UP emerged revenue surplus state overcoming 'Bimaru' status, says CM Adityanath

Bengaluru,

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday asserted that his state has emerged as a revenue surplus state overcoming the 'Bimaru' (ailing) category in the last nine years. Making a strong pitch for investment at the Industry Leaders' Road Show here in Bengaluru, Adityanath said the state's infrastructure makes Uttar Pradesh a favoured investment destination. "The atmosphere of stability and safety provided by the double-engine government over the past nine years has enabled Uttar Pradesh to emerge from the Bimaru category," the chief minister said.

"Double engine government" refers to the BJP-ruled government in the Centre and the state. Over the past nine years, the BJP government in the state succeeded in tripling Uttar Pradesh's economy and tripling per-capita income, Adityanath said. "For the last six years, Uttar Pradesh has been a revenue-surplus state. Rising from the bottom three, Uttar Pradesh is now counted among India's top three economies," he claimed. The CM said his state is moving forward strongly to invite investment partners into every sector. With 36 sector-specific policies, Uttar Pradesh has not only created policy support for each sector but also developed a comprehensive land bank of 75,000 acres, Adityanath said.

He added that along the expressways, the state has land available at 27 locations for developing industrial and logistics clusters. Further, a grand industrial city is being developed in the form of Bundelkhand Industrial Development Authority (BIDA). He also emphasised the rich demographic dividend of 26 crore people. The chief minister also harped upon the existing infrastructure, saying the state has completed the country's largest expressway-the Ganga Expressway-which was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 29. Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh has become a model of India's 3S-Safety, Stability and Speed, which are the three important dimensions for industry.

Uttar Pradesh has established itself as a state with a strong rule of law, he said, adding that investors will find world-class infrastructure and connectivity in the state along with an excellent network of transparent governance institutions. "Skill, talent, technology and investment-friendly policies-this complete industrial ecosystem is available today in the new India and the new Uttar Pradesh," the CM said. Recalling the past, he said nine years ago, Uttar Pradesh did not have a positive perception. "The state was plagued by a deteriorating law-and-order situation and policy paralysis where governance was virtually absent. Development was rarely discussed. It was known as one of the backward Bimaru states of northern India. Decline had become its destiny. Its fundamental pillars-agriculture and MSMEs-had been neglected," he noted.

Everything that represents India's strengths can be found in Uttar Pradesh now, the chief minister claimed. Noting that the state has an excellent law-and-order situation, Adityanath said it has world-class infrastructure, outstanding road, rail and air connectivity, India's first operational National Inland Waterway from Varanasi to Haldia and  the first Rapid Rail service between Delhi and Meerut. Adityanath said there are five international airports and 11 domestic airports, two IITs, one IIM in Lucknow, five agriculture universities, 89 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and three technical universities. He said the agricultural growth, which was once 8 per cent, has now reached 18 percent. According to him, nine years ago, the state had around 14,000 large factories and industries, which has now grown to more than 33,000.