TELANGANA CURRENT AFFAIRS

APRIL-2024
Rajanna Sircilla district tops State in gram
panchayats’ property tax collection
• Rajanna Sircilla district stood first in the State
in collection of property tax by gram
panchayats in 2023-24 financial year.
• As many as 255 gram panchayats in the
district collected ₹6.92 crore (98.19%) as
against the target of ₹7.5 crore as on March
30, 2024.
Osmania University celebrates 107th
Foundation Day
 It was on April 26, 1917 that Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan issued a farman to establish
the Osmania University with Urdu language as the medium of instruction.

 In 1919, classes related to university started in the rented building in Abids.

 It was the 1st university in India to teach in regional language (Urdu)

 English professor Sir Patrick Gedes did survey and selected the present 1400 acres
(Adikment region) of land for the university construction

 On 5th July, 1923 Mir Osman Ali Khan have laid a foundation stones for the 1st
structure of Osmania University i.e; arts college

 The design (detailed plan) of arts college was given by the Belgium architect Monsieur
Jasper

 When Jasper returned from Hyderabad, the execution of the plan was done by Nawab
Zain Yar Jung
 Later 7th Nizam on 4th December, 1939 inaugurated arts college
buildings and shifted the classes from Abids to here

 Arts college 1st principal- Raj Masud

 First vice-chancellor of Osmania university- Habibur Rehman Khan

 In 1949, the medium of instruction was changed from Urdu to English.

 Osmania University is identified as the 7th oldest university in India and

3rd oldest in south-India

 In 1943, during university convocation celebration national leader Raj

Gopal Chary participated and have praised this university as the
national university, and real seat of education.
Trademark filed for Osmania University Arts
College building
 In a major move towards preservation of the city’s legacy, the
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Chair of Osmania University (OU)
has filed for a trademark for the exterior design of the OU Arts
College.

 Owners of the trademark have the exclusive right to use it to market

their goods and services.

 Once the trademark is registered, the use of the building’s image for
marketing of services and branding by third parties will not be
permitted without the university’s permission.

 In India, the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Bombay Stock
Exchange in Mumbai enjoy registered trademarks.

 Opened in 1939, the heritage building in pinkish granite stone is a

blend of the pillar and lintel style of Ajanta and Ellora, with arches
 Ikshvaku-era coins unearthed at
Telangana’s Buddhist heritage site
 Telangana’s Department of Heritage has recently unearthed a coin
hoard at Phanigiri, a renowned Buddhist heritage site located 110 km
away from the state capital of Hyderabad.

 The lead coins were found in an earthen pot during the ongoing
excavations in Telangana’s Suryapet district by a team led by director
N Sagar and co-excavator B Mallu. The coins numbering 3,730 bore
an elephant symbol on the obverse and a Ujjain symbol on the reverse.

 Studies concluded that the coins belong to the Ikshvaku period, said
principal secretary Sailaja Ramaiyer and department’s director
Bharathi Hollikeri after visiting the site.
 Many other valuable cultural antiquities and structural remains, including
beads of stone and glass, shell bangle fragments, stucco motifs, broken
limestone sculptures, toy cartwheels, iron nails, and pottery, were also
unearthed during the excavation.

 Phanigiri village derived its name from the shape of the hillock, which appears
to be like a snake hood.

 The word Phani in Sanskrit means snake and Giri means hillock.

 Studies suggest that the village had a vibrant life from 1000 BC to 18th century
AD.

 Phanigiri is believed to be one of the important Buddhist monasteries

strategically located on the hilltop, on the ancient trade route (Dakshinapatha)
connecting the west and the east coast of the Deccan.

 The field season 2023-24 was the eighth season of excavation at the site which
 According to the department, various stages of earlier
excavations here discovered Mahastupa, apsidal Chaityagrihas,
Votive stupas, pillared congregation halls, Viharas, platforms
with staircases at various levels, octagonal stupa chaitya, 24-
pillared mandapam, circular chaitya, and cultural materials that
included terracotta beads, semi-precious beads, iron objects,
Brahmi label inscriptions and holy relic casket.

 All the cultural material is datable from the 1st century BCE to
4the century CE.
Telangana government signs MoU with NIMC to preserve
heritage in the archaeology museum
 The Telangana Department of Heritage signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with Noor Microfilm International Centre (NIMC),
for the repair, conservation, digitisation, documentation, and cataloguing of
the manuscripts, paintings, and documents housed in the Telangana State
Archaeology Museum in the city.

 The Iranian government-backed NIMC, based in New Delhi, has expertise in

treating and preserving documents with a novel herbal technology which is
reversible and enhances the lifespan of the document beyond 100 years.

 The documents housed in the museum are a treasure trove of information on

the history, society, language, religion and calligraphy of different periods.

 This information is key to reconstructing the political, social, linguistic and

religious history of the state.

 However, the technology used by the department is not long lasting and
poses a threat to their longevity.
University of Hyderabad among world’s top
varsities in seven subjects
 The 2024 edition of the QS World University Rankings has named the
University of Hyderabad (UoH) among the world’s top universities for the
study of seven subjects, compared to five subjects last year.

 The seven subjects are Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Economics and

Econometrics, English Language Literature, Linguistics, Performing Arts and
Physics and Astronomy.

 Of the seven, Performing Arts, which has been placed in the band 101-120,
ranked the best for UoH.

 QS World University Rankings 2024, compiled by global higher education

analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds, features 69 universities in India.

 In terms of the number of universities featured, India secured the second spot
among Asian countries.

 While India ranks fifth in the region for the number of top 200 entries, the
country came sixth for the number of top 100 entries.
Hyderabad’s GDP to reach US$ 201.4 billion by
2035, says report
 A recent report titled ‘India Real Estate: A Decade From Now,’ jointly
released by Knight Frank India and the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII), predicts a significant surge in Hyderabad’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP).
 In 2018, the city’s GDP was recorded at US$ 50.6 billion, and it is
anticipated to soar to US$ 201.4 billion by 2035.
 The report underscores Hyderabad’s remarkable economic growth,
with a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 8.47%.
 It ranks among the fastest-growing cities globally between 2019 to 2035,
securing the third position among the top 10 cities.
 The report further projects that the value of the Indian real estate sector
will reach an estimated US$ 1.5 trillion by 2034, constituting 10.5% of
the total economic output by then.
 TG is ranked 2nd in the country in
recovery of lost or stolen mobiles
 Telangana Police recovered 26,833 lost/ stolen
mobile devices in 1year TG is ranked 2nd in the
country in recovery of lost or stolen mobiles
maximum mobiles recoveries in #Hyderabad -
4348 Cyberabad - 2772 Rachakonda – 2767
Telangana govt. plans to set up hydro power plant in
Himachal Pradesh; Revanth meets HP CM
 The Telangana government is planning to set up a hydro power generation plant in
Himachal Pradesh, a State that has enormous potential in this sector.

 The government wants to invest in it to get cheaper power and meet the ever-
increasing demand.

 Sources said that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had discussed the proposal with
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in New Delhi recently.

 The government also planned to prepare a new policy on electricity generation and
procurement, whose draft copy is being readied.

 Sources said that the policy will be aimed at meeting the electricity requirements for
the next seven years (up to 2032) as power companies estimate that the peak demand
will be 27,059 MW by that year from the present peak load demand of 15,623 MW.
Telangana High Court Collegium Recommends Two
Additional Judges as Permanent Judges
 The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended names of Justice
Jaggannagari Sreenivasa Rao and Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwar
Rao, additional judges of the Telangana High Court, as permanent
judges of the court.

 On February 13, the High Court Collegium had unanimously

recommended the appointment of Justice Sreenivasa Rao and
justice Rajeshwar Rao as permanent judges of the High Court.

 They were appointed additional judge of the Telangana High Court

in August 2022.
KRMB allocates 8.5 tmc ft water to Telangana, 5.5
tmc ft to A.P.
 The three-member committee meeting of the Krishna River
Management Board (KRMB) has decided to avail 14 tmc ft water
available in Nagarjunasagar above 500 ft level for drinking needs of
the two States.

 According to Irrigation department officials, the river board has

allocated 8.5 tmc ft water to Telangana and 5.5 tmc ft to Andhra
Pradesh to meet the drinking needs till May-end.

 The water level in Nagarjunasagar was 509.9 ft against the full

reservoir level of 590 ft and the water storage was 131.5 tmc ft against
its capacity of 312.5 tmc ft.

 A total of 6,846 cusecs outflow was recorded with Right Canal

drawing 5,496 cusecs and Alimineti Madhava Reddy Project
(Srisailam Left Bank Canal) drawing 1,350 cusecs.
Telugu’s first news anchor on Doordarshan Shanti
Swaroop passes away
 The first voice on Telugu Doordarshan, Shanti Swaroop, fell silent at a
city hospital. “Ee roju vartala lone mukhya amshalu (Highlights of
today’s news)”, was one of the first sentences heard on Doordarshan on
November 14, 1983, at 7 p.m. where he began with narrating the news
about the then Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao attending the Children’s
Day celebrations at LB Stadium in Hyderabad.

 In the absence of teleprompter at the beginning of broadcasting

revolution, he would memorise the news and read.

 He was predeceased by his wife Roja Rani, also an anchor on

Doordarshan, who had begun her career as a child actor in Krishna’s
movie Thene Manasulu in 1965.
Prashanth Nandella elected as president
of HYSEA
 Prashanth Nandella, Chief Operating Officer, Firstsource has been
elected as the president of Hyderabad Software Enterprises
Association (HYSEA) in the 32 nd annual general body meeting for
the term 2024-26.

 Prashanth has played key roles in HYSEA as an active Managing

Committee and Executive Committee member including as vice-
president in the previous term. He has steered many programs for
HYSEA to excellence and built national recognition for the forum, a
press release said.

 With over three decades of experience across Fortune 500

companies, Prashanth, who is an alumnus of IIT Madras and IIM-
C, brings a wealth of expertise and leadership to this role and is
recognized as a disruptive thought leader known for crafting
innovative business solutions.
Telangana with a tele density of 108.19% ranks
second in the country: CS Santhi Kumari
 The 6th broadband committee meeting held at secretariat discussed
the issues relating to expansion and creation of new telecom
infrastructure in the state.

 Presiding over the meeting Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari said that
with a tele density of 108.19 percent, Telangana ranks second in the
country.

 Telangana is leading other states in many telecom indicators such as

tower density and mobile connectivity with 97.4 percent of villages
covered with mobile connectivity.

 The number of mobile connections is 4.14 crores as against the

population of 3.5 crores.

 There has been a quantum jump in the growth of telecom towers

with a total of 1,448 towers being added in the current financial year.
T-Hub, Medtronic forge partnership to
assist startups
 Startup incubator T-Hub and Medtronic have announced a partnership under which
the global healthcare technology firm through Medtronic Engineering & Innovation
Center (MEIC) in Hyderabad will leverage its expertise and resources to assist health-
tech startups.

 MEIC, which is Medtronic’s largest research and development centre outside the U.S.,
will foster industry collaborations and participate in events like CXO roundtables and
innovation workshops to build thought leadership in health-tech R&D.

 T-Hub startups will also receive mentorship, sponsorship and expert guidance from
MEIC.

 In addition, MEIC employees will also get to participate in tailored entrepreneurship

workshops curated by T-Hub, the incubator said on Wednesday.

 With more than 900 engineers, MEIC supports many global business units of
Medtronic by providing software engineering solutions and other engineering
expertise, including in the areas of embedded and enterprise software, product
Singareni achieves coal mining target 1st time
in recent years
 The Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. (SCCL) has achieved the coal
production target in the just concluded 2023-24 financial year for the
first time in the recent years, particularly after COVID-19 pandemic.

 The company has produced 70.02 million tonnes (MT) of coal against
the target of 70 MT.

 Despite the coal production slipping below the monthly target in May,
September and December 2023 and in January 2024, the company was
able to achieve the target.

 The company was able to reach only 67.14 MT production in 2022-23

when the target was the same at 70 MT.
 This came on the back of steadily increasing demand for coal for

thermal power plants, cement, steel, ferro-alloy units and others.

 Company said removal of overburden, too, was the highest ever during

2023-24 fiscal as 420.32 million cubic meters was removed to mine coal.

 In 2021-22, the company could achieve only 65.02 MT coal production

against the target 68 MT, in 2020-21, it could mine only 50.58 MT

against the target of 67.5 MT.

 In 2019-20, the production achieved was 64.02 MT against the target of

67 MT.

 In 2018-19, it was 64.4 MT against the target 65 MT. In 2017-18, it was

41.99 MT against the target of 62 MT.

Spurt in cybercrimes sees Telangana citizens
lose ₹150 crore in one month
 Citizens in Telangana lost ₹150 crore to cyber criminals in
10,135 cases in March alone, data shared by the officials at
Telangana State Cyber Security Bureau (TSCSB) shows.

 Officials said 8,594 cases were related to financial frauds

whiple 1,541 pertained to non-financial frauds. The State has
so far been able to block close to ₹18 crore.

 Cyberabad and Hyderabad are the hotspots for cybercrime

cases with 2,655 and 2,249 cases respectively, the official said.
“IT professionals constitute over 70% of the targets for
fraudsters particularly for business and investment, part time
jobs and stock trading frauds,” the official said.

 Rachakonda followed the league with 1,604 cases. Warangal

and Sangareddy registered 441 and 364 cases respectively.
 ‘Identity theft’ stood out as the top Modus Operandi (MO)
in the past month, constituting 29.13% of the complaints
(2,926).

 This was followed by ‘business and investment frauds’ in

which citizens lost over ₹104 crore of which only ₹10.62
crore have been put on hold. 26.28% of the total complaints
(2,640) filed pertained to such frauds in which fraudsters
lured victims into making significant investments on fake
trading apps.
Elephant wanders into Telangana from Maharashtra, kills
2 farmers in less than 24 hours
 Two farmers were killed in Telangana’s Kumura Bheem Asifabad
district in less than 24 hours by a male elephant that had strayed from
its herd in Maharashtra.

 The field director said that forest officials from Chhattisgarh and
Maharashtra confirmed that this elephant had been wandering alone
for the past two years and had already killed four or five people in
Chhattisgarh.

 It recently entered the Gadchiroli forest in Maharashtra and

subsequently crossed the Pranhita river to reach Telangana forests.

 Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forest

Mohan Chandra Pargaien announced 10 lakh as immediate
compensation to the families of the victims.
Renowned Hyderabad surgeon receives honorary fellowship
from American Surgical Association
 Dr Raghu Ram Pillarisetti, founding director, KIMS-
USHALAKSHMI Centre for Breast Diseases in Hyderabad
and a renowned surgeon from the Asia Pacific region,
achieved the rare distinction of being conferred Honorary
Fellowship of the American Surgical Association (ASA) in
Washington DC.

 This is the highest recognition that the ASA can bestow

upon a surgical colleague from a foreign country and Dr
Raghu Ram is the third surgeon from South Asia to receive
this high honour in the 144-year history of America’s
oldest and most prestigious surgical organisation.
 Telangana Lok Sabha Contest: 525 Candidates
Remain In 17 Constituencies

 In Telangana, 525 candidates remained in the election

fray in all 17 Lok Sabha constituencies, as the last day
for withdrawing nominations was over by 3PM today.

 100 candidates who filed valid nominations have

withdrawn their nominations.

 The lowest number of 12 candidates are in Adilabad

while the highest number of 45 nominations are in
Secunderabad.

 As many as 44 candidates are in the fray in Medak while

Chevella has 43 candidates and Peddapalli and
Warangal have 42 candidates each.