Beyond Biryani: The Making Of A Globalized Hyderabad – A book as sizzling and as tasty as the iconic dish served in Bhagya Nagar!

If Hyderabad, which celebrated its 400th anniversary some two decades ago, is known by Charminar and for its Biryani which has become an iconic brand in itself, for obvious reasons any book on the city must dwell on this dish concocted out of several spices and ingredients so unique and vividly represents the amalgamation of South Asian, Mughlai, Turkic, and Arabic influences.

Now this media colleague and friend from Hyderabad, the very mention of whose name – Dinesh C  Sharma – kindles nostalgic memories in me of our entry time into journalism, sharing ideas, conversations, and space at the PTI ‘Extra Night’ shifts or now what are called the Graveyard shifts that start from 0200 am IST to 0800 a.m. IST, has done exactly that – brought in the – manning the flow of information from across the globe as most of India slept.

Having done my bit of shining in reflected glory of knowing DCS, his initials at PTI as mine were KVL, it is not surprising that his books on the subject he has specialized in science, tending more towards IT and Beyond, are as interesting as the Hyderabadi cuisine and its broad repertoire of rice, wheat, and meat dishes and the skilled use of various spices, herbs and natural edibles.

Arguably one the best science communicators in the country today, DCS very skilfully brings in the various elements and ingredients into his science writing to make it widely understood. He uses everyday common language and makes his writing simple, interesting, and informative – with the readers easily going away with some concrete takeaways. Whether it is Indian Innovations, The Outsourcer, or Unmasked a look at politics over the Covid pandemic, DCS always leaves you richer with new information on seemingly dry and difficult science subjects.

Imagine if he touches a subject like Hyderabad City, where he lived all his life as a child and completed his studies and later moved to the Union capital of Delhi and all places that science journalism took him – geographically and to the top of the profession.

So, when I picked up a conversation with DCS about his latest, Beyond Biryani: The Making Of A Globalized Hyderabad, I knew it was going to be interesting and he would teach me many things I did not know about the city where I worked for close to two years when it was still the capital of the United Andhra Pradesh, circa 2003-04, during the fag end of Chandrababu Naidu’s tenure that gave way to Congress leader YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s regime.

I am skipping the historical narrative that DCS uses to introduce the over 400-year-old city and would like to begin from the place I was – spending time in Hyderabad myself as a worker in the Naidu government’s Secretariat, watching up close some of the tough economic steps he took – like restructuring the public sector enterprises.

Yes, Naidu can easily be credited with the vision and the hard work to put Hyderabad on the global IT map and lift it higher than as the best Biryani place in the world. DCS notes that Naidu built over the solid scientific and economic foundations laid by his predecessors in Andhra Pradesh, which had received special attention as it as felt that the state had lagged under Nizam’s rule, particularly in industrial development. The Central Laboratories for Scientific and Industrial Research (CLSIR) was made a central institution under CSIR; it was renamed Regional Research Laboratory (RRL) and its research agenda was overhauled. It attracted highly qualified foreign-trained scientists as well as competent technologists from all over India. Over the years, it became the nucleus for developing more scientific institutions, and its technical expertise was used for industrial development in the region and the rest of India.

A major technological and industrial push came in the form of two public sector units, IDPL and ECIL. Their goal was to make India self-reliant in critical areas through R&D and technology absorption. ECIL was supposed to achieve self-reliance in strategic electronics, computers, communications, and consumer products through R&D. The two public sector units (PSUs) developed a large pool of technical manpower, which, in turn, prepared the ground for entrepreneurs to foray into new sectors.”

The second push and modernization process began with new opportunities after PV Narasimha Rao scripted economic liberalization in 1991, putting an end to the license permit quota raj.  The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme was specifically to boost small entrepreneurial firms in the technology sector. It was formulated before 1991 but came to fruition only after the liberalization process was set in motion. It assured units of single-window clearances, handsome tax concessions and provided shared computing and data communication facilities. From being a regulator and licenser, the state donned the role of a facilitator and promotional agent. The Bangalore STPI was located in the Electronic City established in 1977. In addition, in 1993 the Karnataka government roped in the Tata group and a consortium of Singapore-based companies to form the Information Technology Park Limited in Whitefield as the second technology enclave. Hyderabad did not have such an enclave.

Now it is the politically dramatic entry of N. Chandrababu Naidu as chief minister in 1995 proved to be equally dramatic for the fledgling technology sector in Hyderabad. His brief to his team was ‘beat Bangalore in information technology’. Hyderabad had almost everything needed for it: a good base of technical manpower, a functional STP, central PSUs engaged in technology-related areas, and a string of research institutes and entrepreneurs willing to take the plunge. But it lacked the basic infrastructure like a technology enclave, dependable power supply, good road infrastructure, international airport, and a social infrastructure conducive to young professionals. Naidu’s government worked on these elements simultaneously and marketed the city aggressively to investors in India and abroad.

According to DCS, Naidu adopted the science park model, which had been tried successfully in the West as well as in East Asian countries like South Korea, Taiwan, and Malaysia as a vehicle for technology-based economic growth and development. The HITEC City and Genome Valley developed quickly as catalysts for boosting economic growth and exports. They could take shape and yield results due to several domestic and external factors, not solely due to the political will and aggressive marketing as is often projected.

The Y2K problem, the internet and dotcom booms, and platform shifts were among the demand-side factors that made economic sense for American and European corporations to outsource, DCS notes and says that they found Hyderabad an attractive option due to a good supply of skilled people. In the same way, the process patent regime helped pharma companies in Hyderabad cater to the growing demand for generic medicines in several countries. The Genome Valley attracted foreign companies as the change in the patent regime after 2005 created demand for contract research, R&D outsourcing, and third-party clinical research business.

DCS notes, in his book on Hyderabad, how the factors that favoured Naidu, coalition politics at the centre, also led to the development and growth of Hyderabad. The support of Naidu’s TDP was crucial for the survival of successive political formations that ruled in Delhi after the Congress party lost power in 1996. This turned a regional leader like Naidu into a kingmaker on the national stage. It meant he could swing policy decisions of the Central government in favour of Andhra Pradesh at will. Naidu faced no hurdles in getting the Centre’s approvals whenever needed, including for his frequent foreign trips to market and ‘hard sell’ Hyderabad. He engaged in what has been called ‘economic para-diplomacy’ that saw him holding bilateral talks during his business trips and getting heads of state flying straight to Hyderabad.

Barring a short period during 2014-15 when there was uncertainty about the future of Hyderabad as Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated to form Telangana, there has been continuous political support for the development of the technology sector in the state. A broad consensus about the need to promote information technology since 1991 created a favourable atmosphere for attracting domestic and foreign investments. Naidu won the 1999 state assembly elections but lost the next one in 2004 with political rivals accusing him of being elitist, anti-poor, and pro-market. Yet, analysts don’t attribute his defeat solely to his single-minded focus on IT; they also point at several other political factors including the rise of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which was later renamed as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).8

But the growth of Hyderabad continued as the reform policies and focus on IT continued under Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy of the Congress party, who succeeded Naidu. Similarly, K. Chandrasekhara Rao of TRS, who came to power after the formation of Telangana state in 2014, not only continued the support to this sector but further increased it. He inducted his son K.T. Rama Rao, a former management professional, as the minister for IT. A postgraduate in biotechnology and MBA in marketing, Rama Rao aggressively marketed the new state to investors in IT, biotechnology, as well as other emerging areas. There was no change in the policies for the IT and biotechnology sectors after the assembly elections in December 2023 which saw the Congress party elected to power.

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