'Government's proactive policies turned economy around'

HYDERABAD: Governor

ESL Narasimhan

in his address to the joint session of

Assembly and Council

on the opening day of the budget session said because of the proactive policy measures taken by the TRS government, the state economy had turned around.

The governor said that the average annual growth of Gross State

Domestic Product

(GSDP) of Telangana region in united AP in the two years preceding bifurcation, was 4%, lower than all India growth 5.9%. He said after state formation, the state clocked an average annual growth of 8.6% of GSDP between 2014-15 to 2016-17, higher than national average of 7.5%.

The Governor began his address in Telugu and ended it with a Sanskrit sloka. "The fundamental tenet of my government is faster economic growth with strong focus on inclusiveness. Hitherto neglected and deprived sections of our society should certainly get the benefits of growth," he said.

The governor explained that the major initiatives included construction of a number of major and medium irrigation projects to bring waters of Krishna and Godavari to farmers, high priority for completion of Kaleshwaram project, rejuvenation of tanks under '

Mission Kakatiya

' and drinking water to households under 'Mission Bhagiratha.

He said with the successful implementation of TS-iPASS, Telangana has been ranked number one in the country in ease of doing business. The governor said to create a new IT corridor outside of Madhapur and

Gachibowli

area, a new IT Cluster at Budvel and surrounding villages was being established. He said the government's initiatives to expand the IT sector beyond Hyderabad had paved the way for IT incubation centres at tier-II cities.