Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president and former IT minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) inaugurated Pragmatic Design Solutions Limited (PDSL)’s state-of-the-art Knowledge Centre on Friday, May 30, at Warwick in the United Kingdom.

PDSL is a pioneering company offering research and development services to top automotive giants like McLaren, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover.

Speaking on the occasion, KTR declared, “India First, Telangana First – this is not just a slogan, it’s our policy direction.”

He further went on to highlight the growth of industries in Telangana saying, “The growth in Hyderabad and Telangana has been phenomenal over the past decade. In 2014, when the state was formed, about 3,23,000 people were employed in the tech sector. By 2023, that number had risen meteorically to nearly a million. Likewise, technology exports grew from approximately Rs 57,000 crore to Ra 2,41,000 crore by 2023.”

“We not only have strengths in IT and life sciences, but also a strong local presence in the automotive industry. Pune and Chennai have traditionally been known as automotive hubs in India, but of late, Hyderabad has made significant strides,” he said.

“We’ have attracted companies like Stellantis, ZF, Hyundai, Mobis, Bosch, and several Indian automotive giants such as Mahindra & Mahindra and TATA…I hope PDSL expands to Hyderabad, and I encourage many of its partners here to consider Hyderabad and Telangana for future investments,” he added. 

He said Telangana was the first state to host the Formula-E racing championship in Hyderabad and added, “Even though I am currently in the opposition in Telangana, I am here today asking for your investments, because ultimately, it’s Telangana first, India first. That said, we fully intend to return to power in the state within the next three years.”

Kranti Puppala, Director of PDSL, lauded KTR’s global vision and leadership. He said, “KTR’s contributions are not confined to Telangana. His innovation-led policies have made the state a frontrunner across multiple sectors. For us, it’s a great honour to have our Knowledge Centre inaugurated by a true global leader.”