UP: Shedding the legacy of a laggard State

I come from a village in eastern Uttar Pradesh and have watched the State change from very close quarters. I remember the days when the monsoon made everyday life difficult, when women cooked on smoky chulhas, when families struggled to keep firewood dry, and when electricity was more absence than presence. Today, LPG connections under the Ujjwala scheme, household toilets and a steadier power supply have altered these basic textures of rural life. For me, these are not just government schemes; they are changes I can see in the lives of people I have known since childhood.

I also remember travelling from my village to Azamgarh-barely 21 kilometres away-by ekka or in an overcrowded jeep, a journey that could swallow almost an entire day. Roads and connectivity have improved considerably since then. Getting to Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia and other parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh is far easier now, with better roads and more transport options. What once felt like an ordeal has become part of everyday life.

When people talk about Uttar Pradesh’s transformation, the conversation usually turns to expressways, airports, investment and industry. All of that matters, but for me development is also about these smaller, quieter changes: cleaner kitchens, dignity for women, children studying under electric light, and families travelling with less struggle. I have seen where Uttar Pradesh started, and I can see where it stands today. That is why, for me, this transformation is not a statistic or a political talking point-it is something I have lived through.

Once counted among India’s BIMARU States, Uttar Pradesh was long associated with weak law and order, scant investment, poor connectivity and limited employment opportunities. Over the past eight-and-a-half years, that picture has changed rapidly and decisively. Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the State is steadily building an identity as one of the country’s principal growth engines. Aligning itself with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047, the Yogi Government has set itself ambitious targets a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030 and a six-trillion-dollar economy by 2047. In 2025-26 the State’s economy has already crossed 419 billion dollars, a provisional figure, with the next milestone of 500 billion dollars set for 2026-27, before the larger goal of one trillion dollars comes into view.

Charting the Road to 2047 with Citizen Participation

The Government has not confined itself to a four-or five-year horizon. It has drawn up a roadmap that runs all the way to 2047. Under the framework of “Samarth Uttar Pradesh-Viksit Uttar Pradesh @2047,” three core missions have been identified: -holistic development, economic leadership and cultural renaissance, resting on the twin pillars of economic strength, creative strength and life strength. In plainer terms, the goal is to expand investment and employment, bring in new technologies and lift the quality of life for ordinary citizens. What stands out is that the process has been made participatory, village-level consultations were held, online feedback and QR-code responses were invited, experts were consulted, and nearly five million suggestions from the public have already reached the Government.

Twelve Strategic Sectors Powering the Economic Leap

To make the journey from one trillion to six trillion dollars, the government is leaning on twelve key sectors: agriculture and allied activities, livestock, industry, infrastructure, IT and emerging technologies, tourism and culture, urban and rural development, balanced regional growth, social welfare, education, health, and security with good governance. The intent is explicit-development should not stay confined to Noida, Lucknow or the big cities. Villages, farmers, youth, women and small entrepreneurs are meant to be partners in this growth, with particular attention being paid to bringing Purvanchal and Bundelkhand into the accelerated trajectory.
Restoring Investor Confidence through Law and Order

No industrialist puts money into a State without first being assured of a safe environment. From the outset, the Yogi government made law and order its top priority and adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards the mafia and organised crime. Official figures show action has been taken against illegal assets worth more than 1.44 lakh crore rupees. Under “Operation Conviction,” more than 1.04 lakh convicts have been sentenced. Over 2.21 lakh police personnel have been recruited, and more than twelve lakh CCTV cameras now cover the state. Safe City projects and Integrated Command and Control Centres have brought technology into everyday policing. The effect on the investment climate has been hard to miss.

A Connectivity Revolution: From Expressways to Airports

One of the most visible changes of recent years has come in road and air connectivity. Counting those under construction, the state now has twenty-two expressways. National highways have expanded to 12,292 kilometres, and more than 77,000 kilometres of rural roads have been built. The international airport under construction at Jewar will plug Uttar Pradesh into the global aviation and logistics network, adding to a State that already has sixteen domestic and four international airports. Better roads and air links have not only made travel easier for ordinary citizens, they have also made it far simpler to move industrial goods.
`50 lakh crore in Investment Proposals, 65 lakh New Livelihoods.

This improved climate has translated into real investment gains. The state has so far received investment proposals worth approximately 45 lakh crore rupees, of which projects worth nearly 15 lakh crore rupees have already been grounded. According to the Government, these have generated more than 65 lakh employment and self-employment opportunities in the private sector, on top of over nine lakh Government jobs. More than thirty-six sectoral policies have been framed for industry, and the Nivesh Mitra portal has streamlined clearances. Work is under way on investments exceeding 40,000 crore rupees across the Agra, Aligarh, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi and Chitrakoot nodes of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor, while the manufacture of BrahMos missiles in Lucknow is adding further weight to the state’s emerging industrial identity.
Positioning Uttar Pradesh at the Forefront of AI and Emerging Technologies

Factories and roads alone will not carry the economy forward in the years ahead. Artificial intelligence, semiconductors, data centres, deep-tech and blockchain are set to become major engines of employment and enterprise, and these domains have been built into the government’s roadmap accordingly. AI-related centres are coming up in Lucknow and Kanpur, while Noida and Lucknow are being positioned as major hubs for data centres and Global Capability Centres. The government’s target is to train four crore young people in new technologies by 2047 and prepare them for a global workforce.
Integrating Farmers and Rural India into the Growth Narrative

A large share of Uttar Pradesh’s population still lives in villages and depends on agriculture, and the one-trillion-dollar goal cannot be reached without carrying farmers along. Mega Food Parks, cold-chain infrastructure, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies and Farmer Producer Organisations are being used to link cultivators directly with markets, with a parallel push to boost agricultural exports. Alongside this, the state is preparing to advance in solar energy and green hydrogen, aiming to meet 50 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030.

Advancing Inclusive Growth: Women, Education and Healthcare

An economy is only as strong as its reach into ordinary households, which is why education, health and women’s economic participation have been woven into the development roadmap. Through Operation Kayakalp, Atal Residential Schools and the expansion of medical colleges, facilities in education and healthcare have been strengthened considerably. Women’s labour-force participation rate has risen sharply, from 13.5 per cent to 34.5 per cent, and the Government is aiming to take this to 50 per cent by 2030 and to parity with men by 2047.

Beyond the Trillion-Dollar Milestone: Towards a Six-Trillion-Dollar Horizon

For the Yogi Government, a one-trillion-dollar economy is not the destination but a waypoint. The larger goal is to turn Uttar Pradesh into a six-trillion-dollar economy by 2047, raise per-capita income to approximately 26 lakh rupees, and lift the State’s share in national GDP to 20 per cent. The path to that destination runs through law and order, investment, expressways, airports, industry, agriculture, technology, education and health. Having left its old BIMARU identity firmly behind, Uttar Pradesh is now advancing as a genuine growth engine of the nation. The one-trillion-dollar milestone is simply the next station on this transformative journey.

I have seen Uttar Pradesh change since my childhood, and I can clearly see where it stands today. For me, therefore, this transformation is not just a statistic or a political narrative, it is a change I have personally witnessed.