STATES

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is transforming Uttar Pradesh’s fortunes in unimaginable ways.

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.

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