THE PROMISE OF BIG INVESTMENT

CM Yogi Adityanath is bent on transforming Uttar Pradesh into India’s top investment destination, the latest effort being the Global Investors Summit. But challenges remain

- PRASHANT SRIVASTAVA

The ambition is a $1 trillion (Rs 82.6 lakh crore) economy for Uttar Pradesh in the next five years. And kickstarting it would be the Global Investors Summit (GIS) from February 10-12 in Lucknow, an extravaganza that the Yogi Adityanath-led government hopes will help it attract investments worth Rs 17 lakh crore.

The summit will only be the latest in Chief Minister Adityanath's push to make UP the investment destination of India. In December 2022, eight government teams led by ministers and bureaucrats travelled to 21 cities in 16 countries to solicit business. The state claims it signed 149 MoUs worth Rs 7.12 lakh crore during the visits, a large share (Rs 4 lakh crore) coming from the UK and US.

There have also been domestic roadshows, starting with Mumbai and Chennai. CM Adityanath was in Mumbai on January 4-5 when he met with over two dozen titans of India Inc., including the heads of Reliance Industries, Tata Sons, Adani Group, Godrej Industries and the Aditya Birla group. The state government claims to have locked proposals worth Rs 5 lakh crore during the CM's visit.

State finance minister Suresh Khanna, who visited three cities in the US and UK, says the "changed conditions" in UP, especially with regard to law and order and ease of doing business, were a subject of discussion with all the investors he met. Talks were held with the Hinduja Group, Rolls Royce and the Hiranandani Group for big-ticket investments. The Saloni Heart Foundation in San Francisco, as part of its philanthropic initiatives, has decided to give a CSR grant of Rs 415 crore to SGPGI hospital in Lucknow.

The sectors that attracted the most investment proposals were renewable energy, hotels/hospitality, skill development, logistics and IT/ITES, says the state government.