CURRENT UPDATE : TELANGANA IS BORN AS 29TH STATE OF INDIA

TELANGANA IS BORN AS 29TH STATE, KCR BECOMES FIRST CM

Capping decades of struggle, Telangana came into being as the 29^th  state of India on Monday when TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao has been sworn in as Chief Minister at the head of a 11-member Cabinet that included his son and nephew. 

Turning the clock back 57 years when Telugu-speaking Telangana region of Hyderabad was merged with Andhra State in November 1956, the new state of Telangana was born at the stroke of midnight. 

Telugu will now enjoy a unique privilege of being the langauge of two states--Telangana and residual Andhra Pradesh, thus becoming the only language apart from Hindi to be the dominant language in more than one state. 

Telangana is the first state to be created in 14 years after Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were carved out of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh during NDA's rule at the Centre in 2000. 

60-year-old Rao, who quit the Telugu Desam Party and floated Telangana Rashtra Samiti in 2001 to champion the cause of separate statehood, was sworn in as Chief Minister by Governor E S L Narasimhan. 

His son K T Rama Rao, nephew T Harish Rao and nine others were also sworn in as ministers. 

Rao's daughter K Kavitha has been elected to Lok Sabha from Nizamabad in the Telangana in the recent elections. 

The others who were sworn in as ministers were--Mohammed Mahmood Ali, T Rajaiah, Nayani Narasimha Reddy, Eatela Rajender, Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy, T Padma Rao, P Mahender Reddy, Jogu Ramanna and G Jagadish Reddy. 

Earlier, Narasimhan, who was appointed Governor of both the states, was administered the oath of office by Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta. 

There were overnight celebrations to herald the birth of the new state when crackers were burst and fireworks lit the night sky. 

Soon after taking oath, Rao, popularly called KCR, vowed to root out "political corruption" and establish transparency in governance. 

Often dubbed as a "rabble rouser" by his detractors, KCR, who steered his party to triumph in the recently concluded Legislative Assembly elections, winning 63 of the 119 seats in Telangana region, started off on a populist note as he promised to waive farm loans upto Rs one lakh. 

"People of Telangana are looking forward to a progressive and development-oriented state. We will work in that direction and ensure a transparent administration," he said addressing the ceremonial parade to mark the Telangana Formation Day at the Parade Grounds in Secunderabad. 

"In the next five years, the TRS government will spend Rs one lakh crore for the welfare on SCs, STs, Backward Classes and minorities. Of this, Rs 50,000 crore will be spent on SC welfare alone," he announced. 

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday appointed two Deputy CMs besides allocating portfolios. 

Senior TRS leader Naini Narasimha Reddy has been made the Home Minister, while E Rajender has got Finance. 

Along with Rao, 11 ministers were sworn in by Governor E S L Narasimhan on Monday as Telangana, the 29th state of the country, came into existence. 

Md Mahmood Ali and T Rajaiah were named as the Deputy Chief Ministers. Ali would handle revenue, while Rajaiah would handle medical and health department, an official release said. 

Chandrasekhar Rao has retained the portfolios of SC, ST, BC, Minorities Welfare, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Energy, Coal, General Administration and all the un-alloted portfolios, the release said. 

Rao's son K T Rama Rao has been given Panchayat Raj and IT, while Rao's nephew T Harish Rao would be the minister for Irrigation and Legislative Affairs. 

Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy, T Padma Rao Goud, P Mahender Reddy, Jogu Ramanna and G Jagadish Reddy have been allocated Agriculture; Excise and Prohibition; Transport; Forest and Environment and Education, respectively.