Investment proposals worth Rs 35 lakh crore received in the Global Investors’ Summit prove that Uttar Pradesh would emerge as the ‘torchbearer’ of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Friday.

While addressing an award ceremony as well as toolkit distribution ceremony under Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana at Lok Bhawan here, the chief minister said, “The focal point of UP’s industrial development are the 96 lakh MSME (micro, small and medium enterprise) clusters. The time has come to open designing and packaging institutes in the state to take MSME products to a new level.”

He went on to say that along with this, there was a need to link banks with the Vishwakarma Shram Yojana so that the artisans could get financial help to expand their businesses. For this, meetings of artisans associated with Vishwakarma Shram Yojana should be organised with bankers in every district of the state, he added.

Yogi said that along with honoring traditional handicraftsmen and artisans of the state through Vishwakarma Shram Samman, toolkits were being made available across the state.

“Today, ODOP (One District One Product scheme) is not only promoting the products of every district of the state but by adding them with new design and technology, it is also providing a global market for them. ODOP has become the backbone of the MSME sector of UP. It has emerged as the foundation of self-reliant India in the whole country,” the chief minister asserted.

He reiterated that ODOP had brought respect to the handicraft artisans of UP at the global level. “This is the reason that UP has emerged as the hub of exports today.  Before 2017, exports were just Rs 86,000 crore, which have now gone up to Rs 2.5 lakh crore,” he pointed out.

The chief minister said that it was the strength of ODOP that UP had emerged as the biggest investment destination today. “Undoubtedly, the rule of law is our first priority, it is also necessary for the government to work with good intentions, but along with all this, having a cluster of 96 lakh MSMEs is also the strength of UP,” he said, adding that the MSMEs were going to become the foundation of industrial development of UP. 

“The Global Investors’ Summit has decided that UP will lead the fourth industrial revolution,” he added.

The chief minister said that today the government had honoured 51 weavers with the Sant Kabir State Handloom Award. “These weavers are our strength. In UP, 2.5 to 3 lakh families are associated only with the work of weaving. The government is soon going to announce freight units for weavers' looms. We have to increase our strength so that we can connect with good design and good technology. The government is with you at every step,” he said.

The chief minister said that today toolkits were being provided to 75,000 artisans associated with Vishwakarma Shram Samman in the entire state. “Now, we must connect banks with the artisans associated with Vishwakarma Shram Yojana. So that our artisans and our labourers can start their business, there should be such a system that they get financial help from the banks. We have to work for their uplift by opening export promotion centres in every district,” he added.

On this occasion, 12 people were awarded Sant Kabir State Handloom Award, 34 firms were given State Export Award, 20 people were given MSME award, 75,000 artisans were trained under Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana, toolkits were distributed and certificates were distributed. Toolkits were distributed by the chief minister to five people associated with the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana.