"UP IS NO LONGER A PERIPHERAL ECONOMY"

ALOK KUMAR, Principal Secretary for Planning, Programme Implementation and Nodal Officer for the One Trillion Dollar Economy initiative, on what will power UP’s next phase of growth

- By Ruhail Amin

Uttar Pradesh has set itself an ambitious goal: to become India's first one trillion dollar state economy.

At the heart of this push is a coordinated effort across governance, infrastructure, policy and execution. Alok Kumar, Principal Secretary for Planning, Programme Implementation and Nodal Officer for the One Trillion Dollar Economy initiative, explains how the state is moving from intent to implementation and what will define its growth story in the coming decade.

Uttar Pradesh has set a bold target of becoming a one trillion dollar economy. What are the biggest drivers behind this mission?

The journey really began after the Prime Minister's 2019 call to make India a five trillion dollar economy.

Our Chief Minister took that vision forward and set a clear ambition for Uttar Pradesh to become the first state to reach the one trillion dollar mark.

Over the past four years, especially after the pandemic setback, the state has seen strong momentum. We have recorded a growth rate of around 16 per cent, which is higher than the national average.

The first critical step was to build a strategy. We worked with Deloitte and developed a comprehensive roadmap across primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.

What is important is the rigour of execution.

The Chief Minister reviews progress every quarter, ministers review monthly, and departments track progress every 15 days. This level of monitoring ensures that strategy translates into action.

The biggest structural driver has been improved law and order.