Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak has said Uttar Pradesh is rapidly moving towards industrialization. The main focus of the government is on governance and law and order, which are key to achieving a $1 trillion economy, he said adding that the state has successfully improved the infrastructure in the state. “Today we have five major expressways functional in the state,” Pathak said while addressing the valedictory of the Economic Times Vision Conclave that concluded in Lucknow on Friday.
In the inaugural session on Uttar Pradesh – Roadmap for USD 1 Trillion Economy, Secretary, Planning & Programme Implementation and Nodal Officer, One Trillion Dollar Economy, Government of Uttar Pradesh Alok Kumar said the economic journey will be transformational to make UP a $1 trillion economy by 2027. “In last five-six years we have grown by over 8 percent which is higher than any state,” he said.
“We need to focus on manufacturing to get transformational growth to breach the $1 trillion economy mark. We are trying to plug all the bottlenecks. Under new industrial policy we have topped up the Centre’s PLI scheme to attract better investments,” Alok Kumar said.
Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria (Retd.), Chief Nodal Officer, Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor, said the $1 trillion economy dream is very important if we as country want to become a $5 trillion economy. It is very important to be self reliant in defence. The defence industrial corridor will create a hi-tech ecosystem and attract local talent, he said and added that UP’s $1 trillion economy dream will be a game changer. I believe it will help in increasing participation of people from all walks of life.
Prof. Dhirendra Pal Singh, Advisor (Education) to Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh said PM Modi’s vision is creating New India. When India aspires to emerge as a global leader, UP will have to play a key role. Development should be holistic. “I am sure that under the current state leadership we are moving on right track to achieve $1 trillion economy dream.”
Dr Arun Kumar Saxena said 40 years ago Maharashtra and UP shared a similar economy. We lagged behind due to poor leadership thereafter. The new UP leadership is diligently working to fill this gap and working to bring more industries in the state.
UP’s One District One Product is keenly promoted by the state government which is also creating new employment opportunities. MSME sector is our prime focus. We are among the developing states as we emerge from ‘Bimaru’ state to developing state, he said.
Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’, Minister for Industrial Development, Export Promotion, NRI, Investment Promotion, Government of Uttar Pradesh, said the government has so far successfully executed Rs 12,000 crore investments. UP was known as ‘Bimaru’ state before 2017. Former successive govts worked without vision. We are working with ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ approach, he said.
“On infra development front we are moving at a great pace. Today UP contributes to over 37 percent of total expressways in the country. Today top industralists want to come and invest in UP. During recent groundbreaking ceremony by PM Modi, UP received over Rs 80,000 investment proposals, the minister said.
UP has tremendously improved on ease of doing business index. We are the only state to have about 21 airports including 9 functional and 5 international airports, he informed.
Making an industry presentation, Lead – Public Sector, Freshworks, Amit Lal said all the government services should be made available to people through their platform. “We collectively work to bring important government services accessible for all,” he said.
In a panel discussion on Attracting Investment in Urban Areas: Cities as Engines of Economic Growth, UP Chief Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra said, “At present we stand as a $250 billion economy. What will be the roadmap ahead to jump four times within the next five years. The new transformation in term with law & order has attracted manufacturers across the country to come and invest in UP.”
Mishra further stated today UP has country’s first operational waterways which operates between Varanasi and Haldia. In regional connectivity pace we are the state which has 5 cities with functional metro line, 21 airports among which 9 are already functional with 3 international, he said.
Rajive Kumar, Chairman, UP Real Estate Regulatory Authority, said once the roadmap is clear, getting and implementing projects can be done in a much smoother way. Urbanisation has pushed growth process in UP.
Ernest Nana Adjei, Minister-Counsellor/Political & Economic Officer Embassy of Ghana, said strategic partnership is the key to implementing projects on the public-private partnership model. To take up these projects successfully statistics is the key that identifies shortcomings and strengths of system, he added.
Awanish Kumar Awasthi, Advisor to Chief Minister of UP, in his special address said, “Vision $1 trillion economy is here and very much achievable. If every arm of the government works in alignment the economic dream will be reality. In the past 5 years UP has pushed out obstacles to development.”
He further said investment in the state depends on policy on ground. “We are planning global roadshows in the US, Europe, Singapore and Middle East with top state ministers leading the charge to attract investment,” he informed.
During a session on Impact of AI; Big Data & Analytics In Government, Nishikant Gupta, Director, Government & Public Sector Business, Qlik India, said, Linking data is key for implementing projects successfully. “We focus on solving the problems by using the real time data,” he said.
Piyus Kanti, CEO, Cloudstrats, said, “We are working on key healthcare initiatives on the back of data. Integrated data from open source can be used to our advantage for better decision making.”
Participating in a session on Harnessing Digitisation for economic growth, Ajay Kaul, Head States & Local Govt. India, Amazon Internet Services, said the only good thing about Covid pandemic is that it taught us how a healthcare emergency of that magnitude can rapidly push us to adopt better technology to our advantage. Covin platform is the better and biggest digital platform created within months and now sought by many countries across the globe.
In a panel discussion on Sustainable Business Environment for Industrial, Infrastructure Investment and Responsive Policy Framework, Manish Sinha said, “We are extending and working how to improve future infrastructure including road and energy infrastructure. We have launched a major project in Moradabad that is sort of green initiative,” he said.
Sanjiv Kakkar, Executive Director & State Head, Indian Oil Corporation Limited & SLC, OMCs, Uttar Pradesh, said the UP government has laid emphasis on alternate fuel. UP is the only state in the country that is blending over 10% ethanol in petrol. This will help us saving for future. We believe if NOC process can be streamlined further we can fastrack $1 trillion economy dream.
Rajat Ganguly, Region Lead North & East, State & Local Govt, Amazon Internet Services, said, “Following PM Modi’s reform, perform and transform mantra I am sure UP will jump from current $250 billion economy to $1 trillion economy in next 5 years. We are here to provide smart and tech backed solutions for faster result oriented growth.”
Dr. Sergey Viktorovich Dvoryanov President, International Diplomatic Club, Russia, said UP is a spiritual state with spiritual energy. Today India is a mediator between West and East. We want to develop our mission and plan to open a chapter in UP. India-Russia friendship can give new vision and new growth agenda.
Giving a special address on Sports Infrastructure Transforming Uttar Pradesh, Navneet Sehgal, Additional Chief Secretary, Sports Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh said, “We have introduced new sports policy that will revolutionise sports in the state. We plan to implement bidding process where corporates can come and set up key sports infrastructure and the government will fund the gaps.”
UP will soon get an international sports city in Gorakhpur. Here any corporate can come bid and set up world class sports facility. UP will also start a wrestling academy, a motorbike race coming to UP, he informed.
In another panel discussion on Global Partnerships for Shaping The Vision of A New Uttar Pradesh of New India, Mukesh Kumar Meshram, Principal Secretary, Tourism & Culture Department, Religious Affairs Department and DG, Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh, said the state is implementing new policies to push UP as one key tourism destinations in the country. The new steps also make UP as a lucrative investment destination that incentivizes key projects.
DK Das, Executive Vice President & Head Government Business, Axis Bank, said banks have an important role in funding key projects across sectors. Banking in India is evolving and there is a need to introduce lot of solutions backed by latest technology, he said.
Rajni Bajpai, Lead Public Sector Specialist, Governance, World Bank, said UP has implemented successful key World Bank projects in the state. Today is the time we focus on inclusive growth and build a resilient economy, she stated.
Juliane Frömmter, Program Director, German Accelerator, Program Lead, EU-India InnoCente, said, “We work a lot with start-ups. In UP we offer handholding to start business and manufacturing and here UP can play a key role in offering manufacturing facilities.”
Speaking on Atmanirbhar Uttar Pradesh: Opportunities in Agriculture & Allied sector – Present Status & Way Forward, Devesh Chaturvedi said today agriculture income is much less than the non-agriculture. We need to work on initiatives to improve productivity and push the concept of organic farming.
Anil Shukla, Former Secretary General, Sugar Technologists Association of India, said in UP we are at present blending a little more than 10% ethanol in petrol, which we plan to increase to 20% in next 5 years. We have good agro-production in the state and if we can procure more investments in agro-processing it can be boost economy.
Aditi Oberoi, Lead, Public Sector Transformation, Freshworks, said both digital transformation along with non-digital systems are key for growth. While the tech backed system can help procure quick information, non digital system can help those farmers who are not that digital literate, she said.
Hans-Joerg Hoertnagl, Trade Commissioner & Commercial Counsellor, Austrian Embassy, said connecting and knowing the market is the key. “We should try to study all markets to understand the demand and focus on our strength, strategy and ecosystem,” he said.
Speaking on the Path to $1 Trillion Economy; Relevance of Green, Inclusive & Resilient Cities, Ashish Tiwari, Secretary, Forest, Environment & Climate Change, Government of Uttar Pradesh, said, “We need more cycle tracks in our cities, better e-mobility based public transport system than will help enhance use of green energy in urban areas.”
Ranjan Kumar, Secretary, Urban Development Department Government of Uttar Pradesh, said urban development is the most important pillar to boost economic growth. In the present scenario digital infrastructure and its integration with current needs can push growth.
Housing Commissioner Ranvir Prasad said the state will develop new cities and promote realistic demand survey for providing housing facility for middle income group.
Sameer Verma, Special Secretary, Finance Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh & Registrar, Farms Chits & Society, Uttar Pradesh, said clear roadmap on the policy front is the key to achieve a $1 trillion economy. At present rate we need about 35% GDP growth rate to get to a trillion dollar rate in the next five years. This is a very ambitious task, he added.
JP Singh, Managing Director, Green Gas Limited — Joint Venture of GAIL (India) Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, said only industrial growth can help achieve a $1 trillion economy dream. Urban growth can make this achievable. But this will also push migration and increase urban energy demand. Only green energy can help cut pollution, he added.
The Minister of State for Minorities Danish Raza stressed the need to develop capacity in urban areas. UP governments One District One Product focuses on expanding not just economy but also help in developing sectors and enhance employment opportunities, he said.
Speaking on Destination Uttar Pradesh The Next Big Education Hub, Vijay Kiran Anand, Director General, Basic and Secondary Education Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh, said school should be core skill development centres. The government’s Diksha platform has emerged as a key initiative to push digital tech education, he said.
Sudhir Mahadeo Bobde, Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh, said UP has a human resource surplus. We need to develop technology skilled human resource to expand the economy to the tune of $1 trillion economy, he stated.
Subhash Chand Sharma, Principal Secretary, Technical Education, Vocational Education & Skill Development Department, said without technology or tech changes we cannot achieve desired results. We need to start vocational education at school level. UP government has already initiated a project on pilot basis in 150 school for students between classes 9-12, he said.
Durga Shakti Nagpal, Special Secretary, Medical Education Department, said UP has the highest youth population. We can convert this into a skilled workforce. While UP plans to have a medical college in each district, the state government is also working to create a pool of skilled paramedical professionals, he said.
Nezrin Midhlaj, Founder and CEO, iNOVA Education, said, “We need to encourage the public private partnership model in the education sector. We need to focus not just on the quality of learning but also the quality of teachers. NGOs working in education have helped bridge this gap across 10 states we are currently working.”
In a session on Transforming Uttar Pradesh into the most preferred investment destination, Asim Arun, Minister of Social Welfare and SC/ST Welfare, said, “As we chase the $1 trillion economy dream we need to follow some safeguards. We also need to focus on drawbacks including that rapid growth brings along. I see the IT sector remote jobs as an enabler that can bridge rural urban divide.”
On Redefining Healthcare: Uttar Pradesh architecting future of health delivery, Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma, Principal Secretary, Medical, Health & Family Welfare Department, said the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) is one of the success stories in UP. As per records we have spent about double to provide health cover to the poor and marginalized, she informed.
Prof. RK Singh, Nodal Officer – COVID & HoD, Emergency Medicine, SGPGI, Lucknow, said telehealth is one of the biggest achievements by SGPGI. Telehealth process can only help UP achieve its $1 trillion dream, without which I believe it is not possible. Telehealth is the future and we need to focus on this, he said.
