Early creation of knowledge institutions like Osmania University and continuity in government policy through the decades were the two factors that underpinned the growth of Hyderabad into a globalised city, said Dinesh Chandra Sharma, author of a recent book, ‘Beyond Biryani: The Making of a Globalised Hyderabad’.
Mr. Sharma, an alumnus of the Department of Journalism & Mass Communication at Osmania University, participated in an interactive session with the students at his alma mater on Tuesday.
“The present status of Hyderabad is not just a product of liberalisation. Its foundations had been laid in the form of knowledge institutions like Osmania University and industrial research institutions like the Regional Research Lab, which later became the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology,” Mr. Sharma said.
While the modernisation of the city after the 1908 floods was the starting point, the post-1948 period saw public sector undertakings such as IDPL serve as a launch pad for new sectors, he said.
“The city had favourable pre-existing factors and the industrial ecosystem which helped it benefit from globalisation,” he explained.
Referring to the growth of IT sector in the city, Mr. Sharma said: “Madhapur area was selected for IT hubs in 1992 by the then chief minister N. Janardhan Reddy. Chandrababu Naidu modelled the Vision 2020 policy and the Cyberabad enclave on the lines of similar projects in Malaysia. There has been continuity in government policy since in the early 1990s. This policy stability is what led to investments.”
He also mentioned the Telugu diaspora as a major factor in the continued growth of Hyderabad as a technology hub.
Striking a nostalgic note, Mr. Sharma said it was wonderful to come back to the Department, and recalled his career milestones starting with his stint at Press Trust of India.
Advising journalism students to develop a specialisation, he said, “I developed an interest in science and technology when I joined PTI because they had a science service.” He asked the students to put themselves in a global context.
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