Revanth Reddy urges Finance Minister to ease borrowing for Telangana's education push

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday appealed to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to exempt borrowings for education-related development from the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management limits, citing large investments planned in the sector.

The Chief Minister met the Union Finance Minister at her chamber in Parliament and sought the Centre’s support for Telangana’s initiatives aimed at strengthening education, particularly for students from Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minority communities, who form a majority of the state’s population.

During the meeting, Revanth Reddy explained the significance of the Young India Integrated Residential Schools, which are being set up in 105 Assembly constituencies across Telangana. Each school will have a student strength of 2,560 from Classes 5 to 12.

He said around 2.70 lakh students would directly benefit from these schools, while they would also function as educational hubs for nearby government schools, indirectly benefiting lakhs of students.

The Chief Minister said the construction of the 105 schools, equipped with modern facilities, laboratories and stadiums, would require Rs 21,000 crore. An additional Rs 9,000 crore would be needed to upgrade laboratories and infrastructure in junior, degree and technical colleges, as well as other higher education institutions. In total, the state would require Rs 30,000 crore for comprehensive development of the education sector.

In view of the large fund requirement, Revanth Reddy requested that loans raised through a Special Purpose Centre being set up for the integrated schools be kept outside the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management limits. He urged that expenditure on education be viewed as an investment in human resource development.

After the briefing, Nirmala Sitharaman praised the Telangana government’s focus on strengthening the education sector, especially the establishment of Young India Integrated Residential Schools, and asked the Chief Minister to share details of the Special Purpose Centre.

Members of Parliament Mallu Ravi, Suresh Shetkar, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and Mandadi Anil Kumar attended the meeting.

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