Industrial activity picking up pace in UP; no new tax proposal: Adityanath

UP government eyeing post-covid investments with companies looking to exit China

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath on Sunday said the state industrial and commercial activities are picking up pace and it would further gather momentum under the ‘unlocking’ commencing from June 1.

Addressing a web-based media conference this afternoon, Adityanath said the state revenue collection was showing an upward trend vis-a-vis last month, and that there is no new tax proposal for additional mop up to overcome the covid-19 challenge.

“After the four lockdown stages, the proposed unlocking will focus more on the management of the containment zones and provisioning for the doorstep delivery, medical supplies and essential commodities. Most of the activities will be allowed in the non-containment zones,” he said replying to a Business Standard query.

He informed the broad guidelines for unlocking 1.0 will be issued later today, which will aim at opening up more services while ensuring that social distancing and safety norms are adhered to.

The CM underlined the government is speeding up economic and industrial activities, including the mega expressway and dedicated freight corridor projects. “We will be working on the containment zone strategy and to break the coronavirus chain to curb the spread of the disease,” he said adding owing to the lockdown, people are more alert about the safety protocols.

He claimed the state has already started to receive investment proposals post-covid, including an investment by a German company. “We have constituted a dedicated team and a group of ministers to woo investors. We have set up exclusive desks for pursuing investments from the US, South Korea and Japan.”

On the influx of migrants, Adityanath observed the government is committed to providing jobs to all hands by reenergising the state micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and other industrial segments.

“Even during the lockdown, several industries remained operations, including sugar mills, brick kilns and cold storages, which collectively employed about 2.5 million workers. Now, an additional 2.7 million workers are employed in the MSME sector, while another 65,000 work force is engaged by big industries,” he claimed.

The CM further said UP would be the largest beneficiary of the central Rs 20 trillion economic stimulus package, and that the state is working to leveraging it for the benefit of the various socioeconomic sectors viz. MSMEs, housing, agriculture etc.

“In the post-covid scenario, India is the best destination for the companies looking to exit China, while UP is poised as the most sought after in India. The state is all geared up to attract new investment, which will contribute towards the building of a new UP,” he noted.

Meanwhile, he claimed investment worth Rs 3 trillion had come to the state over the past three years, while the government is also following up with the other investment proposals, which were made at the UP Investors’ Summit in February 2018, when the state had signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) totalling Rs 4.68 trillion with over 1,000 Indian and foreign companies.

Adityanath underlined UP had deftly managed the covid-19 situation despite being a large state even as he acknowledged the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in steering India amid corona crisis and establishing India’s credentials at the global stage.