Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Telangana, which was expected to energise the BJP cadre, is said to have left a sour taste among the top leaders as the PM is said to have been pissed off over the internal wranglings when the party was in a position to challenge the Congress government.

Sources within the party claimed that the Prime Minister was utterly unhappy due to persistent internal differences and factional politics. Staying away from them and spending an unusually long time with Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan also unnerved them.

The controversy surrounding Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s son, which surfaced ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, is also believed to have added to the unease. Some BJP leaders alleged that certain internal groups were attempting to politically damage Mr. Bandi Sanjay by amplifying the issue at a sensitive time despite knowing it could damage the party.

“The Prime Minister is fully aware of the developments surrounding the episode and also the political moves made during his visit,” a senior leader claimed.

Some leaders feel the optics sent an uncomfortable signal to the cadre at a time when the BJP is trying to project Telangana as its next major political destination in South India. “The Prime Minister rarely visits the State. Leaders expected greater engagement with the State party with 8 MPs and 8 MLAs”, a senior leader said with a note of disappointment.

Another senior leader saw a positive side too. Mr. Modi avoiding a prolonged interaction with top leaders may have actually helped avoid an uncomfortable situation. “Had there been a long meeting, the Prime Minister might have taken them to task over the internal political rivalries damaging the party,” the leader claimed.

With Municipal Corporation elections to three Commissionerates of Hyderabad ahead, perhaps Mr. Modi had more faith in Mr. Naidu and Mr. Pawan Kalyan, who can influence the AP-origin voters in Hyderabad, argued a senior functionary. Is that the reason why they were favoured with precious time of the PM over the State BJP leaders?

IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu called upon the IT industry to play an active and direct role in skilling and mentoring Telangana’s vast pool of engineering graduates.

Classroom education alone cannot bridge the gap between academic learning and industry readiness, the Minister said, speaking at the 10th anniversary celebration of IT services firm PSR Techhub here on Monday.

At Raman Research Lab at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Hyderabad, India’s first quantum computer is taking shape. It is not an assembled computing wonder but something that is being built right from chips and physics that shape the next-generation computing devices. The principal investigator is Karthik Raman, a physicist who studied at IITD, MIT and has worked in IBM before returning to academia. On World Quantum Day, he shares his vision with The Hindu’s Serish Nanisetti.

If you’re talking about having a quantum computer in Hyderabad, there is absolutely none. 

Imagine a single test that can guide your doctor on which medicines will work best for your body, not just today, but for the rest of your life. AIG Hospitals, in collaboration with GenepoweRx, has launched an affordable pharmacogenomics test – which helps doctors prescribe medicines based on an individual’s genetic makeup.

Every person metabolises medicines differently. Some drugs that work well for one individual may be ineffective, or even harmful, for another. The pharmacogenomics test analyses a patient’s genetic code to predict how their body responds to common medications for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, neurological and psychiatric conditions, and pain management.

The test is priced at ₹5,000, a fraction of the ₹80,000 charged for similar genomic tests in Western countries. The test results can be used anytime in the future. Patients receive a personalised report booklet, which can be shown to any doctor, anywhere, ensuring all future prescriptions are tailored to their genetic profile, said D. Nageshwar Reddy, chairman, AIG Hospitals.

The launch follows a joint study involving more than 2,000 patients, which revealed that nearly 30% were taking medicines that were not suited to their genetic makeup. In some cases, the dosage needed to be increased, while in others it needed to be reduced. The mismatch led to poor treatment outcomes or avoidable side effects.

How the test works?

A 2 ml blood sample is drawn at AIG Hospitals. DNA is extracted and analysed using sequencing technology on validated platforms such as Illumina and MGI. Approximately 5 GB of genomic data per patient is processed to determine how the body metabolises drugs across multiple disease pathways. The results are compiled in a report and delivered to the patient within 12–13 days, said Hima Challa, clinical genomics expert, Harvard Medical School, who is part of the project.

The test evaluates around 120–190 genes that influence drug metabolism. It is not disease-specific, instead, it provides a comprehensive profile of how an individual responds to medications for any condition. Even if a patient develops a new disease or is prescribed a new drug in the future, the information can guide correct dosing.

Data sources and research

The test uses a combination of AIG Hospitals’ own study of over 2,000 Indian patients and UK Biobank data, which includes about 15% Indian representation among a million participants. This ensures that genetic variations specific to the Indian population are considered before arriving at a decision.

Cost and benefits

“Beyond affordability, the test can reduce pharmaceutical costs by preventing over-prescription and unnecessary high dosages, while also avoiding complications and hospitalisations caused by adverse drug reactions,” said Dr. Reddy.

Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy sought permission from the Central Government to deliver raw rice, additional storage support to ease a crisis in FCI godowns and a higher procurement target for the forthcoming Kharif season.

In two separate letters, the Minister urged the Centre for urgent action on rice procurement and delivery rules. In the first letter, he urged the Centre to modify its order that extended the deadline for Custom Milled Rice (CMR) delivery from the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25 up to 12 November 2025, but with the condition that all balance stocks must be delivered to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) only as parboiled rice.

He argued that Kharif paddy is more suitable for raw rice conversion, which also provides flexibility in despatches to various States. Of the available stock, 7.8 lakh metric tonnes (LMTs) remain with raw rice millers while 1.67 LMTs of paddy (equivalent to 1.13 LMTs of rice) are with boiled rice millers, making it difficult to supply only parboiled rice. The Minister requested permission to deliver CMR as both raw and boiled rice depending on availability, and offered to shift the boiled rice target of Kharif 2024-25 to the Rabi 2024-25 season to meet Government of India’s requirements.

He also flagged an immediate storage crisis. Out of the total 22.61 LMTs storage capacity in FCI godowns in Telangana, 21.72 LMTs are already occupied, leaving just 0.89 LMTs free, which is expected to be exhausted shortly. As of late September, 5.44 LMTs of CMR from Kharif 2024-25 and 14.92 LMTs from Rabi 2024-25 remained undelivered.

The shortage has forced millers to halt operations, while in several cases labourers have left rice mills due to lack of work, he said and urged the Centre to immediately arrange additional space by hiring godowns or by allotting more railway rakes to move rice stocks to other States.

In his second letter, the Minister sought enhancement of Telangana’s procurement target for KMS 2025-26. During the Food Secretaries’ meeting on September 1, 2025, the Government of India approved procurement of 36 LMTs of rice (equivalent to 53.73 LMTs of paddy) for the period 30 September 2025 to 15 June 2026. Telangana, however, has projected a bumper harvest of 148.30 LMTs of paddy, based on preliminary assessments of the Agriculture department.

Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said the current quota would fall significantly short, risking distress sales for lakhs of farmers. He proposed that the target be revised to 53.60 LMTs of rice (equivalent to 80 LMTs of paddy). He pointed out that with FCI releasing rice under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) at ₹24 per kg, farmers are effectively realising only ₹16 to ₹17 per kg for paddy, discouraging private procurement and making them more dependent on Minimum Support Price operations through government purchase centres.