How Ysr Reddy Renamed Shamshabad Airport

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India, was named after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The airport, located in Shamshabad, was opened in 2008 to replace the Begumpet Airport, which was previously the sole civilian airport serving the city. The naming of the airport caused controversy, with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) expressing opposition. The domestic terminal at the airport was later renamed after N. T. Rama Rao, a legendary politician and founder of the TDP. This decision was made by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry in 2014, and was met with mixed reactions, with the Telangana Assembly passing a resolution asking the Centre to maintain a status quo on the issue.

The airport was named after Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, located in Shamshabad, serves Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Telangana. It was opened on 23 March 2008, replacing Begumpet Airport, which was previously Hyderabad's sole civilian airport. The airport is named after Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, who served from 1984 to 1989.

Rajiv Gandhi was born in 1944 in Bombay (now Mumbai) and was the son of Indira Gandhi, who was Prime Minister from 1966 until her assassination in 1984. Rajiv Gandhi's grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was also Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964.

Gandhi was a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, which has been a prominent force in Indian politics for generations. Despite his political lineage, Gandhi was a reluctant entrant into the world of politics. He trained as a pilot and worked for Indian Airlines before his brother Sanjay's death in a plane crash in 1980.

Gandhi entered politics at the behest of his mother, who was facing internal and external challenges. He won a by-election in his brother's former constituency of Amethi and became a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament.

Gandhi's leadership abilities were first demonstrated when he was tasked with overseeing the successful hosting of the 1982 Asian Games in India. He then became General Secretary of the Congress Party and began streamlining and energising the party organisation.

Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1984 after his mother's assassination. He received the biggest mandate in India's history, with the Congress Party winning a landslide victory and capturing a record 401 seats out of 508 in the Lok Sabha.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, Gandhi attempted to reform the government bureaucracy and liberalise the country's economy. However, his attempts to discourage separatist movements in Punjab and Kashmir backfired, and his leadership was marred by financial scandals.

Gandhi resigned as Prime Minister in 1989 after his party's defeat in the parliamentary elections. He remained the leader of the Congress Party until his assassination in 1991 while campaigning for the next round of parliamentary elections.

The domestic terminal was named after NT Rama Rao, a legendary politician

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad, Hyderabad, is named after the former Prime Minister of India. However, the domestic terminal was named after NT Rama Rao, a legendary politician and actor.

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist, and politician. He served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over four terms, between 1983 and 1995. He founded the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982 and was the first person to hold the office while not a member of the Indian National Congress.

Rao's political priorities during his three terms as Chief Minister were widely debated, receiving criticism from both the left and right wing. He believed in economic freedom and advocated for hard work, with the view that government regulation would become unnecessary if individuals formed their own economic units. He also believed that government corruption was damaging to economic freedom, and so he passed the 1995 MACS (Mutually Aided Co-operative Societies) act.

Rao was also obsessed with the competitiveness of the Telugu population in the world. He wanted to ensure that the Telugu economy would one day be big enough to serve the needs of the Telugu population. He believed that local people would only have a local advantage if education was primarily in Telugu, and so he pushed for a three-point formula to address this issue:

• Make all local government jobs, educational institution entrances, and businesses use Telugu and Urdu so that local children have an inherent advantage, and local private schools will have to teach Telugu.
• Invest in and revamp the Telugu academy to continuously translate the latest knowledge from around the world into Telugu.
• Improve government schools and introduce English and Hindi as additional compulsory subjects, like in other non-English-speaking European countries.

Rao also had a significant impact on education in Andhra Pradesh. He instituted statewide entrance examinations for all disciplines of higher education, such as engineering and medicine, called EAMCET (Engineering and Medical Common Entrance Test). He banned capitation fee-based admissions in higher education and founded an Open University with excellent distance learning capabilities, which became the most popular university measured by attendance.

In addition, Rao banned government school teachers from running private tuition institutions on the side. When the state government teachers' union called for a strike and threatened to ruin an entire academic year for students, Rao used NGO (Non-Gazetted Officers) to conduct exams on time across the state and did not back down on his ban. His term was the first since independence where exams were always on time, and there were never any grace marks for failing students.

Rao also founded the Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam in Tirupati with the charter of expanding primary education for women in the state. He passed the Andhra Pradesh upa lok pal (civil society OMBUDSMAN) bill, inspired by Scandinavian laws, which allowed any citizen to start an investigation of any person in power with the help of judiciary, lawyers, community leaders, and independent investigators.

Furthermore, Rao successfully modified the Hindu Succession Act to give equal default property inheritance rights for women. He passed prohibition legislation and dissolved the government's manufacture of cheap alcohol aimed at the mass market segment. He reduced the retirement age for government employees to 55 from 58 and used the National Security Act (NSA) to crack down on a general strike called by government employee unions.

Rao also initiated the construction and upgrade of airports in Tirupati, Vishakapatanam, Vijayawada, and Warangal. He funded the construction of a rural road network, with the total miles of road laid being more than half of all the state roads in existence at the time.

Overall, NT Rama Rao was a legendary politician who made significant contributions to the state of Andhra Pradesh during his time as Chief Minister. His focus on education, women's rights, and economic freedom had a lasting impact on the state.

The airport was previously called Hyderabad International Airport

The airport is located in Shamshabad, about 24 kilometres (some sources state 20 kilometres) south of Hyderabad. It was opened on 23 March 2008, replacing Begumpet Airport as Hyderabad's primary commercial airport.

The airport is India's first greenfield airport built under a public-private partnership model. It is owned and operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), a public-private consortium. The airport serves as a hub for Alliance Air (India), Amazon Air, Blue Dart Aviation, SpiceJet and IndiGo. It is a focus city for Air India.

The airport is located in Shamshabad, Telangana

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is located in Shamshabad, Telangana, about 24 kilometres (15 miles) south of Hyderabad. The airport was opened on 23 March 2008, replacing Begumpet Airport as Hyderabad's primary commercial airport. It is named after Rajiv Gandhi, a former Prime Minister of India.

The airport is India's first greenfield airport built under a public-private partnership model. It is owned and operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), a public-private consortium. The airport serves as a hub for Alliance Air (India), Amazon Air, Blue Dart Aviation, SpiceJet and IndiGo. It is also a focus city for Air India.

The airport covers 5,500 acres (2,200 hectares) and is the largest airport in India by area. It has two runways and an integrated passenger terminal, a cargo terminal, aviation training facilities, a fuel farm, a solar power plant and two maintenance, repair and operations facilities.

The site for the airport was selected in December 1998 due to its convenient location near two highways (NH 44 and NH 765) and a railway line. Construction began in March 2005 and the airport was inaugurated on 14 March 2008, amid protests.

The airport has seen several developments since its opening, including the addition of a second runway in February 2012 and the expansion of the terminal in November 2023 and September 2024. In May 2022, the Central Government extended the concession agreement term of GHIAL until 22 March 2068.

The airport was inaugurated by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in March 2008

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad, Hyderabad, was inaugurated by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in March 2008. The airport was named after Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, and it replaced Begumpet Airport as Hyderabad's primary commercial airport.

The airport's inauguration took place on 14 March 2008, with commercial operations initially scheduled to begin on 16 March. However, due to protests from some airlines over high ground handling rates, the launch date was delayed until 23 March.

The foundation stone for the airport was laid by Sonia Gandhi on 16 March 2005, and construction began soon after. The airport is India's first greenfield airport built under a public-private partnership model and is owned and operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL).

The airport is located about 24 kilometres (15 miles) south of Hyderabad and is spread over 2,200 hectares (5,500 acres). It has two runways and an integrated passenger terminal, a cargo terminal, aviation training facilities, a fuel farm, a solar power plant, and maintenance and repair operations.

The development of the airport can be attributed to the efforts of multiple leaders, including Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR), who was the chief minister when construction began. YSR also continued the IT legacy of his predecessor, Chandrababu Naidu (CBN), and focused on education, healthcare, housing, and other social issues.

While there are varying opinions on who deserves the most credit for Hyderabad's development, it is clear that the city has benefited from the contributions of multiple leaders over the years.

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