on sin and luxury products to the states, he opined. H

Hyderabad rising in Biotech, Pharma, MedTech innovation: Revanth Reddy

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday said Hyderabad has risen from manufacturing to innovation in Biotech, Pharma and Medical Technology. Speaking at the Biodesign Innovation Summit held at AIG Hospital here, he assured end-to-end support for innovation in medical products using BioDesign, with the state government being a proactive partner, a release from CMO said. Reddy said Hyderabad has a synergy of excellent academic institutions, skill development and industry partnerships, and as a result has a great workforce. Advocating for indigenous innovation to solve India's medical needs, he said that innovators and researchers will have access to Telangana's historical medical data, while strictly following data privacy. "We will connect you to academic institutions, research, innovation bodies, the Young India Skills University and corporations," he said. "For many years, our best minds were solving problems of other countries. It is a good thing. Time has now come whe

GoM to propose GST exemption on health, life insurance for individuals

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who is member of the GoM, said every state wanted health and life-insurance premiums to be exempt from GST

5 killed as chariot hits live wires in Hyderabad Janmashtami procession

According to the police, the injured were rushed to the hospital, while the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination

IMD forecasts heavy rain in Telangana, red alert in place till August 20

The IMD has warned of heavy rainfall at isolated places in several districts of Telangana until August 20. In its latest bulletin, the India Meteorological Department forecast "heavy to very heavy rainfall" from Sunday until 8.30 am on August 20. A 'red alert' has been issued from 8.30 am on August 18 to 8.30 am on August 19, warning of "very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall" likely at isolated locations in Mulugu, Bhadradri Kothagudem, and Mahabubabad districts. A 'red alert' indicates "extremely heavy rainfall" exceeding 20 cm in 24 hours. The IMD further warned that thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds of 30-40 kmph are likely at isolated places across all districts of the state until August 22. Heavy rains have been affecting different parts of Telangana over the past few days, causing waterlogging on roads, inundation in low-lying areas, and swollen rivulets and other water bodies. This has disrupted road connectivity between villages, sources said.

Telangana heavy rain forecast: CM orders officials to stay vigilant

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday directed officials to be prepared to take relief measures in view of heavy rain forecasts in several districts of the state. Reddy spoke to officials on preparedness to deal with the rainfall following moderate to heavy rains predicted in Nizamabad, Sangareddy, Medak, Khammam, Vikarabad and other districts, an official release said. It quoted the CM as saying that teams of NDRF and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have already been deployed in districts which are expected to receive heavy rains. Reddy directed officials to move people away from low-lying areas to relief centres and to keep sandbags ready near lakes, tanks and reservoirs where water levels are rising and to stop movement of people on causeways, low-level bridges and areas where waterlogging is reported. CM instructed officials to take all precautions to prevent loss of life and livestock. He also asked them to initiate measures to check the spread of infectiou

Schools shut in 5 districts in Telangana following heavy rain forecast

The Telangana government has declared a half day holiday in Hyderabad and full holiday in Warangal and other districts on August 13 and 14 for all government and private schools in view of the IMD forecast of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places. The schools shall function only in the morning shift in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area, School Education Director said in an official communication late Tuesday. The official announced holidays for all the government and private schools in Warangal, Hanumakonda, Jangaon, Mahabubabad and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts. Meanwhile, state Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy directed all irrigation department officials to be stationed at the place of their duty and be fully vigilant against any mishap or danger due to heavy rain. The leave of all irrigation officials is cancelled for the next four days, he said in an official release on Wednesday. A careful watch is to be kept on all irrigation

SC gives Telangana speaker 3 months to decide on BRS MLAs' disqualification

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Telangana assembly speaker to decide within three months the disqualification petitions against 10 BRS MLAs, who had switched allegiance to the ruling Congress. Observing that political defections have been a matter of national discourse and have power to disrupt democracy if not curbed, a bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai allowed an appeal filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Padi Kaushik Reddy seeking a directing to the speaker to expeditiously decide disqualification petitions against the BRS MLAs. The bench set aside the November 22, 2024 decision of the Telangana High Court's division bench which had interfered with a prior order of a single judge. We have referred to various parliamentary speeches, including those by Rajesh Pilot and Devendra Nath Munshi, to emphasise that entrusting disqualification proceedings to the speaker were aimed at avoiding delays that may occur before courts, the CJI said while reading out the

SC turns down plea seeking delimitation for Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

Last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the concerns of southern states about the delimitation exercise will be taken care of and discussed with all concerned at an appropriate time

Revanth Reddy unveils Telangana caste survey, urges national OBC quota push

Following the survey, the Telangana government passed two reservation bills, one for education and employment and another for political representation, allocating 42 per cent reservation for OBCs

Datanomics: Telangana slips into deflation, Andhra sees flat prices

Though Telangana saw deflation in June, this was not the first time. Around six and a half year ago, it witnessed deflation for two consecutive months of December and January