Hyderabad: Taking inspiration from Tamil Nadu’s social welfare programmes, chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday announced that the state will roll out a CM’s breakfast scheme in educational institutions from next year.

He said Tamil Nadu was the first in the country to launch the mid-day meal programme and has since set benchmarks through initiatives such as ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ (skill development) and stipends for students in govt colleges.

Speaking at the Tamil Nadu Excelling in Education event in Chennai, the CM praised his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin as “pro-poor,” adding that “the people of Tamil Nadu are fortunate to have him as their CM.” Revanth drew parallels between the two states, saying both are rooted in social justice. He said that Telangana is planning to introduce 69% reservations in upcoming local body elections—42% for BCs and 27% for SCs and STs—similar to Tamil Nadu’s model.

The CM said education remains his govt’s highest priority, stressing that he personally holds the education portfolio because “investment in education is an investment in future generations.” To address the employability gap among graduates, he pointed out that Telangana produces 1.10 lakh engineering students annually, yet many lack industry-relevant skills. To tackle this, the govt has set up Young India Skill University under a PPP model, with industrialist Anand Mahindra as chairman.

‘Sports academy soon’

A Young India Sports University has also been launched to nurture sporting talent, supported by names such as Sanjay Goenka, Abhinav Bindra, Kapil Dev, and Upasana Konidela. A sports academy will follow soon, he added.

“Despite being a country of 1.4 billion people, India has not won a single Olympic gold medal in many categories. South Korea, with a population of 40-50 million, has won 32 gold medals, 16 of them from its sports university alone,” Revanth said, adding that Telangana will welcome Tamil students and coaches to its sports university.

“Both Telangana and Tamil Nadu will take responsibility for winning gold medals in the Olympics. It cannot be achieved with (Prime Minister) Modi and Amit Shah,” he remarked.

The CM also announced Young India Integrated Residential Schools in 100 constituencies, each spread over 25 acres and built at a cost of 200 crore, along with upgraded ITIs in partnership with Tata company.

Nursery education will also begin in govt schools from next year under the state’s new education policy.

Revanth highlighted the long cultural and industrial ties between the two states. Post-1991 reforms, Tamil Nadu’s manufacturing growth and Telangana’s IT-pharma boom converged, with the Hyderabad–Chennai corridor evolving into a vital industrial and knowledge hub.