Telangana aspires to emerge as India’s design capital

A Centre of Design Excellence is proposed to be established in Hyderabad by 2030 as part of Telangana government’s focus on embedding design in governance, business and education and eventually transform the State into India’s design capital.

The State, as the design capital, will be a global hub for creativity, innovation and human-centered problem-solving. This is to be achieved by integrating design into various aspects towards enhancing competitiveness, sustainability and quality of living, per the Telangana Rising 2047 Vision document scheduled to be unveiled in December.

The Centre of Design Excellence will be a part of the Young India Skills University and support manufacturing and service sectors through design innovation, research and development and communication design. Besides offering programmes, it will serve as a hub for global best practices, design labs, prototype testing and behavioural research; and offer recognition and incentives for impactful design outcomes that improve product competitiveness and user experience.

Expanding quality design education and global partnerships will cultivate talent and consequently improve the competitive advantage to attract international firms and innovation -driven enterprises. The government is of the opinion that its emphasis on design will help drive economic growth, contribute to better quality of life, promote sustainable development and strengthen global reputation.

Design offers a transformative pathway to boost business value, generate employment and strengthen global competitiveness. The design element will be integrated across education, governance and industry. By fostering collaboration and eco-conscious design as well as protecting Intellectual Property (IP), Telangana can emerge as a hub of creative excellence and investment, the government said in the draft document.

Helsinki, a role model

Helsinki’s design-driven city governance model offers a ‘relevant reference for Telangana as the State gets set to build its own centre for design excellence and expand human-centred governance practices’, the government said, citing how the capital city of Finland is globally regarded as a pioneer in integrating design into public governance. Design principles, under the model, are applied not only to products and architecture, but to how public services are delivered and policies are shaped.

Telangana intends to promote design as part of the State cultural identity, reflected in climate-responsive, sustainable and inclusive public spaces blending heritage with modern aesthetics. It will encourage eco-design and universal design principles in public infrastructure and transport systems; and promote behavioural design research to improve civic sense, safety, environmental awareness, and public participation in city maintenance. All government websites and service delivery platforms will be realigned to ensure intuitive, user-friendly and accessible experiences. The departments will adopt co-creation practices, where citizens and frontline officials participate in shaping service improvements, reducing friction and increasing trust in public institutions, the document showed.