Telangana govt will be your first customer: KTR tells start-ups

Hyderabad: Telangana minister for municipal administration and urban development (MAUD) K.T Rama Rao on Friday said the Telangana government will be the first customer of all start-up innovators. He was speaking at the third edition of INK@WASH, one of the biggest summits of innovators offering WASH solutions in Hyderabad.

"Innovators from all states are welcome to Telangana to innovate, incubate, and incorporate their innovations in Hyderabad," he said. The minister said that he was amazed and impressed by the different ideas and solutions presented by the innovators. "Today, I saw the young face of India offering water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions," he said.

Stating that Telangana is 46% urban, KTR said, "Cities and towns are the economic engines that drive the state. We see several people migrating from rural to urban India in search of better livelihood and better quality. In the next 50-60 years, we will see urbanisation like never before. Now, every government around the world will have to think about the consequences of rapid urbanisation that will take a heavy toll on ecology and environment," he said. He added, "This is where young innovators come in."

KTR said he was very excited when ASCI director Srinivas Chary proposed forming the WASH Innovation Hub in Hyderabad. "Dr. Chary told us that healthcare, WASH sector will create millions of jobs around the world similar to the boom in employment in the IT sector years ago," he said. He further said that Hyderabad is one of the best places for innovators and there are almost 60 incubator spaces in Hyderabad such as T-hub, TSIC, and more.