The Government of Telangana signed a Letter of Intent with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBIGC), a London-based think tank founded by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, to collaborate on the much-hyped “Telangana Rising 2047” vision on June 19, 2025. The agreement was formalised during Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s visit to New Delhi, where he met Tony Blair.
Telangana CM presented Blair with the core pillars of the state’s upcoming 2047 agenda, which is set to be unveiled officially on December 9, 2025, to mark the second anniversary of the Congress-led government.
The project aims to address social equity through targeted programmes for farmers, youth, and women, and proposes a new planning matrix centred on urban, peri-urban, and rural microzones. Flagship projects include Bharat Future City, Young India Skills University, and Young India Sports University.
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Telangana, Shri @revanth_anumula, met with former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr. Tony Blair, in Delhi.
During their hour-long interaction, the Chief Minister shared key elements of the ‘#TelanganaRising2047’ vision, which will be formally… pic.twitter.com/BfTESSiPFv
— Telangana CMO (@TelanganaCMO) June 19, 2025
While TBIGC officials praised the state’s long-term vision and agreed to partner in designing and implementing its strategy, the move has drawn sharp criticism from observers. TBIGC, which operates with over 900 personnel across 45 countries, has long been accused of shaping global policy through a post-colonial and technocratic lens, often influencing fragile democracies and pushing neoliberal reforms under the guise of “governance transformation.”
Critics of Blair’s post-premiership role argue that TBIGC acts as an opaque power broker, bypassing democratic mandates in developing nations. In Africa and parts of Asia, the institute has been accused of embedding foreign consultants deep within government bureaucracies — a practice some label as “outsourced sovereignty.”
Tony Blair continues to be a divisive figure, widely criticised for leading the UK into the Iraq War and championing foreign interventions that left behind enduring instability across regions. His legacy remains so contentious that in 2022, over half a million people signed a petition urging the British government to revoke the knighthood awarded to him.
This comes at a time when the Telangana Congress government is facing mounting administrative and financial challenges. Just weeks ago, CM Revanth Reddy admitted publicly that the state is struggling to mobilise adequate funds — a revelation that has alarmed civil society groups and opposition leaders. Against this backdrop, entering into a vision-building alliance with a high-cost foreign advisory body has raised fundamental questions about governance priorities.
Critics say the Telangana government is focusing on the wrong things. “The Chief Minister says the state doesn’t even have enough money to run properly. So why is he working with expensive foreign advisors?” asked one analyst. “Is this 2047 vision really meant to help the people, or is it just a show to make the Congress government look good internationally?”
CM Revanth Reddy was accompanied by Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies Uttam Kumar Reddy, Members of Parliament Raghuveer Reddy and Mallu Ravi, Government Advisor Jitender Reddy, Special Chief Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, and Secretary (Coordination) Gaurav Uppal.
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