 "Everything you need to know about Telangana before Assembly elections 2023")
Telangana, the newest state of India, was formed in June 2014. Despite being modest in size and age, the state punches above its weight in several vital areas such as per capita income and human development index.
History
After India gained independence in August 1947, Telangana was a part of the erstwhile Hyderabad state, which remained an independent princely state for 13 months even after the independence.
In September 1948, the Indian government decided to conduct a military operation called "Operation Polo" to make Hyderabad a part of the Indian Union and the Telangana region was part of the Hyderabad state from September 17 1948 to November 1 1956, until it merged with Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh.
However, the Telugu-speaking people of the Telangana region wanted a state of their own. This led to the First Telangana Movement in the early 1950s. To resolve the issue, the Indian government appointed the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) to evaluate the demands of various statehoods across the country.
Leaders of the Telangana movement were demanding a separate state but instead, the Telangana region was merged into Andhra state to form the Andhra Pradesh state.
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Students protested for a separate state during the second wave of agitation for Telangana statehood in 1969. This resulted in all parties of Andhra Pradesh coming together and agreeing on three key points which were:
1) All non-Telangana employees holding posts reserved for Telangana locals will be transferred immediately.
2) Telangana surpluses will be used for Telangana development.
3) Appeal to Telangana students to call off agitation.
The agitation in 1969 was quelled, but the Telugu-speaking people's aspiration was to have a Separate state of their own. This resulted in the Final Telangana Movement which started in the mid-1990s.
In 1997, the Telangana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed a resolution demanding a separate state.
Currently, the state's Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao, played a key role in the formation of Telangana. KCR was a Telugu Desam Party leader until April 2001. However, he quit TDP and launched a new party called Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) (Presently known as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi) with the single-point agenda of creating a separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital.
In November 2009, KCR announced to fast unto death, demanding the creation of the state of Telangana. Following this, the Union government announced that the process of formation of Telangana has been initiated. In the run-up to the 2009 General Elections in India, most political parties in Andhra Pradesh supported the idea of the formation of Telangana.
KCR led the Telangana state movement, which concluded in June 2014 as the Congress Working Committee unanimously passed a resolution to recommend forming a separate Telangana state on July 30, 2013.
Subsequently, in February 2014, Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 bill was passed by the Parliament of India leading to the birth of Telangana state comprising ten districts from north-western Andhra Pradesh.
Geography
Telangana was carved out from the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and became the 29th state of India on June 2, 2014. The state has an area of 112,077 square kilometres and is the twelfth largest state in terms of both area and population size in the country. Telangana is located on the Deccan plateau in the Southern region of India.
Bordering Telangana are the states of Maharashtra on its North and North-West, Chattisgarh to the North, Karnataka to the West, and Andhra Pradesh to the South, East, and North-East.
Read more: https://www.destsyb.telangana.gov.in/telangana_state.jsp
Economy
The services sector is the largest contributor to Telangana's economy which accounts for 62.2 per cent of the state's economy. The services sector in Telangana registered a 17.8 per cent growth in FY23.
The services sector employs over one-third of Telangana's total workforce.
Telangana ranked second in the overall ranking category of the NITI Aayog India Innovation Index 2022, which was measured on key parameters like human capital, investment, knowledge workers, business environment, safety, legal environment, Knowledge output, and Knowledge diffusion in the state.
At 19 per cent, the industrial sector is the second most significant contributor to Telangana's economy. Telangana has performed impressively on Ease of Doing Business parameters, ranking among the top three states from 2016 to 2022.
At 18.8 per cent, the agriculture and allied sector contributes almost equal to the industrial sector. According to the state government, the agriculture sector registered a growth of around 15.7 per cent during 2022-23.
At Rs 1,48,524, all the districts in Telangana have a higher per capita income than the country's average, according to government data for 2021-22. Rangareddy district stood first in the state with the highest per capita income of Rs 7,58,102 in 2021-22.
Read more: https://www.tsdps.telangana.gov.in/Economy_at_10_booklet.pdf
The gross state domestic product (GSDP) of Telangana for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) is estimated to be Rs 14 trillion, according to Telangana's Finance Minister T Harish Rao's budget speech. The revenue surplus for FY24 is estimated to be Rs 4,882 crore.
Revenue expenditure in the state is proposed to be Rs 211,685 crore, up 22 per cent from the revised estimate for the financial year 2022-23 (FY23). On the other hand, capital expenditure is proposed to be Rs 37,525 crore, which is 39 per cent more than the estimate for FY23.
Telangana Cuisine
Telangana cuisine, also known as Telugu cuisine has a uniqueness of its own, and while the Hyderabadi Biryani is a well-known delicacy, other lesser-known dishes form the locals' diet.
The Qutub Shahi and Nizami influence of about 400 years gives the Hyderabadi food a unique character. The traditional breads are made of millet, although wheat is also used in regular meals.
Tamarind, spring onions, green chillies, sesame and spices are the mainstays of many curries made in Telangana. Some famous dishes from Telangana include Pesara Garelu, Boti and bajja fry, palumur potil kura, among others.
Read more: https://www.iactchefacademy.com/eventdetails.php?id=155
Demographics of Telangana
According to the 2011 census, the population of Telangana was 35,003,674, which was nearly 2.89 per cent of the total population of India in 2011. The state's share in the national population is estimated to decrease by 0.23 percentage points between 2011 and 2031.