Hyderabad: The Government of Telangana on Wednesday launched the Telangana Culinary Experiential Tourism Accelerator (TCETA), India’s first initiative to merge culinary heritage, entrepreneurship, and tourism into a single growth platform.
Special Chief Secretary (Tourism) Jayesh Ranjan, who presided over the launch, said the accelerator would enable Telangana to contribute significantly to the national GDP through innovation-led tourism and food-based entrepreneurship.
“We aim to build an innovation-driven culinary tourism market by bringing chefs, startups, farmers, storytellers, and investors under one umbrella,” he said.
The programme, led by The Culinary Lounge, is a collaboration between the Telangana government, the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce & Trade (NICCT), NICEorg, and the Telangana Tourism Development Corporation. It seeks to position Telangana as a global hub for culinary and experiential tourism.
A major highlight of TCETA is the Indo-Dutch partnership with Wageningen University and FoodValley NL, which will focus on sustainable farming, food innovation, and digital food tourism.
Applications for the accelerator open on December 4, 2025, and the first cohort is scheduled to begin in April 2026.
Gopi Byluppala, founder of The Culinary Lounge, said the inclusive accelerator would engage rural and women entrepreneurs, helping them build global-ready food ventures rooted in Telangana’s rich gastronomy.
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