The Telangana government on Sunday announced securing investments worth about ₹7,000 crore. Celebrating the first anniversary of the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government, the State’s IT and Industries Minister, D Sridhar Babu, made major investment announcements and launched new initiatives of the regime here.

At a function here, the Minister said that this aligns with the government’s commitment to innovation, self-reliance, and citizen-centric governance. The capital investments span various sectors, from eyewear products to solar energy.

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Elaborating on some of the initiatives, the Minister said that BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, has established the Centre for Research Excellence in National Security (CRENS). Further amplifying this vision, T-Works and BITS Pilani CRENS are formalising a collaboration to drive innovation and skill development in national security. This partnership will focus on advancing projects from prototypes to market-ready solutions.

Another initiative is the Agriculture Data Exchange (ADeX) — a digital public infrastructure launched by the State government. It will work as a one-stop gateway for innovators, start-ups, and stakeholders to access quality agricultural data and create transformative solutions for the agricultural ecosystem. Additionally, a collaboration between HDFC and ADeX focuses on smart Agri-credit, where HDFC will provide loans of up to ₹1 lakh to small and marginal farmers using datasets available on the ADeX platform.

Also, initiatives like MITRA, an innovative AI-based tool developed in partnership with the ITE&C Department and the start-up United We Care, will help address substance abuse among the youth, which is a significant challenge today, the Minister said. It is a WhatsApp-based chat application that enables behavioural assessment of students, allowing teachers and parents to detect and prevent substance abuse early.