Lucknow, Aug 03: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and a World Bank team -- led by its executive director Parameswaran Iyer -- on Wednesday held discussions on cooperation and future action plan for the overall development of the state.
According to a press release, the World Bank team appreciated efforts made in the past six years under the leadership of CM Yogi. The World Bank’s 20-member team said infrastructure development, industrialization, garbage disposal, poverty alleviation, planned urbanization, environmental protection, etc. have been focused upon, giving a new face to Uttar Pradesh in the last six years in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. U.P. is preparing an action plan according to sector-wise needs, which will bring about a comprehensive change in this largest state of the country, it added.
Parameswaran Iyer said the World Bank delegation was visiting Uttar Pradesh after Maharashtra and Gujarat. He said there are people representing 100 powerful countries of the world in this delegation. He said a lot of good work has been done in the country in the last nine years, and in Uttar Pradesh in the last six years under CM Yogi. He said that the mission of the World Bank has always been poverty alleviation but now a special emphasis is being laid on environment promotion as well. He said Uttar Pradesh could play a big role in this direction. Earlier, while welcoming the WB team, CM Yogi said that due to planned efforts, U.P. has come out of the category of a ‘bimaru’ (laggard) state and has become the leading economy of the country. Uttar Pradesh has been successful in bringing its 5.5 crore of population out of the poverty line in the last six years. The CM pointed out that more than 96 lakh MSME units are operating in Uttar Pradesh, which along with creating employment in the state are making the U.P. a hub of exports. He said in the past six years, U.P. has succeeded in doubling its exports. He added that U.P. is a state of possibilities. It is home to 16% of India’s population, making U.P. the country’s largest consumer and labor market. Apart from this, U.P. is also the center of India’s cultural and spiritual consciousness. Besides, U.P. is also preserving its heritage and ancient cities.
Referring to the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors’ Summit-2023, the CM said that U.P. received investment proposals worth more than ₹36 lakh crore. He said, “In a few months, we are going to organize a groundbreaking ceremony to mark investment proposals worth more than ₹10 lakh crore being implemented on the ground.” Yogi added that cities like Varanasi and Prayagraj have been great centers of education. He underlined that U.P. has many universities, two IITs, one IIM, and many professional institutes and the state is progressing as a knowledge hub. The U.P. CM also reiterated his promise to make the state a $1 trillion economy and contribute to the larger goal of making the country a $5 trillion economy. He said U.P. is ready to play its role as the ‘growth engine’ of India. He said U.P. is the land of Lord Ram and the state is moving towards ‘Ramrajya’. He explained Ramrajya as a political phenomenon where the benefits of government schemes are extended to the people without any discrimination.