US-based home and building automation company Hogar has recently announced the setting up its first manufacturing facility and R&D centre in Hyderabad. With major companies coming up in Hyderabad, one would wonder how Telangana has become the investment hub.
As of 2018-19, Telangana’s growth rate stood at 10.6 per cent, and in addition to tech majors Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, IKEA, Walmart, OPPO, P&G, J&J, MRF Tyres, Tata Boeing Aerospace facility (TBAL), and Toshiba which have already established offices in the city, now, some of the fastest-growing companies such as Foxconn, OnePlus, Oppo, Qualcomm, Micron and Benelli among others, are coming up in the state. Not just that, in less than five years, the number of entrepreneurs choosing to start up in the state is on the rise. Hyderabad is a hub for information technology (IT) and pharmaceutical sectors, during 2017-18, export of IT products of Telangana was `93,422 crore (US$ 14.50 billion).
Recently, Telangana was in the global news for launching the world’s biggest lift irrigation project — the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation project on the Godavari river. The project will utilise nearly 200 thousand million cubic feet (tmc) of Godavari river water, including 16 tmc for industrial purposes.
Citing reasons for the fast growth, Prakash Ammanabolu, President, Telangana Federation of Chamber Of Commerce and Trade, says, “The other major factor is that labour is very cheap here compared to other cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai. Thus, overall, Telangana has a good environment for new projects and attracts investors.”
A single window concept called Telangana State Project Approval and Self-Certification System (TS-iPASS) run by the government gives companies all the permissions and clearances within 15 days for large projects.
BVR Mohan Reddy, Former Chairman-Nasscom and Executive Chairman, Cyient, who was present in the meeting when the new policy was launched by the government in 2014, says, “The development of Telangana has been excellent in the last five years. The government’s policies are extremely industry friendly.” Dynamic leadership coupled with good administration and the right ambience and infrastructure is continuing to bring most of the new companies looking for a foothold in India to Hyderabad. “The bureaucracy has been given a free hand to decide on various schemes for negotiating and bringing world-class giants to Hyderabad under the guidance and approval of able ministers like K.T. Rama Rao, who have widely travelled and interacted with such companies and understand what they are looking for to relocate and/or start new business and create centres of excellence,” says Narendra Surana, Managing Director of Surana Telecom and Power Limited.
While a slowdown in global trade and investment adversely affects economic growth, Telangana has not been affected much, feels Arun Luharuka, President, the Federation of Telangana Chamber of Commerce (FTCCI).
