After Karnataka & MP, UP raises investment toast

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, February 11: With successful ‘Investors Summit’, Uttar Pradesh has sounded the India Inc of the arrival of the state on the industrial map of the country. From the identity of sending ‘Bhaiya (labourers)’ to Mumbai, UP is seen emerging India’s top destination for defence and electronics goods productions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation for the Rs 400 crore defence industrial corridor in Jhansi in UP in 2021. The Bundelkhand region of UP had for decades battled drought conditions. But the defence corridor seems changing the landscape of the region, which suffered from the migration of the youth to the urban centres of the country.

Arvind Kumar, a senior official of the UP government said: “Uttar Pradesh has attracted investment proposals worth Rs 2 lakh crores in the defence sector.” He was speaking at the ‘Investors Summit’ on the theme of ‘Advantage UP – Defence Corridor’. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has sought to convey the message that UP is ready to raise the bar for defence productions. He said that UP will not produce BrahMos Missiles but also satellites. Incidentally, the Centre has opened up the space sector and since then over a hundred startups have set up units to take part in the opportunity, including putting small low-earth orbiting satellites. UP is also gaining from a number of startups incubated and mentored by senior professors and researchers of IIT-Kanpur.

The Hindi heartland is also seeking to cash in on the ‘China Plus’ theme, as the western countries look for alternatives to shift their manufacturing bases. Alessandro Liberatori, the trade commissioner in the Embassy of Italy said that his country is looking forward to associating with Uttar Pradesh, as it is one of the largest markets. “We have a strong base of weavers in Uttar Pradesh, and we are happy to spread the wings and take the textile industry forward,” Manmohan Singh of Grasim Industries said. Italy is known to be the textile powerhouse of Europe, while the country is seen to be shifting manufacturing bases out of China to alternative locations. “Uttar Pradesh as a land of infinite textile opportunities,” said Arindam Basu, Director General, NITRA.

Netherland, which is Europe’s leader in food market, was also seen taking firm steps to partner with UP, which within India is the potato bowl. “Netherland is looking forward to explore more business opportunities in Uttar Pradesh in the field of Food, Energy, Lighting and Water Waste Management,” said marten Van den Berg, Ambassador to India, Netherlands. Dutch company Kiremko B. V. will make a recurring investment in Uttar Pradesh in the field of potato processing, as the state accounts for 31 per cent of potato production in the country.