With MoUs of over Rs 32 L Cr, UP Global Investors Summit Bolsters Team Modi-Yogi ahead of 2024 Polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday appealed to business and industry leaders to come and be part of the “new” Uttar Pradesh’s growth story. Inaugurating the three-day mega global investors summit in Lucknow, the PM hailed the “defining leadership” of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath for bringing a positive change to the state’s law and order situation and implementing business and economy-oriented policies. Addressing over ten thousand national and international delegates, PM Modi urged that the opportunity created through a double-engine government initiative and the zeal of businesses to come to Uttar Pradesh should not be lost.

Emphasising on UP’s potential, the Prime Minister said that the state has a major role to play in the country’s economic prosperity. Pointing out the fact that UP has a big consumer and aspirational population, the PM said that the state also has a skilled workforce of more than 16 lakh youths.

Invoking the confidence of the business world, Prime Minister Modi said, “The India of today is driven by reforms through convictions and not compulsions and the recent Union Budget is proof of the government’s commitment to rapid infrastructure development in the country.”

Earlier, welcoming the Prime Minister, Lucknow MP and defence minister Rajnath Singh, and top business leaders, CM Yogi Adityanath said that under the able leadership of PM Modi, the country has got the much-needed policy directive and commitment towards growth and economic development.

Showcasing the state’s potential, Yogi said, “Uttar Pradesh is prepared to achieve the target of being a 1-trillion-dollar economy by 2027 and the global investors summit is a giant leap forward in that direction.”

Yogi declared that the summit had already made a record by receiving investment proposals of more than Rs 32 lakh 92 thousand crores. He expressed hope that the summit would also open the doors of growth and prosperity for the traditionally backward regions of eastern UP and Bundelkhand, and would create 92 lakh new job opportunities over the next few years.

The investment summit, which is the second of its kind during Yogi Adityanath’s six years in office, has seen a lot of support coming from abroad. Countries like Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore are partner nations for the summit. Out of Rs 32 lakh plus crore of total MoUs, around Rs 7.50 lakh crore is from outside of India.

The large contingent of national and foreign delegates representing different governments and corporations was also addressed by top Indian business leaders, including Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata Sons chairperson N Chandrasekaran, and Kumar Mangalam Birla of the Aditya Birla Group.

Mukesh Ambani in his address said, “The UP GIS is a mahakumbh of development.” Hailing the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and the Centre, and Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh, he expressed faith in the UP story. Ambani said that UP is on the path to becoming the most prosperous state. He also promised an investment of Rs 75,000 crore in the state over the next 5 years.

The three-day summit will see 34 different sessions catering to various segments of industries. Top union ministers including Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dharmendra Pradhan, and Smriti Irani will be attending these sessions.

The 2018 investor summit held in the first Yogi government saw investment MoUs of Rs 4.75 lakh crore. Officials told News18 UP that 75 to 80% of these were executed.

The present summit has well-surpassed the previous one. With almost Rs 33 lakh crore worth of MoUs, the focus now will be on actual conversion. Highly placed sources say the government is hopeful of a conversion of around Rs 17 lakh crore over the next four years.

A highly optimistic estimate, if proven true, it will be a game changer for the state, say observers. A big emphasis has been on bringing larger investments to economically deprived regions of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand.

These regions, now linked with fast avenues of transport like the Bundelkhand expressway and the Purvanchal expressway, can hope of riding on the development bandwagon. Uttar Pradesh’s new position as a power-surplus state, big land bank availability, amended government policies, improved policing, and a drastic improvement in the law and order perception will further help in gaining investors’ confidence, officials say.

And ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha electoral challenge, the success of the investor summit and a positive narrative around ‘Vikas’ in the state will further help the BJP and team “Modi-Yogi” that already has a strong “astha” narrative taking shape in the form of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.

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