Telangana Left Disappointed in Union Budget Allocations
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed his disappointment with the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. He criticized the budget for neglecting Telangana and accused the Centre of favoring BJP-ruled states in its allocations.
The Chief Minister held a meeting with officials from the finance department to review the budget’s provisions. During the meeting, officials pointed out that the Centre had not allocated funds to any major projects proposed by the Telangana government.
One of the key issues raised was the lack of support for the development of Warangal airport. The CM noted that while the budget included funds for greenfield airports in Bihar and announced plans to enhance regional connectivity through a modified UDAN scheme, there was no mention of Warangal airport. He highlighted the strain on Telangana’s aviation infrastructure due to its reliance on a single operational airport in Hyderabad. Developing Warangal airport, he said, would ease this pressure, meet the rising demand for air travel, and boost the state’s economic growth.
Another area of concern was the lack of recognition for Telangana’s leadership in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Officials emphasized that Telangana has a dedicated AI Mission (T-AIM) in collaboration with global tech companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Adobe. This makes the state a strong candidate for hosting Centers of Excellence in AI. However, none of the three centers established so far by the Centre were set up in Telangana.
The Chief Minister had hoped this oversight would be addressed in the 2025-26 budget with the announcement of new AI Centers of Excellence. Unfortunately, this expectation was not fulfilled, leaving Telangana’s contributions to AI innovation unacknowledged in the Union Budget.
