Recently, the Telangana Congress government led by Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy organised the Telangana Rising Global Summit 2025 at the proposed Bharat Future City near Hyderabad. The two-day conclave, which was organised amid much fanfare, was not only aimed at attracting investments, but was also used as a platform to unveil Telangana Rising Vision 2047 document- a roadmap to achieve a five-fold jump in the gross state domestic product (GSDP) from the current $200 billion to $1 trillion by 2034.
In the long run, the document envisaged a 15-fold upswing in the state’s economy from the current level to $3 trillion by 2047 when India celebrates its centenary year of Independence. The timeline for the final goal for Telangana is in line with the central government’s Viksit Bharat (Developed India) target to be crossed by the same year. But the Union Government is aiming at only an eight-fold jump in the gross domestic product (GDP) to around $30 trillion by 2047 from the current $4 trillion. That way, Telangana needs to consistently clock double the national GDP growth rate every year till 2047 to scale its monumental $3-trillion economy target.
To achieve this lofty goal, the Revanth Reddy government, as enunciated in the vision document, has divided the entire state into three growth areas – the Core Urban Region Economy (CURE), Peri Urban Region Economy (PURE) and Rural Agriculture Region Economy (RARE). It’s always good to have a long-term vision for the state, but accelerating the economic growth rate to double the level of the national average will test the Revanth Reddy government’s acumen.
The unwrapping of the long-term vision apart, the summit had a short-term target as well. That was to attract large scale investments into the state. By the end of the second day on December 9, the state government inked memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with companies that entailed total investment commitments of Rs 5.75 lakh crore. Of them, the power sector accounted for more than 56 per cent as the state government signed agreements worth Rs 3.24 lakh crore in this space. Though the Chief Minister was the main driving force behind the two-day global conclave, which was put together on a large scale in a short period to mark the second anniversary of the Congress government, it was a team effort as some senior ministers also played their part well. That bodes well for the Congress in the state and especially to Revanth Reddy.
Attracting many investment proposals at the global conclave is obviously a good sign as it is for the first time that Telangana has organised a large-scale event focused entirely on investments.
The previous BRS governmenteschewed this well-established strategy. Instead, it opted to pursue individual investors and companies directly. But organising investors’ conclaves and summits is always a better option as it provides a good networking platform for investors and companies as well. That way, the Revanth Reddy government has adopted a sound and proven strategy.
However, none of the officials in the state government’s team to attract investments, has any experience of organising an investors’ gathering of a global scale. This inexperience was clearly visible during the two-day summit. Besides, most of the industry bodies, including the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), were conspicuous by their absence. The state government should have roped in industry bodies to make the event worth the effort.
Further, the Telangana government should also focus on attracting quality investments. Normally, the average realisation rate of the investment proposals signed at such conclaves is around 15-20 per cent. An investors’ summit is considered successful even if it hits a realisation rate of 25 per cent. But given the kind of investment agreements Telangana has signed at the Global Summit, the realisation rate will be far below the average. Barring Mahindra, Godrej and Adani groups with small size investments, there are not many big names in the investors’ list.
The Andhra Pradesh government, led by Nara Chandrababu Naidu, is doing a far better job on this front. The credit obviously goes to Nara Lokesh, its IT & HRD Minister. Lokesh put up a team that vets the investment proposals before signing formal agreements. That’s the reason why grounding of investment projects is happening at a faster clip in AP. The TDP-led NDA government attracted a whopping Rs 20 lakh crore investments after it stormed to power in June 2024.
In the recent Partnership Summit 2025 held at Visakhapatnam, the state government inked 613 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 13.25 lakh crore with a potential to generate over 16 lakh jobs. Given the quality of proposals it signed, the realisation rate is likely to be the highest in the country.
Meanwhile, the Telangana government should adopt a similar approach when it comes to attracting investments. A real investment of Rs 1,000 crore on the ground is far more effective and useful than investment proposals worth Rs one lakh crore on paper.
Frankly speaking, Telangana should have attracted more investment proposals than it received at the Global Summit and much more than what AP achieved at the Partnership Summit 2025. After all, Telangana has the globally popular Hyderabad, which ranks foremost among the country’s major IT hubs. Andhra Pradesh has no such metropolis. But organising an investors’ conclave of a global magnitude needs around six months of proactive groundwork, active marketing and concerted efforts. Support from industry bodies is also important.
The Telangana Rising Global Summit 2025 had distinctly visible shortcomings on these fronts, which I noticed when I visited the summit on the second day. The communication strategy of the state government was also below par and so was the quality of speakers in various panels. The state government should have been more proactive to showcase to the investors the true potential of Telangana through the Global Summit platform.
Of course, the Global Summit is a laudable effort from the Telangana government as it will put the state on a rapid growth path. Even if 10 per cent of investment proposals translate into reality, the state will stand to gain significantly. As regards Revanth Reddy, he further consolidated his position as the Chief Minister as he was successful in pushing his Cabinet colleagues to work hard for the success of the two-day event. The Congress high command also seems to be pleased with his performance.
The presence of Leader of Opposition and key Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at Argentine footballer and the game’s global icon Lionel Andrés Messi’s event in Hyderabad underscores the fact that all is well between Revanth and Rahul. Will Revanth leverage this to put Telangana on a higher pedal when it comes to growth, development and welfare? If Revanth Reddy does that, he will get closer to his aim of notching up a second consecutive term as the Telangana Chief Minister.
