Rotor resistance variation due to changing rotor temperature is a significant issue in the design of induction motor controls. In this work, a new on-line rotor resistance estimator is proposed based on an alternate qd induction machine model which provides better mathematical representation of an induction machine than the classical qd model (which uses constant parameters). This is because the former simultaneously includes leakage saturation, magnetizing path saturation, and distributed circuit effects in the rotor conductors. The comparisons via computer simulation studies show the ability of the proposed estimator to accurately track rotor resistance variation. For the experimental studies, due to the difficulty in measuring the actual rotor resistance, comparison of the controller performance using the proposed estimator, the classical qd model based estimator, and no estimator is made.