Metro India News | Hyderabad

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Saturday urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to extend enhanced financial assistance for major development projects in the state. He made the request while participating in the pre-Budget meeting held at Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi. Addressing the meeting, Bhatti Vikramarka appreciated the Centre’s goal of transforming India into a $30 trillion economy by 2047.

The Deputy CM noted that Telangana currently contributes 5.1 per cent to the national GDP and said the state government, under Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, has unveiled the Telangana Rising 2047 vision. He emphasized the need to increase Telangana’s infrastructure investment rate from the present 37 per cent to 50 per cent of GSDP. He also sought an increase in the fiscal deficit limit for states to at least 4 per cent per annum and requested that 50-year interest-free loans given to states be converted into grants. 

Highlighting the state’s focus on education, he said Telangana has over 1,000 caste-based residential schools and is establishing “Young India Integrated Residential Schools”  in all 119 constituencies, where children from all communities will study together. On healthcare, he said the state is setting up several super-specialty hospitals and medical colleges. Pointing out that the Centre spends over 20 per cent of its total expenditure on State and Concurrent List subjects, he suggested reducing this by 25 per cent and directly transferring Rs 2.21 lakh crore to the states to strengthen federal financial autonomy.