We will make Hyderabad, a global capital for AI: Sridhar Babu, IT Minister

Hyderabad, May 18, 2024: We are here for a change. Our government is sincerely trying to bring in changes on all fronts in the state, said D. Sridhar Babu, Minister for IT, Govt of Telangana while addressing a gathering of Facility Managers at the 10th Green Annual FM Summit 2024 on Friday late night at the Address Convention in Narsingi in the city.

The Minister was invited to be the chief guest at the summit of Facility Managers organised by decade old Telangana Facility Managers Council (TFMC).

Speaking on the occasion the Minister said that the firm foundation for the IT and ITES industry was laid in 1992 and since then in the past three decades, it has witnessed exponential growth. Over the years a beautiful ecosystem was also developed.  We all are proud of our IT Industry.  Our government came into power five months ago and in between, we have a poll code of conduct.  The Chief Minister of the state Mr. Revanth Reddy has been working 24x7 for the past three months to fulfil the dreams of the people which were not realised during the previous government ruling.

Speaking about the IT industry in the state, D. Sridhar Babu said, we are working to bring the best brains back to Telangana.  Our IT industry is at the number two position now and we would like to see it at a number one position. The Y2K Bug was the turning point for the software industry. Now AI (Artificial Intelligence) is another such moment.   Chief Minister wants Telangana to take a lead, and it is his vision.  We want Hyderabad positioned as the ‘AI capital of India’.  It is our earnest desire to see Hyderabad as an AI City.  We want to see Hyderabad as the most happening city for AI activity.  We would like to see the city as a house for AI research.  Who is who of the AI world must work from here, and more and more AI products and services be developed from here. Telangana would like to set up a dedicated Artificial Intelligence City.  We have already allocated 200 acres of land to position Hyderabad as India’s ‘AI capital’.  The AI City will be a city for tomorrow's work.  We will certainly require the services of TFMC (Telangana Facility Management Council), he added

AI is expected to capture every breadth of human life soon.  We would like to take an early lead to be at the forefront of that technological development. Aiming for technology-driven growth, the Telangana government plans to host the AI Global Summit in Hyderabad in July, the Minister revealed. We will see that many AI intellectuals from across the globe take part in the Summit.  The Telangana government will absorb AI into its governance, Sridhar Babu added.  

Another important step and the most ambitious project we are looking at is the setting up of a Skill University in August this year.  It will be on par with the best of the best global institutions.  It is going to be another landmark like ISB for the city of Hyderabad.  By doing so we would like to fill the gap between industry and academia that exists now. Right now we are finalising the modalities.  However, we welcome suggestions, and professional expertise from experts on its constitution, modalities, policy frameworks etc, D. Sridhar Babu said

Sridhar Babu gave away mementoes of appreciation to the partners of the 10th Green Annual FM Summit 2024 who made it possible. 

Later TFMC presented the Social Excellence Awards and the Green Awards.  The Social Excellence Awards were presented to a couple of traffic cops. 

The Best Greening the Future award 2023-2024 was presented to L & T Metro; Eco Warriors-MSN Labs: Best Sustainable Solutions -- My Home Group; Earth's Champion Award---Sattva Knowledge City; Green Innovation Award to Raheja Mindspace; Shaping a Greener Tomorrow award to Q-City; Sustainability in Action Award to Divya Sree NSL; Eco trailblazer award to RMZ; Eco Champion award to Micron; Environmental Stewardship Award to Microsoft; Eco Advocate Leadership award to TCS; Eco Innovation TrailBlazer Award to Infosys; Green leadership innovation award to GMR; Sustainability catalyst award to NSL; Eco-conscious community engagement award to Innopolis; Green technology integration award to EXTRA and Conservation Excellence award to LTI Mindtree.

Followed by this a Handloom Ramp walk was organised where facility management professionals from 21 IT companies both men and women sporting handloom garments walked on the ramp.  The purpose behind such a ramp walk which has been an annual feature of FM Summit each year was to encourage people wear handloom clothes at least once a week so that the poor weavers get encouragement. 

Facility management (FM) is a profession that improves business and lives by ensuring functionality, comfort, safety, and efficiency of the built environment and is practised by 25 million people around the world, said Telangana Facilities Management Council (TFMC)’s President, Satyanarayana Mathala

The summit focused on future technology and AI Practices which every Facility Manager will use in the next 10 years.