It is just a matter of time before this State becomes one of the best in India not only on the issue of governance but also on imparting education and health services
From being called an Ulta Pradesh (upside down State), Uttar Pradesh is making a quantum leap towards becoming an Uttam Pradesh (good State). And in this endeavour, it is being helped by the fact that UP ranked number two in the State Business Reform Action Plan 2019: Ease of Doing Business (EODB). This is up from the 12th rank UP got in 2019, testifying that it has emerged as the second-best State in India where investors are happy to contribute.
This was made possible because the BJP Government was able to do away with red tapism. It also signifies the fact that the UP Government is making great strides towards fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is implementing all schemes meant to achieve this goal efficiently.
This 10-place jump in one year in the EODB rankings released by the Union Government is a big achievement indeed as UP has left several leading States like Gujarat, Telangana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra behind. UP has implemented 186 out of the 187 reforms in the State Business Reform Action Plan that were suggested by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). What makes this achievement even more special is the fact that this year’s exercise was completely based on user feedback. The jump in ranking indicates that entrepreneurs have been receiving the true benefits of the reforms introduced by the UP Government. These reforms were spread across several areas such as labour regulation, online, single window, access to information and transparency, land administration, construction permit, commercial disputes, inspection enablers and so on.
More than 20 departments such as Invest UP (Udyog Bandhu), the Labour Department, the Pollution Control Board, Commercial Tax, Power, Stamp and Registration, Excise, Food Safety and Drug and many others were part of this journey. Successful implementation of the “Nivesh Mitra” in UP, too, has been instrumental in UP achieving this EODB. In a period of two years, “Nivesh Mitra” received around 2,29,936 No-Objection Certificate (NoC) applications, out of which it disposed of over 94 per cent of them. The Nivesh Mitra Portal received 18,120 grievances from entrepreneurs, of which 17,752 have been successfully resolved at an outstanding resolution rate of 98 per cent.
The success in the UP Government’s working lies in its efforts to impart transparency and the use of technology for Business-to-Government (B2G) interactive procedures. The Yogi Government has been successful in improving the EODB by introducing various Information Technology-driven modules and Nivesh Mitra is one such. Its success lies in the fact that it has now become an integral and efficient part in bridging the gap between industrial demands and expectations and Government machinery.
Maximum approval of the State Business Reform Action Plan and higher user feedback satisfaction record on the Nivesh Mitra portal played a critical role in achieving the EODB. In order to make Government working more efficient and competitive, the EODB system has been implemented at the district level. Initiatives like the monthly ranking of all 75 districts on the EODB parameters shall further result in creating a conducive business environment.
Where UP stands today was not achieved in one day and efforts in this direction are on since Yogi Adityanath took charge as the Chief Minister of the State. The big push came in February 2018 when the UP Government organised an Investors’ Summit in which memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 4.68 lakh crore were signed. The contours of the simplified norms of investment took shape then, which were reflected in two ground-breaking ceremonies through which 371 projects with an investment of about Rs 2 lakh crore were made. These projects are likely to generate over five lakh jobs.
The foundation of the Defence Industrial Manufacturing Corridor in Bundelkhand is another aspect of increased industrial development in the State. This corridor will be built with an investment of Rs 50,000 crore and will create employment for five lakh people. The project got a fillip when the UP Government, in collaboration with the Defence Ministry, organised the country’s largest Defence Expo 2020 in Lucknow. More than 100 agreements were inked, which included 71 MoUs, 13 product launches, 18 technology transfer agreements and six important announcements. Besides, over 100 pacts were made.
UP’s own Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) signed 23 MoUs with various enterprises, inviting investment for the UP Defence Industrial Corridor. In all, over 200 MoUs were signed during the Defence Expo 2020.
That the Government wants to give impetus to industrial development is reflected in the Government’s One District One Product (ODOP) scheme, under which the Government disbursed loans of more than Rs 8,875 crore. Apart from this, training and free tool kits were distributed to 6,000 artisans/handicrafts men. This indirectly has given employment to more than five lakh people.
The ODOP scheme was launched in 2018 by Adityanath to promote the local artisans and local products. The scheme has now been adopted by the Union Government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls it the “Vocal for Local” scheme. The primary objective of this is to focus on a particular product and raise its quality to compete in the international market.
Investment in any State depends on three parameters — power supply, communication and transport. UP has made a quantum jump in all three. The power supply across the State has improved considerably while a network of roads has been laid connecting the western part of the State with the eastern region. The construction of the Purvanchal Expressway is a testimony of the Government’s resolve to improve connectivity. Construction of this six- lane, 341 km-long Purvanchal Expressway is in progress and will be opened for public use by early next year.
The expressway would have become functional by November but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the launch has been rescheduled. There would be 11 interchanges for entry/exit on the expressway and in order to connect it to Gorakhpur, the construction of the around 92 km-long Gorakhpur Link Expressway is in progress.
Even the rugged Bundelkhand is getting its share of highways. The construction of the 297 km-long Bundelkhand Expressway at a cost of Rs 14,849 crore is under way, which will connect the Bundelkhand region with Delhi via the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. This is not all. The Government has even started a project to construct a Ganga Expressway that will connect Meerut with Prayagraj.
If there is a network of roads across UP, can air connectivity be far behind? Till 2017, only two cities of UP were connected by air but now this number has gone up to 12. Besides, construction of Asia’s largest Jewar International Green Field Airport in Noida is going at a fast pace in collaboration with Zurich Airport International AG.
Any industrial exercise always leads to job creation. This is evident in UP as with an investment of about Rs 3 lakh crore through the first and second ground-breaking ceremonies and other means, more than 33 lakh people have got direct and indirect employment. Besides this, the BJP Government has given Government jobs to three lakh youths in three years. Of this 1.5 lakh personnel were recruited in the police force. After the registration of over10 lakh youth for skill development training, more than 8.48 lakh youth have been trained and more than three lakh youth have been employed so far. In fact, UP was awarded a gold medal by ASSOCHAM for being the best State in skill development.
The efforts put in by Adityanath under the guidance of Modi have started showing results. It is just a matter of time before this State will become one of the best States of India not only on the issue of governance but also on imparting education, health services and providing jobs to the people.
(The writer is Member, Legislative Council, and vice-president, UP unit of the BJP).