UP investors' summit: Yogi to woo Ambani, Tata & India Inc over veg dinner

Notwithstanding his frugal demeanour, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath plans to cook up dinner diplomacy to woo the country's top industrialists during the two-day UP Investors' Summit later this month.  

As momentum builds up for the mega event that will be held on February 21-22, the government is firing on all cylinders to make the summit a grand success and achieve the targeted private investment commitments of Rs 5 trillion. The summit would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On the inaugural day, Adityanath would host a dinner for India Inc, which is expected to be represented by the likes of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata Group mentor Ratan Tata, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Shiv Nadar, and Gautam Adani, among others.

UP Industries Minister Satish Mahana told Business Standard that special invites for the dinner have been sent out to all the leading industrialists and industry captains.

About 5,000 guests, including top industrialists, investors, and bankers from across India and the world, are expected to attend the two-day summit. An NRI session would also be held as part of the deliberations. 

According to sources, the cuisine at the high-profile dinner would be vegetarian, since Adityanath, being the religious head of the powerful Gorakhanath Peeth, is himself a strict vegan. Ever since he has shifted to the chief minister's official residence at 5, Kalidas Marg, in Lucknow, the palatial edifice has been out of bounds for non-vegetarian fare during luncheon and dinner meetings. 

Over the past weeks, the state organised investors' roadshows at six metropolises -- New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad. At Mumbai, Adityanath had personally interacted with industrialists, including Ratan Tata and Mukesh Ambani, bankers and investors. Later, Birla had called upon Yogi in Lucknow to discuss investment opportunities. 

During these roadshows, the government claimed to have garnered investment proposals worth Rs 2.85 trillion, with the Mumbai roadshow alone accounting for about Rs 1.25 trillion. Adani had also met the UP delegation during the final roadshow in Ahmedabad on January 18.

Meanwhile, Lucknow is being given a major facelift for the big ticket summit, which has become a matter of prestige for Adityanath since similar investors' meets are lined up by other state governments as well this month. Adityanath had recently directed officials to complete the groundwork for the summit regarding policies, government orders, and unfinished projects.

The government expects the summit to give a fillip to the state's industrial and services sectors, including tourism and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).

During the Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav regimes, investment proposals worth Rs 500 billion were received by the state. However, most proposals proved to be mere photo-ops and never materialised due to the sloppy follow-ups, policy flip-flops, and perception of bad law and order.