Yogi: The monk on a mission to ‘Make in UP’

BY ANINDYA BANERJEE & VIVEK TRIPATHI

New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) At a time when India is aggressive for ‘Make in India’, India’s biggest state Uttar Pradesh has given a never-seen-before thrust to brand the state for its business potential. Defence Corridors, Film City, religious tourism hubs, toy cluster, pharma parks — you name it.
The effort to position UP as a business-friendly state was palpable. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was speaking at a meeting of the High Level Authorised Committee on Monday. “Better law and order, the new industrial policy for all the important sectors has resulted in the fact that we have ranked number 2 in the Ease of Doing Business ranking nationally, jumping from 12,” he said. He added that the Investors Summit of February 2018 showed the results of a changed climate and heavy investment.
The intent was clear — make Uttar Pradesh synonymous with business and industry which effectively translates into more direct and indirect jobs. In presence of heads of industrial organisations such as FICCI, ASSOCHAM, CII, Laghu Udyog Bharti and IIA, the UP CM announced, the campaign to make Uttar Pradesh an industrial state has begun.

So what is Yogi Adityanath’s grand plan to make Uttar Pradesh the business hub of India?

Project: ‘Biggest’ Film City

Area: Gautam Budh Nagar

The Yamuna Expressway authority has sent a proposal to the Uttar Pradesh government for setting up a film city in the district, which is tipped to be the biggest in the country. The CM had on September 18 announced setting up what he called India’s “biggest” and “most beautiful” film city bordering Delhi. It is said to be spread over an area of 1,000 acres.
The district’s proximity to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida or Yamuna Expressway will be beneficial. The upcoming Jewar International Airport will also help.
Another relatively small-sized film city may also come up in either Lucknow, Varanasi or Agra. The film city is planned to be spread over 200-250 acres.
“This proposed film city will not just provide filmmakers with better opportunities, but will also kickstart a massive job opportunity for the youth of Uttar Pradesh,” Dr KK Agarwal, the President f PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry told IANS.

Project: Toy cluster

Area: Greater Noida

The Uttar Pradesh government will now come up with a toy cluster in Greater Noida of Gautam Budh Nagar. This will be the first toy cluster in the country where toy industries will be put together on a large scale and it will be connected to the international market. This is significant given PM Modi’s call for ‘Make in India’ toys.
The proposed Toy City will be ready in two years. According to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Authority, 100 acres of land have been allocated for the Toy City. About 50 acres will have 80 toy factories and collective utility facilities. The remaining 50 will be left for the extension of Toy City. It will be developed as an international hub for the toy industry.
The Uttar Pradesh government has received 92 applications for setting up toy manufacturing units in Noida. Several factories will be set up in this toy city at a cost of Rs 600 crore which is likely to generate 15,000 jobs.

Project: Defence Corridor

Area: Aligarh, Agra, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur and Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh will also have a dynamic defence corridor. A total of 5,125.348 hectares of land has been proposed for the defence corridor project spread across Lucknow, Kanpur, Chitrakoot, Aligarh, Agra and Jhansi.
The development of the Defence Corridor is being handled by UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPDA). The Defense Corridor will also play a key role to cater to the needs of the Indian Navy. In late August, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh had reviewed its progress and directed completion of all works within the stipulated time.

Project: Pharma Park & Medical Device Park

Area: Lalitpur, Bundelkhand & Gautam Buddha Nagar
The proposed pharmaceutical park at Lalitpur in Bundelkhand is expected to generate employment opportunities for 31,000 people. Similarly, the establishment of the proposed Medical Device Park at Gautam Budh Nagar, 25,000 people will get employment in a phased manner.
An investment of Rs 24 thousand crore is estimated on the bulk pharma park to be built at Lalitpur. The UPSIDA is working on a plan to develop it as a model industrial area. The park will be set up on 2060 acres. To connect it with airports and ports, it will be provided with water supply, pipe natural gas and digital fiber connectivity.

Project: Religious tourism hub

Area: Ayodhya and surrounding areas

Though it is a bit premature in terms of other projects, the state government and the Centre are also gearing up to give Ayodhya and the surrounding areas a massive facelift, expecting nearly 100,000 pilgrims a day once the Ram Mandir is completed.
On Aug 5, during the ground-breaking ceremony, PM Modi had said, “There will be new opportunities in this region. People will come here from the whole world to pay obeisance to Lord Ram and Mata Sita. So much will change here.” The idea is to promote the region as a religious tourism hub.
An international airport, a state-of-the-art Railway station, multi-level parkings, elevated roads, hotel chains will be part of the project.
This July, Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari had said, “For beautification and construction-related works of the Ayodhya bypass, the NHAI has sanctioned a project worth Rs 55 crore.” Union tourism minister Prahlad Patel also went to Ayodhya to discuss the project which will not only promote tourism but is expected to create thousands of jobs in the hospitality and mobility sectors.
Yesterday, while addressing the who’s who of the industry, Yogi Adityanth informed about a massive Land Bank policy that is in works under which topics such as land leasing, land pooling, rapid acquisition along the side of the expressway, sub-leasing of additional land among others will be covered.
When the saffron-clad Chief Minister was throwing such jargon at the industry’s best minds, he had one mission — Make in UP.

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