PM Modi to inaugurate UP investors' meet on Feb 21

Lucknow, Feb 18: Focusing to change the image of the state and make it an investor-friendly destination, the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh would hold biggest-ever mega two-day event `UP Investors summit’ here to interact with the industrialists and investors from February 21.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the event on February 21 morning and President Ram Nath Kovind will attend the concluding day function on February 22 evening.
With an aim to woo investments to the tune of over Rs 3 lakh crore, including Rs one lakh crore on the Defence Manufacturing corridor to be set up in Bundelkhand region, the Yogi government is set to sign around 600 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) during the event.
All roadside shops and roads have been cleaned while the entire city has been lit up with LED lights. Wall paintings showcasing the rich culture of Awadh and hoardings welcoming the guests have added to the beauty of the city of Nawabs.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on whose initiative the meet is being organised, inspected the venue Indira Gandhi Prathisthan and others places on Sunday, and said that the main aim of such event is to change the image of the state.
"Earlier no one was ready to invest in UP, but now the image has changed and almost all the top industrialists and investors have shown their interest in the state," he claimed.
However, there is no word from the government's side on the quantum of investments during the event and have disclosed that around 600 MoUs would be signed.
Though the economic reforms were introduced in India in July 1991, the winds of change had hardly touched the shores of UP in last 27 years. The home state of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, being MP from Varanasi, and the Yogi Adityanath as chief minister coupled with the massive exercise undertaken by the NITI Ayog for the development of the state in last 11 months, the idea of ` ease of doing business’’ has started striking roots in the state.
Moreover, the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax has eliminated the large part of corruption and red tapism as the corrupt tax administration was a major deterrent for the investors in the state.
UP Industry minister Satish Mahana told UNI on Sunday, that change in environment for the investors will be visible during and after the investors' summit as all have geared up to make the `UP Investor summit’ a success with the ultimate objective of making UP as frontline state on the path of development.
He said there is no dearth of developed land for the industrial purpose across the state. ''We will offer industrial grade land from a menu of available swatches and plots in UP,'' he added.
The industries minister said he has directed the industrial development authorities to ensure the availability of land before the forthcoming UP Investors’ Summit. He stressed that the visiting delegates should be apprised of such land, so that prospective investors could choose suitable land for setting up their units.
Lucknow Development Authority(LDA) has decided to sell some prime building and land to the tune of over Rs 5,000 crore to the investors which include the swanky JP centre for Rs 2,000 crore, Shane-e-Awadh for Rs 400 crore and more than 30 plots for Rs 1,800 crore, besides others.