Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu and Kerala Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal are the guests on this edition of The Hindu Mind series, on Thursday (September 25, 2025) in New Delhi. Mr. Mallu and Mr. Balagopal will be speaking about the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and its implementation in the country.

Notably, Mr. Mallu (who also holds the Finance portfolio for Telangana) and Mr. Balagopal were two of the eight State Finance Ministers who had written to the GST Council — before its meeting on September 3 — asking it to compensate States for the revenue impact of the GST rate cuts the Centre had envisioned.

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The conversation with the two State Ministers is taking place against the backdrop of GST 2.0 having rolled out on September 22. 

The Hindu Mind is a regular series of in-person interactions with key policymakers to discuss the political, economic, and social issues of the day in a free-wheeling yet insightful conversation. 

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Telangana’s Health, Medical, and Family Welfare Department’s budget outlay for the fiscal year 2024-25 saw a cutback compared to the previous year. The current budget stands at ₹ 11,500 crore, marking a decrease of ₹661 crore from the 2023-24 budget of ₹12,161 crore.

While presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu acknowledged the success of the Rajiv Arogyasree scheme, where the Congress government has doubled the threshold for medical treatment from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakhs, aiming to alleviate the financial burden on families facing higher medical costs.

Addressing infrastructure concerns, the minister assured that the government would prioritise the completion of super-specialty hospitals, medical and nursing colleges which are currently in various stages of construction. “The Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) is slated for expansion, with the government committing to providing necessary assistance to enhance the institute’s services. Additionally, plans include the construction of a new building for the Osmania General Hospital (OGH),” he said.

– Siddharth Kumar Singh