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The Telangana Government has announced that it would bear the cost of education of the medical students who have returned from war-hit Ukraine. Around 700 students from Telangana have returned to their home State from Ukraine since the war broke out there.
Addressing the Assembly on Tuesday, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said that the students were forced to go to Ukraine for their studies as the cost of medical education in India is exorbitantly high. “It costs ₹25 lakh in Ukraine to get a medical seat, while it costs around ₹1 crore, making several students to pursue studies in that country,” he said.
Federal spirit violated
Blaming the Union Government for violating the federal spirit, he alleged that the government was trying to establish a model where the Centre is very strong and States become weak. “This is undemocratic. I appeal all the States to discuss this in their respective Assemblies,” he said.
Refuting the claims that the State’s debt burden was very high, he said that the State ranked 24 out of the 28 States in terms of their debt to GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) ratio. “Borrowings are means of mobilising resources. It is part of the planning mechanism,” he said.
Dismissing the ‘double-engine growth’ claims by leaders of BJP-ruled States, he said it was not true that the States would develop only if the same party was in power at the Centre and States. “Compare Uttar Pradesh with Telangana. The growth rate of Uttar Pradesh’ GSDP is 7.26 per cent as against Telangana’s 10.8 per cent. The Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in Uttar Pradesh stands at 167. Compare this with 66 in Telangana. The Infant Mortality Rate in UP is 46 as against 23 in Telangana,” he said. “The per capita income of Telangana is ₹2.78 lakh as against ₹76,000 in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
FRBM limit
He alleged that the Union Government has set for itself a different limit under FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) at 6.9 per cent, while prescribing it to States at 4 per cent. “Of this, 0.5 per cent is linked to reforms in the power sector. We have decided not to accept this rider. The State is set to lose ₹25,000 crore in a span of five years,” he said.
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