Telangana govt to allocate RTC buses to women’s self-help groups

The Telangana government has decided to allocate RTC rental buses to women’s self-help groups as part of a self-employment initiative. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s government issued a Government Order (GO) on Tuesday formalizing the decision.

In the first phase, 150 RTC rental buses will be allocated to 150 women's groups, with a monthly rent of Rs 77,220 paid for each bus. The government will also provide a bank guarantee to help these associations purchase the buses. This marks the first time in the country that RTC buses will be operated by women’s groups.

The official launch of the initiative is scheduled for March 8, on International Women’s Day, at a special event at the Parade Ground in Secunderabad. CM Revanth Reddy, along with Cabinet ministers Seethakka, Ponnam Prabhakar, and others, will participate in the event.

Following the launch, an additional 450 RTC rental buses will be allocated to women’s groups at the mandal level. Since taking office, CM Revanth Reddy has also launched the Mahalakshmi scheme, which provides free RTC bus travel for women across Telangana.

The initiative mirrors a similar scheme introduced by the Congress government in Karnataka and was a key promise in the party’s Telangana election manifesto. With the implementation of free bus travel and now the allocation of rental buses for self-employment, the move is being widely praised as a major step toward women's empowerment in Telangana.