Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has called upon the country's banking and financial world to become partners in the development of the country's most populous state – Uttar Pradesh.
The chief minister met the banking giants on Thursday as part of his two-day visit to Mumbai with the goal of making Uttar Pradesh the growth engine of new India and a $1-trillion economy.
“I know that all of you are not only keeping an eye on your banks but also on our Uttar Pradesh. You all are well aware of the situation here. You are both the witnesses and participants of our journey of development. When our government was formed in 2017, the financial condition of the state was extremely poor. We made some plans and called up the banks, but the credit was so poor that the banks did not respond. Today I am delighted to inform you that everything has changed in UP. Today, we are a revenue surplus state. We have more than doubled our annual budget,” the chief minister told the bankers.
He said within the last 5-6 years, the Uttar Pradesh government was developing infrastructure at a rapid pace for better connectivity through air, water, road and rail network, which would help industries to access global and domestic markets. “Today there is Purvanchal Expressway for Eastern UP, while the Bundelkhand Expressway is accelerating the progress of the Bundelkhand region, which was once considered backward. To connect the eastern and western regions, we are building the Ganga Expressway from Prayagraj to Meerut. Today, Uttar Pradesh has the unique distinction of being the 'Expressway State' with world-class road connectivity,” he said.
“Besides, Uttar Pradesh is going to become the only state in the country with five international airports. We were a land-locked state, but now the country's first inland waterway has been developed here,” Chief Minister Yogi said.
Lauding the role of the banks, he said that this work of development and transformation would not have been possible without the cooperation of banks. “As a result of your cooperation, today, the state has been transformed,” he added.
“Uttar Pradesh is a massive state, so there are many challenges before us. These challenges encourage us to set big goals for ourselves and work hard. Our management policy for COVID-19 has been appreciated by many global organisations including the World Health Organisation. Despite all the challenges, today, Uttar Pradesh is moving ahead with its big goals as a power and revenue surplus state,” he said.
Yogi said the UP government was working on several industrial projects in the state. “One of the two defence industrial corridors being established with the aim of making India self-sufficient in the field of defence production is being developed in Uttar Pradesh,” he pointed out.
“We have created such an atmosphere that today no goon can collect ‘tax’ from any businessman or contractor in Uttar Pradesh. Even political donations cannot be taken forcibly. Earlier in Uttar Pradesh, daughters did not come out of the house after dusk as there was an atmosphere of insecurity. Today I can say with full responsibility that no one can look at any daughter with ill intentions in Uttar Pradesh,” the chief minister said.
“I have come to tell all of you today that we will offer all possible help to you in Uttar Pradesh. We will give resources from everywhere and will give a better environment. Banking institutions should cooperate with us to strengthen our micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) units, agriculture, FPOs, and startups,” he said.
Asking banks to help UP, the chief minister said tourism was also a priority sector, for which cooperation of banks was expected. “Our government is developing the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Buddhist circuits to promote spiritual and cultural tourism. Other projects being developed include IIT GNL at Greater Noida, Mega Food Park at Bareilly, Trans-Ganga City at Unnao, Plastic Park at Gorakhpur, Garment Park at Gorakhpur and several flatted factory complexes,” he said.
“We have been able to increase the CD ratio from 40 per cent to 53 per cent; now banks will have to make concerted efforts to bring it up to 60 per cent. We look forward to making any contribution from our side. I invite all of you in Uttar Pradesh to make the most of the immense opportunities present in our state and become a partner with us in the journey of the progressive transformation of Uttar Pradesh and towards making New India prosperous and powerful,” he said.
The bankers Yogi met included S Raman, Chairman & MD, SIDBI; Smita Mohanty, GM, NABARD; Ashish Chauhan, MD & CEO, National Stock Exchange; Uday Kotak, CEO Kotak Mahindra; AB Vijay Kumar, Executive Director, Bank of Maharashtra; Ajay Khurana, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda; Dinesh Khara, CMD SBI; Vishal Tulsian, CEO & MD, Motilal Oswal Private Equity Advisors; Gaurav Trehan, Partner & CEO, KKR; Deepak Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank; Manish Jain, MD, Standard Chartered Bank; Prashant Kumar, CEO, Yes Bank; Rakesh Sharma, CEO, IDBI,
Harsha Bangari, MD, India Exim Bank; Tarun Sharma, CGM & CFO, India Exim Bank; Ramesh Iyer, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd.; Karthik Reddy, Founder, Bloom Ventures.