Hyderabad, Jan 1 (IANS) Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma on Thursday hosted New Year 2026 Open House celebrations at Lok Bhavan here.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, several Cabinet Ministers, senior bureaucrats and other prominent personalities called on the Governor and extended New Year greetings.

Hundreds of people from various walks of life across the state also participated in the celebrations, exchanging warm New Year wishes with the Governor.

Governor Varma conveyed his heartfelt greetings to the people of Telangana, wishing them a healthy, happy, safe and prosperous New Year.

Principal Secretary to the Governor M. Dana Kishore and other senior officials of Lok Bhavan were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, several ministers called on Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy at his residence and conveyed New Year greetings to him.

Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, Seethakka, Konda Surekha and Mohammed Azharuddin, along with Members of Parliament, Members of the Legislative Assembly, Members of the Legislative Council and senior officials, met the Chief Minister and greeted him on the occasion.

The Chief Minister also released the diary and calendar of the Prison Department in the presence of senior officials from the department.

Earlier in the day, Governor Jishnu Dev Varma virtually inaugurated the Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship Development (IIED) Cell at Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT), Basar.

The Governor sanctioned funds from his discretionary quota for the establishment of the IIED Cell at RGUKT Basar.

Noting that RGUKT was established to provide technical education to rural youth, the Governor said the new cell would help foster innovation and entrepreneurship among students.

He said the IIED Cell would provide mentorship, infrastructure support, industry linkages and startup assistance to address challenges in agriculture, healthcare and sustainability sectors.

The Governor urged students to pursue innovation with ethical values for inclusive growth and expressed confidence that RGUKT Basar would emerge as a leading innovation hub contributing to the vision of a Viksit Bharat. He also assured all possible support to the IIED Cell in the future.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, along with First Lady Sameera Nazeer, participated in New Year celebrations held at the Durbar Hall of Andhra Pradesh Lok Bhavan in Vijayawada, where they cut a cake to mark the occasion.

Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand, along with his wife, presented a bouquet to the Governor and the First Lady and extended New Year greetings.

–IANS

ms/pgh