[12][13] During 1998–99, Rao began his stint as an IT professional and interned at the shipping and ocean logistics firm INTTRA Inc on Madison Avenue, New York, United States.

[18] In July 2010, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh ordered the Election Commission of India to conduct by-polls in Sircilla and Vemulawada among other towns across the Telangana region.

[20] He held Rail Roko agitation after police and paramilitary forces were deployed by the Kiran Kumar Reddy government to control the ongoing situation.

[25] On 2 June 2014, Rao was sworn in as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Telangana, and Cabinet Minister for Information Technology and Panchayat Raj.

[33] In December 2014, along with the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) Chairman, Rao held discussions with the CEO of Smart City in Dubai with regard to developing Hyderabad under the ambit of ITIR.

[34] Rao also called on Yusuff Ali M A, chairman of the Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Group who said that his company would invest Rs 2,500 crore in Telangana's FMCG domain for 2015–16.

[36] In May 2015, Rao led an IT department delegation on a two-week tour to the United States with the agenda of discussing and reaching partnerships with corporate giants on various areas of collaboration with the Government of Telangana.

[37] He met Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, and Amazon executives Monique Meche & John Schoettler who assured their continued support to the State's initiatives in the IT space.

The platform located at Gachibowli is one of Rao's landmark initiatives for the state's young talent pool to innovate, incubate and incorporate new ideas for entrepreneurship.

[40] Rao invited several industry leaders including Adobe Inc. CEO Shantanu Narayen, Biocon chairman Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy among others to mentor young entrepreneurs of the state.

[43] On 19 March 2016, Rao urged Union Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to sanction Rs 100 crore for the second phase of T-Hub.

[53] In June 2015, Rao urged Union Panchayat Raj Minister, Nihal Chand, to give priority to the new state and ensure that arrears of the 13th Finance Commission funds be released from the central pool with immediate effect.

This, while appraising him of important programmes that include Our Village- Our Plan, Harithaharam and the much sought after construction of two bed room houses with basic amenities for the poor and weaker sections.

[54] A Cabinet Sub-Committee chaired by Minister Rao had formulated guidelines for the implementation of "GramaJyothi", a flagship programme of the state government which was launched on 15 August 2015.

[57] During a review meeting of the Department of Panchayat Raj held on 18 September 2015, Rao announced that e-panchayat system would be rolled out across Telangana in the forthcoming months,[58] the TRS government's flagship project in the e-governance space for a progressive state.

Wide spread success of the concept and implementation in the initial month impressed the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, who wished to replicate the model for the Bundelkhand Region.

Rao and a team of IT department officials had flown to Lucknow in October 2015 to give a presentation in respect of the Water Grid Scheme, alongside inviting Yadav to visit Telangana for a ground-level assessment.

This was hailed as a significant boost to the rural development department on the ministerial watch of Rao that would enhance the agricultural incomes of small and marginal farmers in the state, and ensure increased access to services related to health, nutrition, sanitation and social entitlements.

[68] Starting as early as 6 am every day, he worked round the clock to participate and engage with important leaders in the campaign sending a strong message to party cadre.

[71] Political analysts attributed this to the articulate speeches of the double master's degree holder turned-politician that won the hearts of Hyderabadis and positioned him as the most preferred leader among young voters.

[68] Rao is lauded for the victory of TRS in the GHMC polls since the party had a bitter loss when it contested for the local government (Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad) elections in 2002, when it ended up winning just one division.

[72] To rejuvenate the polluted Musi River, Rao announced that the state government would seek a Rs 3,000 crore loan from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in Incheon, South Korea.

[73] In March 2016, Rao said that the government was prepared to establish special-purpose vehicles, provide speedy clearances and ensure proper dispute redressal mechanism for firms investing in key infrastructure projects, including flyovers, expressways, in the capital region.

[76] In March 2016, Rao announced that the long-pending Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP) in Old City area of Hyderabad would be completed by August, and it would be opened to public.

[77] Rao laid the foundation stone for the IMAGE (Innovation in Multimedia, Animation, Gaming and Entertainment) Tower at Hyderabad Knowledge City, Raidurgam on 5 November 2017.