He served as a minister in various portfolios from 2014-2023 -
Minister for Information Technology Soon after assuming office,
Information Technology (IT) Minister K. T. Rama Rao briefed the
Chief Minister on large-scale projects for a progressive
Hyderabad in a review meeting of the Information Technology and Investment Region (ITIR) Policy. In December 2014, along with the
Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) Chairman, Rao held discussions with the CEO of Smart City in
Dubai with regard to developing Hyderabad under the ambit of ITIR. Rao also called on
Yusuff Ali M A, chairman of the Abu Dhabi-based
Lulu Group who said that his company would invest Rs 2,500 crore in Telangana's FMCG domain for 2015–16. During the same time, Rama Rao visited the Sonapur camp in Dubai to interact with about 20,000 migrant workers from
Telangana who resided there. In May 2015, Rao led an IT department delegation on a two-week tour to the United States with the agenda of discussing and reaching partnerships with corporate giants on various areas of collaboration with the
Government of Telangana. The top brass of 30 leading companies which include
John Chambers of
Cisco,
Mark Hurd of
Oracle and
John Veihmeyer, the global chairman of
KPMG, met Rao to discuss the new industrial policy and ease of doing business in Telangana. He met
Microsoft CEO,
Satya Nadella, and Amazon executives Monique Meche & John Schoettler who assured their continued support to the State's initiatives in the IT space. The Minister had also exhorted Non Resident Indians in a meeting at
Seattle to be Goodwill Ambassadors in representation of the state government outside India. He set up the largest start-up incubator,
T-Hub on 5 November 2015. The platform located at Gachibowli is one of Rao's landmark initiatives for the state's young talent pool to innovate, incubate and incorporate new ideas for entrepreneurship. Up to 300 start-ups and provides a futuristic workspace for up to 800 people at once. Rao conceptualised the cell a step further than the norm by including public-private partnership and mentorship as core features of the facility. In December 2015, Infosys CEO
Vishal Sikka met with Rao during his visit to T-Hub. Soon after, the company announced that it was going to expand its Pocharam campus to double the capacity to 25,000 employees as compared to 12,000 employees, making it Infosys' biggest campus. The
Dalai Lama Centre for
Ethics and Transformative Values at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has decided to establish its South Asia centre in Hyderabad. On 19 March 2016, Rao urged Union Information Technology Minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad to sanction Rs 100 crore for the second phase of T-Hub. Mr. Prasad was also urged to sanction Rs 3,000 crore due to the State for implementation of IT Investment Region. During a 2014 (CII) conference on
cyber security, Rao had urged industry to collaborate with the government to combat cyber crimes. This, while emphasising a dedicated workforce to defeat the threat that hackers pose to the IT infrastructure. Towards a Swachh Digital Telangana, in July 2015, two important MoUs were signed in the presence of Rao. As a result, One
MoU between the Government of Telangana and C.R. Rao Institute of
Mathematics,
Statistics and
Computer Science to make cyber security part of the state's multi-policy framework. Another was signed between TASK and Samsung South-West Asia in offering courses on
software development and testing operations. In August 2015, the state government partnered with
NASSCOM and Data Security Council of India (DSCI) towards making Hyderabad a cyber-safe destination. On 10 March 2016, Governor E S L Narasimhan stated in his address to the joint session of Assembly that, with Rao as the first IT Minister of the state, the IT sector recorded huge exports of Rs 68,258 crore through 1,300 IT units, including 500 global companies, which shows 16% growth. He has been invited to speak at international conferences on Telangana's growth such as the Bridge India Ideas for India Conference in May 2023. His speech at this conference attracted media attention on Telangana's growth as a pattern for the rest of India.
Minister for Panchayat Raj On 19 January 2015, Rao announced that at least 26 government employees of various departments will be brought to work under the chairmanship of village sarpanches through a new Act that will strengthen village
panchayats in Telangana. He also assured that his government will appoint special tribunals and ombudsmen for the purpose of accountability and grievance redressal. Rao stated that the government has plans to spend Rs. 642 crore in 150 most backward mandalstill the year 2020 for improving livelihood and human development index under the Telangana PallePragathiprogramme. In June 2015, Rao urged Union Panchayat Raj Minister,
Nihal Chand, to give priority to the new state and ensure that arrears of the 13th Finance Commission funds be released from the central pool with immediate effect. This, while appraising him of important programmes that include Our Village- Our Plan, Harithaharam and the much sought after construction of two bed room houses with basic amenities for the poor and weaker sections. A Cabinet Sub-Committee chaired by Minister Rao had formulated guidelines for the implementation of "GramaJyothi", a flagship programme of the state government which was launched on 15 August 2015. The guidelines envisaged that the perspective plan should focus on provision of basic amenities for rural development. To meet them, Rao emphasised the allocation of funds to various works like provision of drinking water, health, education, electricity, sanitation and roads among others. Rao also unveiled that the State Government was planning to increase the bank linkage to SHG women from the earlier Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. He directed officials to construct Mahila Bhavans for SERP offices at the village level. In July 2014, Rao had expedited the clearance of dues to the tune of Rs 14.96 crore for women beneficiaries of the Bangaru Talli scheme. the TRS government's flagship project in the e-governance space for a progressive state. Towards women empowerment, he declared that about 10,000 women would be provided employment through the proposed comprehensive village service centers or PalleSamagraSevaKendram. These women, besides qualified youth, are trained and appointed as Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) to operate, supervise and implement government schemes at the village level. Interacting with a group of women at a VLE training programme held at the Telangana State Institute for Panchayat Raj and
Rural Development (TSIPARD), Rao appreciated women from over 4 lakh self-help groups for successfully repaying Rs. 5,000 crore loans availed by thrift groups adhering to fiscal discipline. Rao launched the Water Grid Scheme (Telangana Drinking Water Supply Project – Water Grid) in September 2015, with an estimated outlay of Rs. 35,000 crore. According to him, the State government is fully determined to complete the project, also known as Mission Bhagiratha, one that is expected to find a lasting solution to the drinking water needs of people in the State, much ahead of the stipulated time frame of three-and-a-half years. The government would also use hydraulic modelling
software for determining the size of water pipelines, pumping capacity and height to which water would be pumped. Wide spread success of the concept and implementation in the initial month impressed the Chief Minister of
Uttar Pradesh,
Akhilesh Yadav, who wished to replicate the model for the Bundelkhand Region. Rao and a team of IT department officials had flown to
Lucknow in October 2015 to give a presentation in respect of the Water Grid Scheme, alongside inviting Yadav to visit Telangana for a ground-level assessment. Earlier, Rao had also inaugurated the Rs. 10 crore Comprehensive Protected Drinking Water Supply (CPWS) Scheme at Puttakota in Raghunadhapalem mandal and a new rural water supply scheme at Edulapuram village in
Khammam rural mandal. Rao told the State Assembly in March 2016 that the state government would construct as many as 1,000 new Gram Panchayat buildings across the state in the first phase at a cost of Rs 130 crore. The new buildings will replace the dilapidated ones. The government has sanctioned Rs 13 lakh for each building. He also told the House that a total of 2.75 lakh LED bulbs would be fitted in 25 municipalities and nagar panchayats of Telangana government at a cost of Rs.10 per bulb as fitting charges.
Role in GHMC elections Elections to the
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), the urban local government body of Hyderabad, were conducted in February 2016. Rao was made in-charge of the party's campaign for the election. He was entrusted with the complete responsibility of the party's campaign and publicity strategy since KCR was preoccupied with MLC polls. The odds were against the party in the city election since it had won only 2 out of 24 Assembly seats in previous GHMC elections. The election has seen Rao actively touring all 150 wards of the city in a span of one week, conducting more than 100 public meetings while canvassing for TRS. Starting as early as 6 am every day, he worked round the clock to participate and engage with important leaders in the campaign sending a strong message to party cadre. His initiatives as the IT minister of the State won the confidence of both the people and industry leaders making his campaign a success. He also reached out to
Bengalis,
Jains,
Sikhs,
Muslims and "basti log". The induction of local basti leaders, announcement of the double-bedroom scheme, regularisation of house sites and uninterrupted water supply attracted people from the basti to vote for the party in large numbers. As a result, TRS won in 99 out of the 150 wards in the city, virtually wiping out the BJP,
Indian National Congress (INC) and TDP. Political analysts attributed this to the articulate speeches of the double master's degree holder turned-politician that won the hearts of Hyderabadis and positioned him as the most preferred leader among young voters. To rejuvenate the polluted
Musi River, Rao announced that the state government would seek a Rs 3,000 crore loan from the
Green Climate Fund (GCF) in
Incheon,
South Korea. He also urged
industrialists, manufacturers, and hoteliers not to discharge waste into the drains, warning of action against violators. Rao aimed at revitalising Hyderabad and boosting the state's economy by launching the
Happening Hyderabad initiative for 52 events across 52 weeks a year. The concept encourages the hosting of various events in the city, from music and dance programs to food and art events. with the Telangana government supporting event organizers financially or through branding, a first for any state government in India. Rao replied to a query in the State Assembly in March 2016 that 74 per cent of the
Hyderabad Metro Rail project was completed. He informed members of the House that the metro line had been laid to an extent of 43 km in a short span of time and claimed that it is a world record for the world's biggest metro project in public private partnership. In March 2016, Rao announced that the long-pending Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP) in
Old City area of Hyderabad would be completed by August, and it would be opened to public. Rao laid the foundation stone for the IMAGE (Innovation in Multimedia, Animation, Gaming and Entertainment) Tower at Hyderabad Knowledge City,
Raidurgam on 5 November 2017. The tower was launched as a centre of excellence with state-of-the-art facilities for animation, visual effects, gaming and comics sectors in Telangana. In December 2024, case was registered against KTR in connection with alleged mismanagement of funds and payments made in bringing the Formula E car racing event to Hyderabad in February 2023, when KTR was the state’s minister for MAUD. ==Awards and recognition==