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Government job, US career, 20-year absence: Telangana engineer's case explained
Media reports indicate that the engineer traveled to the US and accepted a job without notifying his department
- PUBLISHED: Thu 23 Jul 2026, 6:54 PM
In 2006, Ch Ravi, a deputy executive engineer with the Roads and Buildings Department in Telangana, traveled to the US and accepted a job without notifying his department. He had taken extended leave, which allows government employees up to five years abroad for higher studies or employment, provided they obtain prior approval.
After five years, he briefly returned to resume his duties but left again a year later. Media reports indicate that Ravi has been suspended for several years and has not received a salary, yet he remains listed as an engineer in government records. The state government has now determined he is unlikely to return and will initiate disciplinary proceedings.
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Earlier this year, the government adopted stricter measures for employees who leave their positions for opportunities abroad but retain their official posts. Under a new rule introduced in January 2026, government staff absent without authorisation for one year, or away from duty for five years even with approved leave, will be considered suspended.
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The US has attracted significant migration from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Approximately 1.5 million Telugu-speaking individuals from these states reside in the US, out of 5.2 million Indians. Estimates suggest that one in four Indians moving to the US is Telugu. Over the past decade, the Telugu population in the US has increased from 320,000 to 1.5 million. Telugu is now the 20th most-spoken language in the US, with Hindi ranking 12th and Gujarati 16th.
Last month, Sergio Gor, the US Ambassador to India, attended a reception in Hyderabad to mark the 250th anniversary of American Independence. During the event, the road adjacent to the US Consulate in Hyderabad was renamed ‘Donald Trump Avenue’, and a commemorative plaque was unveiled.
“Nowhere is the high-speed trajectory of our partnership more evident than in Hyderabad,” said Gor at the event. “From Hitech City to aerospace and defence, this region represents progress that is defining our bilateral momentum.”
In addition to the US, significant Telugu-speaking populations reside in Malaysia (500,000), the UAE and Saudi Arabia (approximately 400,000 each), Australia (nearly 100,000), Canada (75,000), and Singapore (40,000).
