Telangana born as India's 29th state

The move followed prolonged protests by residents of Telangana, who felt the region had long been neglected. Telangana, which officially came into existence at midnight local time, will become the country's 29th state. With a population of 35 million, it comprises 10 former districts of Andhra Pradesh and the city of Hyderabad, BBC informs.

The city, which forms the joint capital of the two states for the next 10 years, was covered with pink balloons, banners and flags on Sunday to mark Telangana's statehood. Pink is the colour of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi party (TRS), which for 14 years spearheaded the movement for separation and will form the new state's first government.

Correspondents say the large state of Andhra Pradesh is deeply divided economically, with people in the less-developed Telangana region feeling largely neglected.

The people of the new state say they hope its creation will bring them prosperity.

India's upper house approved a bill to carve out the new state in February, despite opposition from lawmakers in the Congress Party, which governed Andhra Pradesh. The then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state, Kiran Kumar Reddy, resigned after parliament approved the bill.

Opponents are unhappy that Hyderabad, which is home to many major information technology and pharmaceutical companies, would become a shared state capital for both states, After 10 years, Andhra Pradesh is expected to develop a new capital. K Chandrasekhar Rao, of the TRS, will become chief minister for Telangana. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states share the same language of Telugu.