UP CM asks officials to prepare economic strategy for post-Covid scenario

UP ministers to meet ambassadors of foreign countries for investment

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath has directed officials to prepare an economic strategy for a post-Covid-19 scenario, including attracting investment from the leading industrialised nations.

Adityanath has asked UP's industrial development minister Satish Mahana and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) minister Sidharth Nath Singh to start the dialogue process with the ambassadors of these countries in earnest.

Against the backdrop of reports suggesting that some companies were planning to shift their manufacturing bases from China following the coronavirus outbreak in that country, the UP government has already started the process of identifying such corporations mainly based out of Japan, South Korea, USA, European Union etc, so that a targetted strategy can be formulated to woo them.

Chairing a meeting in Lucknow yesterday, the CM stressed it was imperative to plan early for subduing the tough economic challenges of the coronavirus lockdown and that a dedicated team be formed at the earliest.

“There is ample availability of high quality trained manpower in UP, which could play a big role in attracting foreign investment,” he said while instructing officials to speed up the civil works on the Purvanchal Expressway and Bundelkhand Expressway, so that they were operational by the end of this year and next year, respectively.

He stressed on making a judicious analysis of the prevailing situation at the state, national and international levels while formulating such an action plan for capitalising on the economic and business opportunities in the post coronavirus period.

Recently, the CM had directed officials to work out a special package, which could be offered to companies looking beyond China, in addition to the existing incentives already in place to attract private sector investment.

Meanwhile, the government will offer the proposed special package to companies in the next round of its investment garnering exercise. In fact, the UP government is planning to hold a Global Investors Summit in Lucknow by the end of this calendar year to position UP as an ideal international investment destination across different sectors.

In February 2018, the state had organised its maiden mega UP Investor Summit, which had garnered total investment commitments to the tune of Rs 4.68 trillion, of which projects totalling more than Rs 1.25 trillion have already witnessed their foundation laying ceremony.

So far, the state has facilitated the reopening of nearly 6,500 industrial units engaged in the manufacture of medical/health care supplies and essential commodities by resolving their issues pertaining to labour, passes, transport etc. The process will gain momentum after April 20.

Besides, the committee headed by the infrastructure and industrial development commissioner (IIDC) Alok Tandon has interacted with the management of 34,309 companies and facilitated the payment of salaries totalling more than Rs 512 crore to their labour force for the month of March 2020.