UP to woo industry disenchanted with China

Accepting the coronavirus pandemic as not just a challenge but also a big opportunity for the economy, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to offer a special package to investors "disenchanted" with China and eager to shift base to other countries, a senior official said Friday.

"Many companies appear to be disenchanted with China. If a company or investor wants to invest in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will give them a special package and facility," Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said.

Adityanath has asked officials to work out the package, which could be offered to investors in addition to the existing incentives, Awasthi said, adding the Industrial Development and MSME departments have also been asked to come up with a package.

The chief minister has asked his ministers and senior officials to discuss the matter with the embassies of different countries, officials said. On Thursday, he asked his ministers to make all-out efforts to take advantage of this opportunity.

He has tasked Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana and MSME minister Siddharth Nath Singh to start the process of dialogue with the countries who would be interested in investing the state.

He has asked his Economic Advisor KV Raju and former Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pande to draft a plan for this.

Uttar Pradesh has the connectivity and the human resources to attract investments, Adityanath has told officials.

The outbreak of coronavirus, in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in December last year has dealt a major blow to the global economy because of lockdowns imposed around the world to contain the virus.

China itself had to shut down its central Hubei province for over two months since January 23. Data released by the Chinese government on Friday showed the country's GDP took the worst hit since 1976.