Indian state invites UAE businesses for investment in key sectors

Uttar Pradesh (UP), which is India’s most populous state with over 240 million people, is wooing foreign investors in 15 countries across continents, including North and South Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, for a fortnight ahead of the Global Investors Summit to be held in the state capital, Lucknow, between February 10 and 12 next year.

The delegations of state ministers and senior bureaucrats are conducting roadshows, including in the UAE, to attract foreign investments worth an estimated $13.8 billion.

UP Cabinet minister for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), Khadi, Village Industries, Sericulture, Textile, Rakesh Sachan, is in Dubai to make a nine-point pitch to potential investors across key sectors such as retail, real estate, hospitality, textile, food security, medical tourism, infrastructure and logistics.

The nine points are the key reasons that make UP a lucrative investment destination.

The delegates, including senior bureaucrats, agreed that UP suffered legacy issues but “that’s a thing of the past”.

Earlier, political instability stunted economic growth as no state government ever returned to power in successive terms in the past 40 years till UP Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath, who won a thumping majority in 2017, was re-elected last year.

The state government is riding high on the “double-engine” governance model — Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and CM Yogi in the state — to focus on key sectors, including the locally-manufactured handicrafts that are being promoted under the unique “One District, One Product” (ODOP) scheme. The products include specially-designed attar — a fragrant essential oil, typically made from rose petals — pure silk stoles and gulabi meenakari handicrafts from Varanasi, brassware from Moradabad and chikankari products from Lucknow and several others from the 75 districts in the state.

“UP’s astonishing progress under CM Yogi in the ease of doing business index has emboldened us to take this bold initiative to attract investments. We’re offering several initiatives to MSME sectors for job creation. We held talks with UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and urged him to enter into a bilateral pact with the state government on several key sectors,” Sachan said.

The minister explained that the state’s image has improved by leaps and bounds, including zero-tolerance towards crime, better road, rail and air — five and 13 international and domestic airports, respectively — connectivity and dedicated freight corridors.

The state government is aligned with the federal dispensation’s aim to emerge as the $5 trillion economy by 2027, where UP’s contribution is estimated to be around 20 per cent.

Dr KV Raju, Economic Advisor to CM Yogi, cited that UP’s growth figures in the past six years have been “phenomenal and plans are afoot to accelerate the all-round growth and development”.

He added, “special educational zones, pharma parks, defence manufacturing corridors in Central, Western UP and Bundelkhand, and a 1,000-acre film city near the international airport at Jewar are in the works. Both the film city and the airport will be complete by the end of 2024. The state is generating 21,000 megawatt (MW) of power amid plans to generate another 3,000MW of renewable energy soon.”

UP govt signs MoU with LuLu group to set up shopping malls and hotel

The UP government on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with homegrown hypermarket and retail giant LuLu Group to set up shopping malls and a hotel in the state.

As per the MoU, Lulu will set up shopping malls and hypermarkets in Noida, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Kanpur and Prayagraj with a total investment of Rs4,500 crore (Dh200.47 million).

The shopping mall project at Sector 108 in Noida will also have a five-star hotel.

The new investments by LuLu Group in the state will provide employment for more than 20,000 youth.

UP Minister for MSME, Rakesh Sachan; Narendra Bhooshan, Principal Secretary, Public Works Department (PWD); and Ashrafali MA, executive director of LuLu Group, were present during the signing of the MoU.

LuLu Group is rapidly expanding its India operations in retail and food processing. The expansion has intensified following the opening of LuLu Mall in Lucknow on July 11 this year amid a record footfall of one lakh people.

— joydeep@khaleejtimes.com

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