Karnataka Deputy CM Shivakumar urges cooperation between Bengaluru, Hyderabad for south India’s growth

'After witnessing the scale and vision of this event, I realized Telangana is cooperating globally, not competing locally,' Shivakumar remarked.

Meerkhanpet (Ranga Reddy dist): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday called for deeper cooperation between Bengaluru and Hyderabad, emphasizing that collaboration not competition would define the future of southern India’s economic growth.

Speaking at the Telangana Rising Global Summit inaugurated at Bharat Future City, Shivakumar praised the Telangana government’s rapid progress under Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, saying the state was now positioning itself on the global stage within just two years.

He said that while he had earlier viewed Telangana as a competitor to Bengaluru, the summit reshaped his perspective. “After witnessing the scale and vision of this event, I realized Telangana is cooperating globally, not competing locally,” he remarked.

Congratulating Revanth Reddy and his team for their forward-thinking initiatives, Shivakumar said the soon-to-be-released ‘Vision 2047’ document reflected clear strategic planning for future generations.

Despite Assembly commitments in Karnataka, he said he had travelled to Hyderabad to express solidarity with his “friend Revanth Reddy” and to extend full support to the summit’s objectives.

He underlined that unity among southern states would be crucial to India’s economic rise. “It’s not only Telangana the entire South stands with him for the progress of this country. Joining together is the beginning, thinking together is progress, and working together will be success,” he said.

Shivakumar pointed out that southern states had already contributed over 30 per cent of India’s GDP, a share expected to increase to 40–45 per cent in the coming years. Highlighting Bengaluru’s role in the global technology ecosystem, he noted that the city employs nearly 25 lakh engineers, while Hyderabad’s expanding capabilities make the two cities natural partners rather than rivals.

“When we talk about India’s technology story, we cannot speak of it without mentioning both Bengaluru and Hyderabad together,” he said, calling for greater synergy between the two hubs to jointly drive India’s technological and economic leadership.

Assuring Karnataka’s full support, Shivakumar praised the Telangana government’s commitment to build a global benchmark under Revanth Reddy’s leadership. He urged investors to have confidence in both states, emphasizing that future development in the South would be shaped by planning, hard work, and honesty.