UP no more a BIMARU state, second-largest economy after Maharashtra: Govt official
The UP government is developing a defence corridor to expand the defence manufacturing capability and reduce foreign dependency, the expressway will give it a boost by allowing faster and easier transport of goods across the corridor.
Uttar Pradesh is a crime-free state now, with action being taken against every known criminal in the state. Talking about the law and order situation in the state, additional chief secretary (Home), Awanish K Awasthi, said on Monday that properties owned by both petty and big criminals worth ₹1,900 crore have been seized.
"The crime rate has come down drastically in Uttar Pradesh. There is no danga (riots) in our state now as this government has a zero tolerance policy against such elements," said Awasthi.
Another top official, who also interacted with the media, said that Uttar Pradesh now has the second-largest economy in the country after Maharashtra.
"According to data from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Uttar Pradesh has more than 55 lakh demat accounts (used for trading in stock exchange), highest after Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is no longer a BIMARU state," said Navneet Sehgal, additional chief secretary (Information and MSME).
The acronym BIMARU (or sick) was coined by the noted demographer Ashish Bose in the 1980s to refer to states which were lagging behind and retarding India's overall development. The terminology was later called "outdated" by many governments, which showcased the development in their respective states.
"While Maharashtra has 1.56 crore demat accounts, Gujarat has 88 lakh. Karnataka is at number four with 44 lakh demat accounts, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 37 lakh trading accounts," said Sehgal.
He added that these accounts are not concentrated in more developed districts like Noida or Ghaziabad (which are closer to Delhi), but are spread across the state.
Further, Awasthi said that ₹4.5 lakh crore of investment has been received by the Uttar Pradesh government from various industries. "We are also bringing investment to the defence corridor. The government is aiming to get ₹10,000 crore worth of investment," he added.
The briefing was held a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the Purvanchal Expressway, a flagship project of the Yogi Adityanath government. It is being launched months ahead of the assembly elections in the state.
The state government is developing a defence corridor to expand the defence manufacturing capability and reduce foreign dependency, the expressway will give it a boost by allowing faster and easier transport of goods across the corridor. The UP government has declared six districts — Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Lucknow, Kanpur and Chitrakoot — as part of a defence node and procured 1,482.4 hectares of land.
The state government has also signed 68 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for the defence corridor, including with BrahMos, the joint venture between DRDO and Russia's NPOM. BrahMos Aerospace has proposed to set up a modern production facility in Lucknow with an investment of ₹9,300 crore.
