Industrialists on Friday pledged investments worth thousands of crores in Uttar Pradesh and job opportunities, as they lauded the state’s infrastructure, law and order and policies as steps that could ensure ease of doing business.
At the Global Summit Investors (GIS) Summit in Lucknow, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announced it will invest ₹75,000 crore by rolling out 5G mobile services in the next 10 months, expanding its retail network and setting up 10 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in the next four years in the state.
“Together, we will transform India’s most populous state into one of India’s most prosperous states, achieving a trillion-dollar economy within the next five years,” RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said during his address to the summit on the opening day.
“Like India has become a centre of hope for the world, Uttar Pradesh has become a centre of hope for new India. You can see the excitement among the people, from Noida to Gorakhpur. Be it in terms of law and order, infrastructure, ease of doing business, Uttar Pradesh is emerging as India’s best state,” he added.
Reliance has invested ₹50,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh, which was committed during the 2018 summit, and generated over 80,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state, Ambani said.
“We plan to pilot our two new innovative initiatives, Jio School and Jio AI Doctor, to bring top-class education and affordable healthcare to villages and small towns across the state,” he added.
RIL also announced to source agricultural and non-agro products from the state.
Ambani said “India is on a very strong growth path”.
The Aditya Birla Group pledged investments worth ₹25,000 crore across sectors in the state.
Addressing the summit, chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said: “As an early investor in the industrial journey of the state, we feel enthused by the rapid progress that the state is making. Today, the state can rightly be considered as one of the key states driving India’s journey towards a $5 trillion economy. And therefore, we are committing further investments to the tune of ₹25,000 crore across our businesses; cement, metals, chemicals, financial services and renewable energy.”
The group already operates the Hindalco plant in Renukoot area of Sonbhadra district. The group’s seven businesses have a significant presence in Uttar Pradesh, anchored by over 30,000 employees with an overall investment of ₹40,000 crore, Birla noted.
Air India SATS, which also participated in the summit, announced an integrated multimodal cargo hub at the upcoming Jewar airport in the state in partnership with Zurich Airport. Air India SATS is the ground handling services arm of Air India.
N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Group that took over Air India last year, said the airline plans to connect every part of the state to the rest of India and potentially to important destinations of the world.
“I am happy to announce that we are going to build an integrated multimodal air cargo through Air India SATS with our partner Zurich Airport in the new Jewar airport,” Chandrasekaran said at the summit.
He also said the group’s hotel business “sees tremendous opportunities in the state because of the tourism that’s going to come, both religious tourism as well as wildlife and other aspects that attract tourists”.
Tata Group already has a significant presence in the state through steel, automotive, retail, financial and power firms, along with Tata Consultancy Services, he said. “Eighteen companies of Tata Group are deeply present in the state,” he said, adding 50,000 people are employed.
He said the state is “absolutely well placed” to become a “trillion-dollar economy when India will be $5 trillion and again become a $2 trillion economy by the time India reaches $10 trillion”.
Daniel Bircher, CEO of Zurich Airport International, Asia, thanked chief minister Yogi Adityanath for the state’s cooperation in the project. “He has emerged as the major indicator of development. Due to his cooperation, the Noida International Airport is able to take shape,” he said.
Dixon Technologies chairman and founder Sunil Vachani announced the opening of three more centres of excellence in the state for manufacturing and designing electronic products.
The group already has eight manufacturing units in the state, employing around 10,000 people. It manufactures TV sets, LED lights and cell phones.
“These (new) units will manufacture telecom products, smart watches, and refrigerators. These will generate employment for around 10,000 people,” he said in his address.
