Akhilesh showcases UP in 'Make in India' theme

Says state government leaving no stone unturned in going for faster economic growth

Showcasing Uttar Pradesh as an emerging electronics manufacturing hub, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday stressed that Make in India could not succeed unless the state had a significant stake in it.

Addressing an IT and electronics conclave ‘e-Uttar Pradesh 2015’ here, Yadav underlined the state was ready to jump on the bandwagon with its policies and proactive steps.

He mentioned the state had taken major budgetary and policy initiatives in road infrastructure, IT, electronics, etc, for faster economic growth.

Yadav mentioned places like Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru have surged ahead in IT, as they had started to build their capabilities much earlier. However, Noida is not far behind and top companies such as HCL and Samsung have big presence there, he said.

“I want to reassure the government would provide all the help that the sector needs in the form of policy interventions, land etc,” he told the gathering comprising senior officials of major IT and electronics companies, including Spice, Samsung, Lava, Indian Cellular Association (ICA), Dixon, Electronics Industry Association of India (ELCINA), India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) etc.

He stressed the government wanted to develop manufacturing hubs beyond Noida in places like Kanpur and Gorakhpur for equitable development. “Manufacturing sector is important for generating employment, while UP has the largest demographic dividend potential.”

To a Business Standard query if ‘e-UP 2015’ would spur ‘Make in UP’ theme, Yadav noted the state was already leading the Make in India league.

Meanwhile, memoranda of understanding (MoU) worth over Rs 5,000 crore were signed with leading private sector electronics and IT giants and consortiums for setting up greenfield and brownfield fabrication units.

MoUs with ICA, ELCINA and IESA would be worth Rs 3,000 crore for proposed investment in electronic manufacturing clusters (EMC) at Yamuna Expressway and Greater Noida regions. These projects would generate direct and indirect employment opportunities of over 50,000.

Besides, the state signed MoUs with Spice Group worth Rs 500 crore for mobile handset components manufacturing at proposed location in Modipur (Rampur).