STATES
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is transforming Uttar Pradesh’s fortunes in unimaginable ways.
- IBJ Bureau
- Sep 29, 2023
Uttar
Pradesh is a State that presents immense possibilities in various sectors,
including infrastructure, road, metro, air connectivity, waterways, logistics
and sports. The North Indian State has been making giant strides across sectors
since March 2017, when Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took charge of Uttar
Pradesh.
Adding
another feather to its cap, Uttar Pradesh successfully orgainsed the first-ever
MotoGP event in the country last month. The MotoGP India, the Indian Motorcycle Grand Prix – a motorcycle race that
is a part of MotoGP was held
at Buddha International Circuit in Greater Noida last month. The grand sporting
event saw a footfall of more than 1 lakh people from India and around the world
while registering business of over Rs 930 crore. The high-pulsating event was
attended by the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, along with several Central and
State ministers, and celebrities, including film stars and cricketers.
“Uttar
Pradesh is moving forward as an excellent destination for investment in the
country. Therefore, today, I invite all the stakeholders, organisers and other
dignitaries from this field to take advantage of the possibilities in Uttar
Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is not only a big market for events like MotoGP, but it
is also home to a large population of youth,” stressed Mr Adityanath. The UP
chief minister – who returned to power as the chief minister for the second
term in March 2022 – was speaking at a business conclave with representatives
of various companies participating in the MotoGP India.
Advantage
UP
UP
certainly has many advantages over its counterparts in the country. It is the
most populous State of India. Demographically, it is the youngest Indian State
with 56 per cent of its total population in the working-age group. Add to
these, UP is one of the fastest-growing economies, and you have a perfect
investment destination in the Hindi heartland.
The
venue of the MotoGP event happens to be a junction of the country’s two
important freight corridors – the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor and the Western
Dedicated Freight Corridor). In fact, over 77 per cent of the two dedicated
corridors have already been commissioned since June. Besides, the work on the remaining
parts of the freight corridors is progressing at a swift pace.
Meanwhile,
the Uttar Pradesh government is constructing an international airport – the Noida
International Airport – in collaboration with Switzerland’s Zurich Airport
International. The first phase of the international airport, coming up in
Jewar, is set to be operational by next year. The upcoming international
airport too is in the vicinity of the place where the MotoGP India event took
place.
The
UP government has launched the Atal Industrial Infrastructure Mission for the
development of industrial infrastructure within the State. Moreover, the Pradhan
Mantri Gatishakti National Master Plan – a new ecosystem created to monitor and
fast-track big-ticket infrastructure across the country – is steering this
infrastructure mission as well as other big projects in the State.
Focus
on sports
Governments
across the country have realised that there is great potential in the sports
sector for socio-economic development. UP is in the front of this sport-centric
development and has joined hands with the Centre to develop modern
infrastructure for big sports events.
The
Buddha International Circuit was developed by the Uttar Pradesh government way
back in 2011. This makes the State the first and only one in the country so far
to host such racing tracks of world-class repute.
The
UP government has been making concerted efforts to encourage sports and players
across the State. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of an international
cricket stadium in Varanasi, known as the cultural and spiritual capital of
Uttar Pradesh and India. The UP government has been organising many sports events
in collaboration with the Central government.
There
are plans to build a stadium in every district and mini-stadium at the block
level as well as expand playgrounds and develop open gyms in every gram
panchayat. Yuvak Mangal Dal and Mahila Mangal Dal have been formed in every
gram panchayat to promote sports activities among women and youth respectively in
the State. These sports organisations are also being provided with sports kits.
“It
is heartening to note that so far more than 1 lakh tickets have been sold for
MotoGP 2023. The MotoGP event is the centre of attraction for the global
automobile industry. Our government will work with full commitment to encourage
investment in the automobile sector in the State and in the country through
this event,” noted Mr Adityanath.
Big
transformation
Uttar
Pradesh has seen a sea change in the six-and-a-half years since Mr Adityanath
took over as its chief minister. The dramatic transformation, unleashed by
far-reaching reforms of the State government, has made UP a leading State for
investments across sectors. Uttar Pradesh, incidentally, had attracted
investment proposals worth whopping over Rs 36 lakh crore during the Global
Investors’ Summit held in the State early this year.
The
government’s efforts to restore law and order and create an environment of
security across UP is to a great extent responsible for the State to turn into
a magnet for investments. Besides, the State has been leading across many ease-of-doing-business
parameters in the country.
The
UP government has been monitoring the MoUs signed with investors through Nivesh
Sarathi. A single-window system is being made available to every investor.
Nivesh Mitra, the largest portal within the country, works to provide more than
400 services on one platform, where investors’ problems are resolved quickly.
The portal also facilitates investors to get incentives in a timely manner.
The
Yogi Adityanath government has unveiled 25 different sector-specific policies,
and these are being executed quite efficiently. Sports too could soon turn out
to be a new sector that may catapult UP ahead of the frontrunner States as the
preferred destination for investment and enterprise.
UP has undoubtedly been making a commendable
contribution to the economic development of the country in the last six years.
The State’s GDP has increased from Rs 13 lakh crore in 2016-17 to over Rs 22
lakh crore in the last financial year. This achievement of economic growth is indeed
commendable. India, the fifth-largest economy in the world, is aiming to become
the third-largest economy. UP, in the meanwhile, has resolved to take its
economy to $1 trillion. The giant strides made by the Hindi-heartland State
would significantly contributing to the country’s goal of becoming a $5-trillion
economy.
Report By