Telangana attracted Rs 21,000 cr investment during Davos meet

Hyderabad, Jan 21 (IANS) Telangana attracted investments worth Rs 21,000 crore during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting at Davos where the state delegation was headed by state minister for information technology and industries, K.T. Rama Rao.

This was the fifth visit of Minister KTR to Davos, and like in the past his efforts to bring investments to the state have yielded fruitful results, claimed the government.

Presenting the growth story of Telangana and pitching for investments, KTR has participated in meetings with leaders of top global organisations, attended round tables and spoken at panel discussions and shared his thoughts on a wide array of subjects in the four-day trip. In addition to this, the minister also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Zurich and highlighted the progress of Telangana to the NRIs in Switzerland.

At a juncture where the global economy is on the brink of recession, Telangana managed to bag some big-ticket investments. The Telangana delegation was successful in showcasing the state as a global investment destination and gateway to India.

The Telangana pavilion grabbed the attention of many top companies with representatives of several global organisations visiting the stall.

Telangana pavilion presented information regarding Telangana's geography, investments it attracted in the last eight years and initiatives of IT and Industry departments such as T-Hub and T-Works. Videos of various government programmes, policies and projects like Kaleshwaram played at the pavilion were a special attraction.

Sharing his experience of the visit, Minister KTR observed that the WEF is the right platform to introduce Telangana, a progressive state which has exceptional industrial policies and infrastructure and said that Telangana is strengthening its ties with companies on the WEF platform.

"All the meetings at the WEF were highly productive and we were able to attract Rs 21,000 crore at the meet," said KTR.

He said that bringing huge investments to the state and thereby creating employment is the driving force. "I believe that all the new investments and meetings regarding prospective investments will yield favourable outcomes," added KTR.

The big draw of this edition of Davos trip was the WEF coming forward to establish its first Indian centre in Hyderabad. This thematic centre will focus on life sciences and health care. This announcement further consolidates the city's position as the hub for life sciences and pharmaceuticals.

Microsoft announced to set up three more data centres in Hyderabad with an investment of Rs 16,000 crore. Bharti Airtel Group said it would set up a large Hyperscale Data Centre in Hyderabad with Rs 2,000 crore.

Eurofins, a global leader in the pharma sector, announced the establishment of a state-of-the-art laboratory campus in Genome Valley with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore. Other global companies such as PepsiCo, P&G, Allox, Apollo Tyres Ltd, WebPT, and Inspire Brands came forward with investments worth Rs 2,000 crore.