Telangana becomes India’s newest state

Celebrations greeted the creation Monday of India's newest state of Telangana, marking the formal division of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Thousands of people cheered as regional political leader K. Chandrasekhar Rao attended a parade soon after he was sworn in as Telangana's chief minister.

Rao led a 14-year struggle for the creation of the state, with the information technology and industrial hub of Hyderabad as its capital.

Demands that the southern region previously in northern Andhra Pradesh be made a separate state have existed for almost as long as independent India itself. 

Telangana supporters say their drought-prone area remained underdeveloped and its residents faced discrimination in the allocation of funds, water and jobs. The state, which comprises 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh, has a population of 35 million.

As he was sworn in, Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, said on Twitter: "India gets a new state! We welcome Telangana as our 29th state...Congrats to K Chandrasekhar Rao Garu on taking oath as Telangana's 1st CM. My best wishes to people for the state's development journey."

Hyderabad, where Google, Microsoft and Dell have major offices, will remain the capital of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for the next 10 years, after which Andhra Pradesh will develop a new capital city.

Wire services