The Uttar Pradesh government is all set to project the Purvanchal region of the state as an investment destination to foreign companies which are planning to shift their bases from China to other destinations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Agriculturally rich, the Purvanchal region is known for its cheap labour. If we now concentrate on the skill development of this labour force then instead of choosing Vietnam and Thailand, the foreign companies will choose Purvanchal as their destination for investment,” said Additional Chief Secretary (MSME and Export Promotion) Navneet Sehgal while addressing a national webinar-cum-seminar on ‘Sustainable Development of Purvanchal’ as the lead speaker on Friday.
The webinar was attended by academicians, bureaucrats, political leaders and technocrats.
“The region is rich in resources such as land and water and now we need to focus on further tapping its traditional art and craft which has been practised here since generations,” Sehgal said while stressing that the region had the potential to become an economic hot spot of not only Uttar Pradesh but the entire country.
Highlighting the rich history of the region, Sehgal said that Purvanchal was very prosperous and besides agriculture, the cottage industries thrived here on the local art and craft.
“The British too had set their foot here on account of its prosperity. But gradually we lost our way and now the perception about the region is that it is not developed and most of the people migrate from here in search of greener pastures. The reason is we did not adopt the latest technologies in upgrading our products. We did not consider the development of cottage and small-scale industries as the harbinger of growth,” he said.
Further highlighting the factors essential for the growth of the region, the additional chief secretary said that the government was focusing on a few components for development.
“The government is determined to bring about drastic improvement in infrastructure. Next comes connectivity and the Purvanchal Expressway and the airports coming up in Kushinagar and Kashi are an example of this. Further, there is much focus on the One District One Product (ODOP) Programme that aims at reviving the traditional art and craft of the region,” he said.
Emphasising the significance of cluster development, Sehgal said it provided both jobs and skills and volumes for manufacturing and market for the product.
“If we connect the artisans in these clusters with technology, finance and market then nothing can stop this region from progressing. The large-scale and sustainable development is possible only through the promotion of local art and craft and dovetailing it with the latest technologies,” he said.
Emphasising on the achievements of the government, he said that the government was setting up seven common facility centres in Purvanchal and “now we have touched the mark of 38 percent in export in the last three years because of product improvement”.
“The overall model for sustainable development of Purvanchal depends on development of local art and craft, skill training, infrastructure development and putting the ODOP programme on fast track,” he added.
Sehgal said that the government had launched the ODOP programme with the aim to identify, promote and tap the potential of the traditional products to give a push to ‘local to global’.
“We are making the district action plan for each ODOP product that provides details about the product weakness and improvement needed besides any financial support. Through the district export plan, we identify the products that can be exported,” he said.
The additional chief secretary said in order to increase the production and maintain the quality of Kala Namak rice in Siddharthnagar, the government had entered into an agreement with the International Rice Institute for opening its centre in Siddharthnagar for hand holding the farmers.
“It has to be remembered that for sustainable development, we have to tap our own resources as dependency on foreign companies is not good,” he said.