BS Samriddhi: 'Uttar Pradesh has a healthy pipeline of foreign investments'

UP's industrial push gains momentum with strong policy incentives, rising land demand, and a major fifth ground-breaking ceremony set to roll out projects worth lakh-crores

The various regions of Uttar Pradesh (UP) are attracting investments due to more than 30 policies designed specifically for sectors, says Deepak Kumar, the state’s Investment and Industrial Development Commissioner. Kumar, in an interview with Siddharth Kalhans in Lucknow, explains how the state has created land banks, provided tax breaks and made regulatory approvals more transparent to attract domestic and foreign companies. Edited excerpts: 

 

Uttar Pradesh has several investment proposals but does it have enough land to meet the industry’s demand? 

The demand for industrial plots has risen as more investments come to UP. We are trying to cope with the demand for industrial land. We have more than 50,000 acres of land banks across the state. But ready-to-move land is limited and infrastructure is being created in greenfield land banks available. We are creating land banks and targets have been given to districts. In the recent past, the number of land banks has swelled. The allotment of industrial plots has become more transparent now.

 

How have policies helped in attracting investments 

Other than the Industrial and Employment Generation Policy, the state government has come up with various sectoral policies that provide need-based sops, rebates and incentives. We have 34 policies for different sectors at present. All 34 policies have helped in providing policy-based incentives to investors, and benchmarking with other states has shown that we have a very comprehensive incentive framework. This system has helped many industries in specific sectors.

 

A policy for foreign direct investment (FDI) and Fortune 500 companies has been introduced. What is the response? 

UP is among the few states to come up with a separate policy for FDI & Fortune 500 companies. The idea is to boost investment from these big companies. The response to Fortune 500 and FDI policy has been extremely good. We have a healthy investment pipeline of foreign investors and Fortune 500 companies. We are in talks with several large foreign companies. The share of FDI & Fortune 500 companies in our investment portfolio is growing.

 

How have industry-scarce regions like Bundelkhand and Purvanchal started getting investment proposals? 

Sectors such as steel, cement, breweries, energy and consumer goods have been provided benefits in Purvanchal and Bundelkhand, and consequently investments are now flowing to these regions. At the Investor Summit in 2018 and the one Global Investor Summit in 2023, a large number of companies had shown interest in investing in eastern UP and Bundelkhand. Attractive incentives like additional goods and services tax reimbursements and land subsidies have enabled foreign investments in UP.

 

What is the preparedness for the next ground-breaking ceremonies for projects by companies that have committed investments in the state? 

Till date four ground-breaking ceremonies have been organised in UP. These ceremonies involved companies that are investing about ₹12 trillion in the state. Some of these companies have started work on their projects and commenced production. Preparation is in full swing for the fifth ground-breaking ceremony and we are expecting this to be a big one. The fifth ceremony involves companies that have committed ₹5 trillion investments. Targets have been given to various departments and districts. Some of them have achieved their targets while others are working on them. Very soon, the fifth ceremony will be organised in a big manner.