Special Chief Secretary to Chief Minister & CEO – SPEED, on Saturday emphasized the importance of big ideas and technological disruption in helping India and Telangana achieve their long-term economic goals. He was the chief guest at the inauguration of “The August Fest”, India’s largest event of startups which was re-launched at HITEX after seven years. Speaking at the event, he also highlighted “Telangana’s Rising 2047” vision Policy, aiming to elevate the state’s GDP to $1 trillion by 2035 and $3 trillion by 2047.

The other eminent personalities at the inaugural event including J.A. Chowdary, Founding Director of Software Technology Parks of India; Ramana Gogula, Music Composer and Entrepreneur; and Kiran Maverick, Founder of August Fest. A key highlight was the “Social Impact Stage” hosted by Telangana Innovation Cell, featuring local innovators creating change on the ground.

Ramana Gogula noted that tech giants like Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft are collectively investing over $350 billion this year alone in building AI data centres. Kiran Maverick, the festival’s founder, noted that while Hyderabad’s startup ecosystem has seen numerous small events, there was a need for a large-scale, global platform akin to TechCrunch, or WebSummit.

Deepak Reddy, an innovator from Sangareddy developed a  harvester that removes stones from rocky soil which has turned 6000 acres of barren land into cultivable land. Arunjyothi S Lokhanday, founder of Anish Designers, converts wet waste into compostable paper and teaches sustainable practices .Srija, a start up entrepreneur has founded Srija Green Galaxy Pvt. Ltd which produces 100 biodegradable pots a day using groundnut shells and agro waste.