India has become a bright spot on the global stage and every credible voice in the world is hopeful and optimistic about the country’s economic growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, praising Uttar Pradesh for boosting development and infrastructure.
Speaking to an audience comprising political leaders, constitutional figures and captains of the industry at the inauguration of the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023 in Lucknow, Modi said UP, which was once a Bimaru (an acronym made of the names of four states with poor development indices) state, had become a bright spot for the nation and giving leadership to growth.
“Every credible voice in the world is optimistic about the ascending course of India’s economy that has not only shown resilience but also rapid recovery in the face of the pandemic,” Modi said.
“India, in real terms, has started moving on the path of speed and scale. As the basic needs of a very large segment have been met, they are thinking ahead of the next step. This is the biggest reason for trust and faith in India,” the PM added.
The state’s chief minister Yogi Adityanath said UP will play the role of a growth engine for India, imbibing Modi’s vision of “reform, perform, transform”. He added that the summit had witnessed the signing of 18,645 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) involving investment proposals of about ₹32.92 lakh crore in the state.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel and deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak were in attendance at the summit, along with captains of the industry such as Kumar Mangalam Birla, Mukesh Ambani, and N Chandrasekharan.
Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra also met chief minister Yogi Adityanath before the summit.
In his 28-minute speech, the PM said India showed resilience and recovery during the pandemic due to the growing self-confidence of the people. He referred to large allocations for infrastructure and opportunities for investors in health, education and social infrastructure sectors in the Union Budget and said India had taken the path of green growth.
“What exactly happened that in this moment of global crisis, India not only showed resilience but also recovered quickly? The biggest reason is the rising faith of Indians in themselves, and self-confidence,” he said.
“A huge change is being seen in the thinking and aspirations of Indian society and the youth of India. Every citizen of the country wants to tread the path of development and wishes to witness a Viksit Bharat (developed India) in the times to come,” he added.
The PM said social aspirations have become a driving force for the government which is providing impetus to development.
“Don’t forget, you are in a state with a population of 25 crore (250 million). Uttar Pradesh has more potential than many other countries. Aspirations of people are pushing governments for development. An aspirational society is waiting for you in Uttar Pradesh, just like in India. Uttar Pradesh has got the benefits of the work done in the country on the development of social, physical and digital infrastructure,” he said.
Modi argued that UP was once associated with poor law and order and the unwanted tag of being a Bimaru (an acronym formed from first letter of the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and underlined the poor economic conditions there) state.
“Uttar Pradesh, despite having potential, had certain things associated with it. People used to say it is difficult to bring about development in UP, it’s difficult to bring about an improvement in law and order… But in five to six years, Uttar Pradesh has established a new identity. UP is known for good governance, better law and order situation, peace and stability,” said Modi.
He said UP’s initiatives were showing results and new opportunities for wealth creators were being developed. “Today, UP has become a source of hope and inspiration,” he added.
Modi also spoke about the rapid strides in the areas of education and skill development in the state. He said 1.6 million young people were trained under the Skill Development Mission.
Adityanath said that investments will create 9.2 million job opportunities in the state. Inviting investors to take part in the development of Uttar Pradesh, the chief minister said the state government had made the state’s environment conducive to industrial development by ensuring better law and order and bringing 25 sectoral policies, providing ease of business.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh said any investment was considered a waste in UP in the past but the state had now become the best destination for investment. “Under the leadership of the chief minister (Yogi Adityanath), Uttar Pradesh has lived up to its initials ‘UP’. Now, UP means health up, UP means education up, UP means skill up, UP means infrastructure up, UP means development up, and UP means return on investment up,” he said.
While home minister Amit Shah did not attend the inaugural session of the summit, speaking at a session later he said appropriate care should be taken of MSMEs.
The industrialists in attendance exuded confidence in CM Adityanath’s leadership and described UP as the most reliable state for investors.
Addressing the summit Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla pledged investments across sectors worth ₹25,000 crore.
“Under the leadership of PM Modi, India’s economy is growing rapidly. India has the world’s fastest-growing economy, and UP is playing a significant role in the country’s growth,” he said.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said: “Uttar Pradesh is on its way to becoming Uttam Pradesh. The UP government has created a good environment for investment by facilitating infrastructure such as highways, expressways, and rail traffic, in addition to making the state crime-free. Today UP has become a hub of investment because of its transparent policies, reforms, and strict law and order. Uttar Pradesh has become the centre of hope for a new India.”
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said: “There is immense potential for development in UP. The agriculture and manufacturing sectors are expected to grow in tandem in UP. The sectors can significantly contribute to the government’s goal of making UP a trillion-dollar economy, creating jobs and a better quality of life. Tata Group will be a big contributor to the development of UP.”
This is the second investors summit that Yogi government has organised in Lucknow. It had earlier organised Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit in 2018 during which it said investment proposals of about ₹4.64 lakh crore were received.
