The Andhra Pradesh assembly was Thursday given seven more days, till Jan 30, by President Pranab Mukherjee to discuss and debate the draft Telangana bill before returning it to the central government.

 

 The president had sent the draft bill to the state legislature on Dec 12 and given time until Jan 23 to discuss and return it.

 

 According to official sources, the state government had conveyed that the bill has been debated by the assembly only for a few days and many of the legislators were yet to speak on it and hence extension of the deadline was required.

 

 The United Progressive Alliance government is expected to introduce the bill in parliament in the coming session beginning Feb 5.

 

 The union cabinet had on Dec 5 given the go-ahead for the creation of a 10-district Telangana and outlined the blueprint for carving out the country's 29th state.

 

 Telangana will comprise 10 districts and the rest of Andhra Pradesh will consist of 13 districts. Hyderabad will remain the common capital for both the states for a period not exceeding 10 years.