Uttar Pradesh eyes global investment in BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing

Uttar Pradesh (UP) is wooing global investors to set up Global Capability Centres (GCCs) across domains, including Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), digital services, healthcare and manufacturing, as part of its aim to become a $ 1 trillion economy by 2030.

 

The Yogi Adityanath government is pitching UP as a major GCC hub, with Lucknow, Noida, Kanpur and Agra at the core of its pitch.

 

Alok Kumar, principal secretary, UP Planning Department and nodal officer for the state’s One Trillion Dollar Economy Mission, said the state is well positioned as one of the most competitive global destinations for GCCs.

 

GCCs, the offshore unit of multinational corporations (MNCs), offer access to specialised talent and innovation.

 

According to Kumar, UP already has a strong footprint in Information Technology (IT), IT Enabled Services (ITeS), and Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sectors, with companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, IBM, JP Morgan and Tata Consultancy Services operating across Noida, Greater Noida and Lucknow.

 

“UP offers incentives for service-sector investors, including 30-50 per cent land subsidy, operational cost advantages including 20 per cent support on lease rentals, internet bandwidth and power costs, and payroll subsidy of up to ~180,000 per employee per year for three years,” he added.

 

Moreover, the state is promoting a hub-and-spoke GCC operating model to enable companies to tap into specialised talent, achieve cost advantages, and enhance operational efficiency. The government envisions Noida-Greater Noida as the primary hub; Lucknow as a mid-tier city; and Agra, Kanpur and Meerut as satellite centres supported by metro and expressway links. Similarly, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj are being developed as emerging outsourcing destinations in the state.

 

With 56 per cent of the population in the working-age bracket — over 200,000 annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates and 1.5 million youth trained under skilling programmes — UP has one of India’s most cost-effective talent pools for technology, analytics, digital engineering and service-sector roles.

 

Amid tariffs and geopolitical upheavals, more MNCs are expanding GCC footprints in major global markets to cut costs and manage visa constraints. Under the UP GCC Policy 2024, the state is targeting Fortune 500 companies to deepen foreign direct investment (FDI) portfolios.