Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the officials across departments to pull up their socks to propel the growth bandwagon to the next level now….reports Asian Lite News
Uttar Pradesh expects to attract Rs 10 lakh crore worth of industrial investment over the next five years during the ‘Global Investors Summit’ it plans to host in January next year.
According to a government spokesman, the state had emerged as a dream destination for industrial investment in the country and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the officials across departments to pull up their socks to propel the growth bandwagon to the next level now.
The chief minister told officials to target investment of Rs 10 lakh crore in the state through the event.
The chief minister said, “Imbibing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra of ‘Reform, Perform and Transform’, Uttar Pradesh is moving fast towards becoming the second largest economy of the country. As of now, it is at the number six. The ‘Uttar Pradesh Global Investor Summit’ is a great opportunity to boost the new aspirations of Uttar Pradesh. The state must work and eye an investment target of Rs 10 lakh crore.”
The chief minister further said that with MSMEs as the focus of the first day, the Global Investor Summit of UP should be given wide publicity by organising roadshows in countries like the UK, the US, Canada, UAE, Sweden, Singapore, Netherlands, Israel, France, Germany, South Korea, Mauritius, Russia and Australia.
“We must send our teams to these countries, so that a conducive environment of UP may be created in countries of significance to the industrial world,” he said, adding that Singapore proposing to join Uttar Pradesh as partner for the Global Investors’ Summit was a matter of pride.
‘Expressway’ Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh, until not so long ago, was known for its pot-holed roads that made one break the journey instead of complete it.
Today, the state has emerged as the expressway capital of the country with 13 expressways — six expressways having been completed and seven under various stages of construction.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, inaugurated the sixth 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway that directly connects with Delhi.
It will connect the backward districts of the region such as Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Aurraiya and Etawah.
According to a government spokesman, “Realising that infrastructure is the growth engine of the economy and roads are the mirror of progress, the double engine Bhartiya Janata Party-led government has worked extensively for the rejuvenation of roads and improving connectivity.”
The access-controlled road network is being developed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), the agency set up by the state government to steer its expressway expansion programme.
All the four expressways, interlinked, will bring the remotest and backward regions closer to not only state capital Lucknow but also Delhi and beyond, opening up markets and giving a big boost to socio-economic development in the region.
“These corridors will give impetus to rapid, balanced and inclusive growth as well as immense employment potential. Lands have been marked for this. Airstrips are also being built on the expressways for landing and take-off of Air Force aircraft in case of emergency,” said Avanish Awasthi, UP Home Secretary and Chief Executive, UPEIDA.
While the Yamuna expressway, which came up in 2012, and the Agra-Lucknow Expressway that opened to public in 2018 started the trend, it is the four new expressways: the 340-km Purvanchal, 296-km Bundelkhand, 91-km Gorakhpur Link, and the 594-km Ganga expressways that are scripting a silent transformation in the state.
Once these are complete, UP would have a network of 1,788 km of expressways in all, the highest in the country.
Currently, the total expressway network in India is around 1,822 kilometres which has earned UP the sobriquet of ‘Expressway Pradesh’.
The government spokesman said that from village streets to block headquarters and district headquarters, a network of roads connecting other states and other countries has been created.
He said that apart from boosting connectivity, the expressway network will also spur economic activity in eastern UP, bring investment and jobs.
Also, the foundation stone of the 594 km-long Ganga Expressway has been laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This expressway will not only reduce the distance between East and West but will also serve to connect people.
Additional Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal said, “The industrial hubs are being developed but we are already seeing the impact of the high-speed expressways.”
Not only will the expressways bring the remote areas of the region on the expressway network, it will drastically cut down the travel time.
