KT Rama Rao

Key Highlights Move aimed at promoting the image of Telangana offshore

Business-savvy KTR is likely choice of CM to handle the new portfolio

The new role is expected to add to the growing importance of KTR in the state

Hyderabad: Telangana is poised to have its own ‘external affairs’ ministry and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is set to make his son K Taraka Rama Rao, the first ‘foreign minister’ of the state, top officials said. Needless to add, foreign relations is the exclusive preserve of the Union government. So in essence the Telangana external affairs ministry will be an ‘outreach’ attempt to the rest of the world. “The state government is planning to formulate its own NRI policy, the highlight of which is a proposal to establish a separate ministry for promoting Telangana off-shore. And it is but natural that the mantle falls on KTR, who is now incharge of NRI affairs,” said highly placed sources.

As officials in the general administration department (GAD) said the announcement is expected in a couple of days, the new ministry will add to the portfolios of KTR, who has the highest number of ministries, including plum portfolios like information technology (IT), industries & commerce, municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD).

“It is a long pending demand from Telangana diaspora across the world that state must have a dedicated ministry for foreign and NRI affairs. The ministry will promote Telangana as an investment destination and market it the best among the industrialized states in India. And KTR is best suited for the purpose,” said Bura Narasaiah Goud, Bhuvanagiri MP, who was part of many delegations visiting foreign countries in the past two years.

KTR himself gave away the government plans on Friday when he said, in a meeting with a group of new recruits to Gulf countries, the government’s plans to implement a new NRI policy.

“The draft of the NRI policy is ready and a meeting will be called on July 16 before finalizing it,” KTR said in the meeting with 250 youngsters.

While Telangana is going to have the first dedicated and so called ministry for external affairs, a GAD official said the idea was borrowed from Kerala where a minister has been given the responsibility of looking after welfare of migrants from the state settled in foreign countries.

