CHENNAI: Telangana IT and Urban Development Minister K Taraka Rama Rao on Saturday emphasised benefits a corporate mentality towards public governance could bring to States.
Speaking at the annual convention of Madras Management Association on ‘Learning to grow’, he said the governments should start thinking like corporates.A key figure behind Telangana’s rise to the top on the country’s ease of doing business index, Rao also encouraged corporates to “imbibe the good aspects of governments”.
Highlighting examples from Telangana, he called for synergy in administration, pointing out how coordination between government departments could save time and the taxpayers’ money. “When we decided to undertake our ambitious water grid project, we thought of the other amenities we could provide since we are going to dig up the entire State. We decided we would also lay fibre optic cables to provide internet,” he said. The project would be completed by July, he said.
Touching upon the State’s industrial policy, which allows entities to begin construction of facilities and seek licences to operate later, he emphasised the need for minimising impediments, maximising governance and putting the onus on the government to keep up with the ambitions of the corporate world.
“In three years, more than 6,000 industries have come up and they have provided employment to more than three lakh people,” he said. However, Rao said imbibing the methods of field leaders and customising them were equally important. “CM Chandrashekhar Rao told us there is no shame in copying and customising methods for the benefit of citizens,” he said. Rao said the country has a long way to go in development. He also highlighted the plight of thousands who were yet to benefit from electricity in villages.
Remarking on the theme, he said Telangana was an apt embodiment of “learning to grow” and called for a push towards reforms to cut down the need for people to visit government offices in an age where the “future is data” (Internet).
Earlier, creator of Thyrocare and keynote speaker A Velumani advocated a no-copy policy to succeed in business. Former cricketer Syed Kirmani also took part.