Telangana Commissioner of Industries Nikhil Chakravarthi on Tuesday, December 9, said the state government has set up nine Information Technology (IT) towers across various districts and that the 2024 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) policy aims to establish flat and factory complexes in all 33 districts.
A flat and factory complex is a multi-storey building that houses smaller, stacked industrial units for different businesses.
“Our IT tower in Nizamabad district is already at full occupancy. If any industry outside the Regional Ring Road wants to relocate to the city, the state government is offering capital subsidies and improved SGST benefits to ease business operations,” he said.
Chakravarthi was speaking on the second day of the Telangana Rising Global Summit, a flagship initiative of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy held ahead of the release of the ‘Telangana Rising 2047’ vision document. His remarks came during a panel discussion on “Building Telangana’s Entrepreneurship: Ease of Doing Business 2.0.”
Darwinbox CEO Chaitanya Peddi, also part of the panel, highlighted how infrastructure gives Hyderabad a competitive edge. “Hyderabad is one of those cities where an entrepreneur can land, complete a full day of meetings, and take an evening flight back with ease. Bengaluru, for instance, struggles to offer the same convenience due to traffic. The quality of life here is also a major draw – 10 vice presidents at Darwinbox have relocated to Hyderabad in the last two years,” he said.
The discussion also explored areas where the Telangana government could further support businesses. Murali Surapaneni, CEO of Axis Energy, praised the state’s clean energy policy but noted the need for better alignment with the Union government. “Energy is a concurrent subject. Telangana must sync its policies with the Centre to support businesses effectively,” he said, adding that despite India’s push towards “One Nation, One Grid, One Frequency,” no central grid substations have been proposed in Telangana.
Abhishek Bhutani, Managing Director of Cushman and Wakefield, argued for a more flexible definition of MSMEs. “The definition varies by industry and cannot rely solely on turnover. For instance, Rs 10 crore is insignificant in the steel sector but substantial for a startup,” he said, urging the state to provide greater support to small-scale industries.
Prasanna Tantri, associate professor at the Indian School of Business, discussed how offering subsidies primarily to incumbent businesses can hurt the overall innovation ecosystem. “MIT, for example, rents out expensive equipment to aspiring entrepreneurs to help them test ideas. Many states are lagging in supporting high-end innovation. If we focus more on talent creation rather than capital, the capital will naturally follow,” he said.