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Minister Uttam inaugurates QCFI’s 39th Convention, stresses standards in irrigation and civil supplies
Hyderabad: Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday positioned quality as the organising principle of governance in Telangana, stating that rigorous standards in irrigation and food distribution determine whether public welfare reaches citizens “without spoilage or diversion”.
Addressing the 39th Annual Convention of the Quality Circle Forum of India (QCFI), Hyderabad Chapter, as Chief Guest, he said the government was investing in digitisation, real-time monitoring, and automation across supply chains “so that efficiency and quality can be guaranteed at every stage”.
Focusing first on irrigation, he stressed that the build quality of projects, canals, pipelines, and reservoirs directly affected farmers’ livelihoods. Poor design or execution, he cautioned, could impair water delivery “for decades”. Turning to civil supplies, he underlined that quality in procurement, storage, transportation, and distribution was essential to ensure every grain purchased with taxpayers’ money reached the poor. From the government’s perspective, he added, Telangana’s strategies on power, water, agriculture, employment, skill development, and lake preservation were “well thought of” through extensive consultations with different sections of people.
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Having set the governance context, he broadened the lens to the national stage. “Quality is not just a business requirement; it is a national imperative,” he said. Products or services of poor quality, he warned, not only weaken customer satisfaction but also damage “brand India” in global markets. Conversely, when India delivers world-class quality, the country gains credibility, access to markets, and a sense of pride. He framed quality across domains: in manufacturing, it means competitive products; in services, it means efficiency, transparency, and customer-centricity; and in government and public welfare, it means delivering the right service at the right time, without leakages.
Looking ahead to India’s long-term goals, he said the journey of self-reliance towards 2047 must rest on quality, productivity, and sustainability. For India to be truly self-reliant, three pillars need strengthening: innovation and R&D to produce indigenous solutions; skill development and training to keep the workforce future-ready; and quality excellence to make Indian products and services globally competitive. “Without quality, self-reliance cannot sustain. We must be strong enough to compete with the best in the world,” he noted.
He mapped this agenda to the changing industrial landscape. Digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and automation, he said, were reshaping how quality is defined and delivered. Sustainability and green practices were becoming integral to quality; therefore, organisations must align their quality systems with environmental and social responsibility. He urged QCFI and its members to integrate technology, sustainability, and inclusivity into the Quality Circle philosophy.
Reddy then situated QCFI’s role as the bridge between theory and practice. Forums like QCFI, he said, create a movement of change agents—employees, supervisors, engineers, and managers – who take ownership of quality. The Quality Circle approach promotes bottom-up problem-solving, empowering teams to innovate, cut costs, eliminate waste, and enhance productivity. Small improvements, when multiplied across industries, create “a massive national impact”. He said he understood that QCFI had trained and motivated lakhs of employees across sectors including automotive, power, electronics, steel, IT, and services, and he recognised the Hyderabad Chapter as a leader in spreading the movement in the region.
Setting expectations for the convention, he highlighted three takeaways for participants: make quality a way of life, not just a business tool; empower employees at all levels to innovate and take ownership; and ensure that daily work aligns with the larger goal of nation-building. He expressed confidence that the convention’s discussions, case studies, and knowledge-sharing over the next two days would inspire actionable initiatives, and he invited a collective pledge to make quality, productivity, and innovation the drivers of India’s growth.
Only after outlining policy priorities and the national context did he turn briefly to his personal journey, explaining that he was “not just another politician” but a former fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force who flew MiG-21s and MiG-23s in frontline squadrons on the China and Pakistan borders. A National Defence Academy alumnus who joined at 16 and graduated at 19, he also had the opportunity to serve with the President of India as ADC & Comptroller to Presidents R. Venkataraman and Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma. He described his entry into politics as “almost accidental” and noted that he had been elected seven consecutive times – six times as an MLA and once as a Member of Parliament – served as a Cabinet Minister in combined Andhra Pradesh and again now, been a Member of Parliament in the last Lok Sabha, and led the Congress party in Telangana for many years.
He thanked the organisers for inviting him to inaugurate the convention and by assuring institutional support. “From the government of Telangana, whatever support, cooperation you require, we are always with you,” he said. The state, he added, was “relentlessly striving to make Hyderabad a global city, a global destination for investment, and one of the more better livable cities in India,” while working continuously to make Telangana “one of the fastest or probably the fastest-growing state” in the country.
