Telangana CM seeks ₹30,000 crore for education, union govt support for IIM and central schools

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has urged the Union government to allow the state to raise ₹30,000 crore for education outside fiscal borrowing limits while also seeking approval for long-pending proposals for central education institutions in the state.

Reddy raised the issues during meetings with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Parliament. The chief minister has been in New Delhi since Dec 14, when he attended the AICC rally at Ramlila Maidan.

According to officials, Reddy emphasized that Telangana’s education spending should be treated as an investment in long-term social and economic development rather than routine expenditure.

He requested that borrowings planned for the education sector be exempted from the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management limits.

Reddy outlined the state government’s push to expand public education access, particularly for students from Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and minority communities, who together form a majority of Telangana’s population.

He sought central support for education reforms currently being implemented across the state.

A major component of the reform plan is the Young India Integrated Residential Schools initiative, under which 105 campuses are proposed across assembly constituencies.

Each school is designed to offer education from Class V to Class XII to 2,560 students, with about 270,000 students expected to receive direct admissions.

Officials said the schools are also intended to function as academic resource centers for nearby government schools, benefiting several lakh additional students.

Reddy told the finance minister that building the 105 residential schools with modern classrooms, laboratories, and sports facilities would require about ₹21,000 crore.

He added that another ₹9,000 crore is planned for upgrading laboratories and infrastructure in junior colleges, degree colleges, technical institutions, and other higher education facilities.

The total funding requirement for the sector, he said, stands at ₹30,000 crore.

He requested that loans raised through a special purpose corporation being created for the integrated schools be kept outside FRBM limits.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office, Sitharaman appreciated the state’s emphasis on education and the residential schools model and asked for details of the proposed special purpose corporation.

In a separate meeting with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Reddy renewed Telangana’s demand for the establishment of an Indian Institute of Management, citing Hyderabad’s emergence as a major center for technology, life sciences, aerospace, defense, logistics, and advanced manufacturing.

"The Union govt has established 21 IIMs in 19 states and a Union Territory. There is a need to establish an IIM in Telangana also. The state govt has already identified 200 acres of land required for the establishment of the IIM at the University of Hyderabad campus,” he said.

“A facility of the transit campus is also ready to immediately commence IIM classes. The state govt will grant necessary permissions for the establishment of the IIM and provide the required facilities," he added.

Reddy also pointed to Hyderabad’s air, rail, and road connectivity, its academic institutions, and its contribution to producing nationally and internationally recognized professionals, saying an IIM would expand access to management education for students from poor and middle-class backgrounds.

The chief minister further pressed for the establishment of nine Kendriya Vidyalayas in Asifabad, Bhupalpally, Kamareddy, Gadwal, Narayanpet, Nagarkurnool, Suryapet, Vikarabad, and Nirmal districts, along with 16 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in districts including Hanumakonda, Malkajgiri, and Bhuvanagiri.

He said the state government is prepared to provide land and all required facilities to ensure the early setting up of these institutions.