Anantapur was one of the undeveloped districts in United Andhra Pradesh. People from the district were revolted against the division of the state. Now the same division may change the fate of the district.

It seems that Anantapur is likely to be fastest developing districts after the division. Nearest to the Bangalore Airport is added advantage to the district that makes industrialists looking towards Anantapur.

Several IT and electronics industries have looking towards Anantapur. Bangalore based Smile Electronics is likely to start its work in July in Chilamathur mandal in the district.

SMILE would invest 300 crores and plan to generate 3000 jobs to the youth. Eight other electronic industries also start their units in Raaga Myuri Electronics Park in Chilamathuru which was spread over 50 acres.

The Union Ministry of Sports is all set to include Hyderabadi ace shuttler Jwala Gutta in the controversial Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme. The ministry had earlier twice denied Jwala and her partner Ashwini Ponnappa a place in the TOP scheme that offers financial and other assistance to the promising athletes who are also medal prospects at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Since several months, Jwala has been waging a war against the sports ministry, Badminton Academy of India’s (BAI) chief coach Gopichand and others and even appealed to the Telangana CM KCR, who wrote recently a letter to the Indian Prime Minister requesting to include Jwala and her doubles partner Ashwini in the TOP scheme.

Apart from KCR, even the Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, on the request of Ashwini Ponnappa, wrote a letter to the PM Modi yesterday and requested him to include the ace badminton champs into TOP scheme. Bowing to these many appeals, the sports ministry seems to have decided to include Jwala and Ashiwni’s names in the third list.

‘I am happy that we are set to be included now. It will motivate us further and help us better plan out preparation for Olympics,’ an excited Jwala said her selection.

With GHMC elections which is around the corner, the MLAs who had defected from parties like Congress and TDP to TRS are now a worried lot with pressure mounting on them. Manchireddy Kishan Reddy, Madhavaram Krishna Rao, Teegala Krishna Reddy  and Talasaani Srinivasa Yadav are among the leaders who jumped the gun.

KCR had his own sweet plans for the defectors as GHMC elections were also not far away. Corner. The defections have definitely weakened TDP which was evident in the MLC elections. But for TRS party, GHMC elections is a big issue that cannot be brushed under the carpet any longer.

TRS insiders are of the view defecting MLAs are very much concerned about their future since both TRS and TDP workers are not approaching them.  This has indeed become a cause for concern among these leaders. It is common that when a MLA even fails to ensure his corporator’s victory, it also shows his own failure.

Moreover KCR and TRS have always been the champion of by elections since in United AP, they could churn the sentiment however they wished and the polls were always held in the heartland of separatist sentiment. It is not Andhra Pradesh anymore and the by elections too will be in and around Hyderabad. KCR camp has a lot to be worried!

Fondly called as India’s IT city, Bangalore has been the undisputed Czar of IT industry in the country. However, Telangana IT minister KTR vows to beat Bangalore in a few years to be the number one IT city in the country. Bangalore has been winning over Hyderabad in terms of IT exports since nearly two decades.

Currently, Bangalore tops the country’s IT exporters’ list by a wide margin of 31 percent, against Hyderabad modest 13 percent. However, KTR is determined to implement several proactive IT policies over the next five years to double the IT exports from the current $11 billion. KTR also said that Hyderabad’s IT companies have recruited more than 15,000 employees this year, a highest in any city in the country.

KTR also revealed that the Telangana government will soon launch the India’s largest start-ups incubator and the government has already tied up with reputed tech institutes and law schools in Hyderabad. The young IT minister also stated that Bangalore, even though claimed success for the ISRO’s Mars Mission, 30% of the project components were manufactured by Hyderabad firms.

Has Telugu Desam Party president and AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu been focusing more on the Telangana issues only to cover up his failures on the development of Andhra Pradesh? This has been the topic of discussion among the political circles in both the States.

According to analysts, Naidu has been targeting issues concerning the Telangana State, particularly the Palamuru Lift Irrigation Scheme or Section 8, rather than concentrating on issues concerning AP such as capital formation or fee reimbursement scheme or drought situation or municipal workers strike.

While Naidu wrote a letter to the Centre opposing the Palamuru Lift scheme in the past, on Friday, his party MP C M Ramesh also raised the same issue with the Centre stating that it was an illegal venture. He demanded that the Central Water Commission should intervene and stop the project.

Political analyst V Prakash said Naidu was indulging in creating hurdles to Telangana development by one conspiracy or the other. Naidu’s efforts are aimed at diverting the attention of the people of AP from crucial issues so that he could get away with his failures, Prakash observed.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has turned out be an enigma for his political rivals. Even as he appeared adamant in dealing with the striking municipal employees, he does not want to give any scope for the Opposition parties to take advantage of the unrest among the agitators.

As the Opposition parties sought to gain an upper hand over the Telangana government in making all the arrangements for Friday’s bandh call, KCR sprang a surprise by announcing a hefty pay hike of 47 per cent for the municipal employees late on Thursday night.

This came as a pleasant surprise to the striking employees, who were not expecting even 30 per cent hike though they were demanding 42 per cent. And KCR’s announcement took the sting out of the Opposition agitation. Early on Friday morning, the GHMC workers were seen in their full uniform, cleaning up garbage bins and roads, while GHMC vehicles were busy plying on the roads taking the garbage from localities to the garbage yards on the outskirts.

By 7 pm, Hyderabad roads were clean and neat. The Opposition parties, however, had no idea what to do. They had no option but to carry out the bandh on the pretext that the government was planning to sack those municipal employees who did not join the duties on Thursday.

But their strike did not evoke much response. In fact, Commercial Taxes Minister T Srinivas Yadav expressed surprise over these parties taking to the streets even after the pay hike for the GHMC staff. The minister clarified that the government did not remove any worker so far and only a statement was made.

The stampede incident at Rajahmundry during the first day of Godavari Pushkaralu will not fade away from public memory for a long time. Touted to be a prestigious event for AP, the people of the state are now upset that TDP regime may have let them down with more publicity and less security.

Now the TDP favouring media as well as TDP leaders are reportedly demanding that Jagan should have given them some suggestions before pushkaralu. This is indeed a bizarre argument and even TDP cadre is not happy with their leaders speaking in such a manner considered as irrational.

Some of the TDP leaders have come out in front of media and they say that YSRCP chief should have told them what to do, what not to do and other stuff and since he didn’t express them, he should be jailed. Any sane person in AP will definitely view such statements with contempt.

It may have been a mistake and it would be honourable on the part of TDP government to accept it and move forward than try and cover it up in myriad ways. People are observing everything and hence TDP chief Naidu should stop the senseless and baseless statements which TDP leaders are making these days.

People of India celebrate many festivals due to their diverse culture and rich traditions. India is also a secular country and people take pride that it is the only country which do not swear by any religion.

However politicians whom people elect them as their representatives surprise them by sporting single color during festivals. They conveniently tend to forget the fact that their behavior is hurting majority people as they eye vote bank politics in their quest for power.

While many Hindu politicians wear skull caps and try to please Muslims and successive governments provide many facilities for their festivals and also for the festivals of other religions, the same is not reciprocated. Govts headed by various parties compete with each other to shower boons, concessions to other religions but during Hindu festivals they try to rob devotees increasing charges exorbitantly and stop providing even basic amenities.

While Hindu politicians organize Iftar and other functions for their Muslim berthern, the same is not reciprocated. Not even single Muslim or Christian MP,MLA or political leader was seen sporting a tilak or take holy dip or visit a temple unilke Hindu politicians who compete to go to dargas. Forget about sporting tilak and holy dip, they do not even care to wish hindus. This shows the duplicity and hipocracy of the Indian politicians.