Telangana adds 90 lakh acres of cultivated area in 9 yrs, says Economic Survey

The cultivated area in Telangana grew by nearly 90 lakh acres between 2014 and 2023 due to various projects such as the Kaleshwaram Lift irrigation Scheme and Mission Kakatiya, Economic Survey 2025-26 has said. The survey, which was tabled in Parliament on Thursday, also said Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana together account for nearly 40 per cent of services output, driven by modern, high-productivity services such as IT, finance and professional services, resulting in a concentration of output in highly urbanised states, particularly in southern India. ''In Telangana, the cultivated area, which stood at 1.31 crore acres in 2014, increased to 2.2 crore acres by FY 23 due to major flagship projects, such as the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project and Mission Kakatiya (tank rejuvenation), undertaken by Telangana. ''Therefore, access to irrigation facilities, aligning crops with natural resource endowments, and using climate-resilient high-yielding variety seeds, among other interventions, are imperative for improving yields,'' it said. Telangana Minister for Civil Supplies and Irrigation N Uttam Kumar Reddy recently said the state has procured a record 70.82 lakh metric tonne (LMT) of paddy from farmers during the 2025-26 kharif season, surpassing the previous high of 70.2 LMT. In the labour domain, Telangana, Bihar, Gujarat, Odisha and Maharashtra have removed restrictions on women working in a wider range of industries and commercial establishments, the survey further said. It is observed that older cities, such as Mumbai and Bengaluru, exhibit smaller increases in highly dense regions but have expanded notably into semi-urban or peri-urban zones. However, cities such as Pune and Hyderabad have experienced substantial growth in their densely populated areas, while also undergoing significant expansion into peri-urban regions, it added.