Hyderabad: BRS senior leader and former finance minister Harish Rao on Wednesday defended the economic legacy of the K. Chandrashekar Rao-led government, citing Telangana’s dramatic rise to the top of India’s per capita GSVA rankings as evidence of sound governance and policy success.
Quoting data from the latest ICRA “State Economic Trends” report (May 2025), Harish Rao said Telangana had surged from 9th place in 2015 to No. 1 by 2024 in per capita gross state value added (GSVA), more than doubling its income from ₹1.25 lakh to ₹3.5 lakh—an annual compounded growth rate of 6.8 percent.
“This didn’t happen by chance,” Rao asserted. “It was the result of deliberate and visionary planning—strategic irrigation projects, bold agricultural policies, and robust industrial development under the BRS government.”
He took aim at Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s repeated portrayal of Telangana as a financially troubled state. “Calling Telangana a ‘deewala’ (bankrupt) state is not just factually incorrect—it reflects a failure to acknowledge and build on the successful foundations laid over the last decade,” Rao said. “The real bankruptcy isn’t financial, it’s in the mindset of those choosing to misrepresent Telangana’s accomplishments.”
Rao called on the current Congress-led government to honour and expand upon the economic trajectory rather than undermine it through political rhetoric.
Telangana’s rise from 9th place in 2015 to India’s No. 1 state in per capita GSVA by 2024 is truly outstanding as per ICRA ( State Economic Trends May 2025 report).
We’ve more than doubled our per capita income from ₹1.25 lakh to ₹3.5 lakh with an impressive 6.8% CAGR.
This… pic.twitter.com/qnHixFSwbB
— Harish Rao Thanneeru (@BRSHarish) May 21, 2025
