World Economic Forum lauds Telangana's efforts, keen to partner with State

HYDERABAD: Telangana MA&UD Minister K.T. Rama Rao chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday with representatives from the World Economic Forum and key leaders in the Life Sciences and Pharma sectors in Telangana to strengthen Hyderabad's position as the life sciences capital of the world.

The meeting was organised to look into ways to strengthen Telangana's Life Sciences ecosystem and identify additional ways to integrate Hyderabad into the global health network. During the session, the Minister highlighted the strengths that the state possesses and also the various initiatives of the Government in the life sciences sector in the last few years, which has accelerated growth of the sector multi-fold.

A prospective partnership with the World Economic Forum was also discussed in order to make use of their network and accelerate the value and influence that Telangana's life sciences sector may have. The WEF team has commended the state's actions and efforts and expressed a strong desire to work with Telangana as a strategic and vital partner in furthering its mission to enhance healthcare globally.

The meeting included participation from prominent members in the pharmaceutical industry, including Satish Reddy, Chairman of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Mahima Datla, Managing Director of Biological E Ltd., P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, Director of Aurobindo Pharma, Naveen Gullapalli, Global Head of Novartis Business Services, and Divya Joshi, Senior Director and Site Leader of the Medtronic Engineering and Innovation Centre.

Dr. Shyam Bishen, the head of health and healthcare, Mr. Sriram Gutta, the director and deputy head of India and South Asia, Mr. Purshottam Kaushik, the head of the centre for the fourth industrial revolution, and Yash Divadkar, the community lead for business engagement in India and South Asia, represented the World Economic Forum.

The Telangana government's director of life sciences and pharmaceuticals, Shakthi Nagappan, and Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary for industries and commerce, Mr. EV Narasimha Reddy, vice chairman and managing director of TSIIC, were also present.