 "Alok Ranjan")
The Uttar Pradesh government has drawn up a road map for rapid industrialisation of the state. A slew of big projects —Lucknow Metro Rail, Lucknow-Agra Expressway and IT City — are expected to add value to ‘Brand UP’. State Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan spoke to Virendra Singh Rawat on issues pertaining to UP’s growth agenda. Edited excerpts:
India is still recovering from an economic slowdown. How will UP cope with the challenging economic situation?
The slowdown had affected not only India, but the entire world. However, UP is a mine of opportunities. We have the country’s largest consumer market of over 200 million people and the state is rich in natural resources. We have announced our industrial policy and are proactively reaching out to the industry.
Is the government pushing the industrial sector more than services?
We want both the industrial and services sectors to proliferate and the state stands committed to providing all facilities. However, we want to boost industrialisation at a much faster pace, as it has a more direct bearing on income and employment levels.
Industry feels that getting various clearances from government departments is a cumbersome affair. What have you done on red tapism?
The state government has instituted ‘single window system’ and ‘Nivesh Mitra’ for transparent, faster and online clearances of investment proposals. There are irritants, which we are diligently working to streamline. We have a system of taking regular feedback from the industry.
UP is a hub of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). How is the state government engaging with this sector?
The MSME sector is on our priority list, as it not only ensures equitable distribution of wealth, but contributes towards job creation and forms the backbone of large industries.
The state has been aggressively popularising ‘Brand UP’ through investment summits, road shows, etc.
Now, we are gearing up for an investment summit in Mumbai, which is India’s financial capital. Such summits have been planned in other major cities and we want to culminate this exercise with a Global Investors’ Summit in Agra in February 2015. Such events facilitate an open dialogue between the government and industry for investment.
Power has often been cited as an impediment to industrial growth in UP. Does the government have a plan to deal with acute power shortage?
Energy demand is growing in India and all the states have an onerous task of balancing the demand and supply gap. The UP government is aiming to provide 24-hour electricity by 2016. We have proposed to set up new power plants, upgrade existing units and augment generation.
Does law and order situation in UP pose challenges before the government in attracting investment?
Law and order has been accorded utmost priority by the present dispensation in UP. We would do anything to reassure the industry that UP has a congenial investment climate and there is no reason for investors to feel insecure.
