UP Investors Summit 2018: PM Modi announces Rs 20,000-crore defence corridor in Bundelkhand
The Prime Minister said the Yogi Adityanath government has overcome the previous negativity and shown a ray of hope to people with positive changes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced a defence industrial corridor will be set up in Uttar Pradesh, covering parts of the backward Bundelkhand region.
“Out of the two defence corridors proposed in the union budget, one will be set up in Uttar Pradesh,” Modi said after inaugurating the UP Investors’ Summit-2018 at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan here.
“Keeping in view development (requirements) of the Bundelkhand region, the defence corridor will be extended to Agra, Aligarh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi and Chitrakoot. We expect an investment of Rs 20,000 crore in the defence corridor. This will create 2.5 lakh more jobs,” he said.
The government had earlier announced that it would develop two such corridors. The first of the two, announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech, is being built between Chennai and Bengaluru - connecting Kattupalli port, Chennai, Tiruchi, Coimbatore and Hosur.
Modi said he was sure the Yogi government will ensure that all the MoUs signed ahead of the summit were implemented soon.
He made the comment as chief minister Yogi Adityanath spoke about his government’s initiatives to transform UP from a ‘BIMARU’ state to a developed one with 1045 MoUs involving an estimated investment of Rs 4.28 lakh crore having been signed ahead of the summit,
“The CM has promised to follow and monitor the implementation of the MoUs himself. More jobs will be created for the people now. I am sure the UP Investors’ Summit will open new doors for investment in UP,” said Modi.
Modi used the occasion to tell investors about the changing environment in the state. “Whenever any change takes place, it becomes visible. A large assembly of investors in the state shows that UP has changed. I congratulate chief minister Yogi Adityanath, his team of ministers, the bureaucracy, the police and the people of state on bringing about the change so early… Industry will now get a red carpet welcome, instead of facing red tape, in Uttar Pradesh,” the PM said.
“I’ve said earlier too, progress comes through potential + policy + planning + performance and now Yogi ji’s government is ready to deliver super-hit performance,” he said.
The PM launched Nivesh Mitra, an entrepreneur friendly application to enhance ease of doing business in UP. The digital portal has salient features such as one payment gateway that will quicken digital clearances.
Modi announced that in addition to three existing international airports (Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi), two more international airports were coming up at Kushinagar in eastern UP and Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. In addition, airports in 11 more cities of state were being developed to give a boost to regional connectivity, he said.
“Mera sapna hai havai chappal pehnane wala havai yatra karne wala bane” (My dream is to make the common man wearing slippers travel in an aeroplane),” said Modi.
He also referred to the new corridors coming up along two expressways, rail network and the river route being developed from Varanasi to Haldia and efforts for development of tourism in the state.
“Tourism is a multiplier for growth. UP needs to strengthen its eco-tourism,” he said.
Modi said two days ago he had attended a similar summit in Maharashtra that had set a target to become a trillion dollar economy.
“Can Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh compete with each other to become the trillion dollar economy? Will UP government compete with other states? The more the competition, more will be the investment. This will result in creation of more jobs and strengthen the concept of cooperative federalism,” he said.
The prime minister said the Yogi government had pushed the state from negativity towards positivity and rekindled hope among the people.
“A foundation has been laid to build a new Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
Referring to the diversity of various regions of the state, Modi quoted a local saying: “Kos kos par badle paani aur chaar kos par vaani” (Water changes every mile, and the dialect changes every four miles).
Lauding the ‘one district one product’ scheme, he said it could prove to be the game changer for the state.
He named Lucknow’s chikan, Rampur’s knife, Bhadohi carpets, Banarsi sarees, brassware of Moradabad and glassware of Firozabad in this connection.
Modi said the state held the top position in production of food grain, wheat and potato etc. UP was in second place in terms of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), he said.
“There is a need for value addition to core strengths in the state. The Yogi government has been formulating policies to link industrial investment to job creation,” said Modi.
Get Current Updates on India News, Lok Sabha Election 2024 LIVE along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.