Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that in order to promote Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the state a new authority will be set up to frame policies to make waterways accessible and cheaper for transportation of goods.
Yogi was speaking at the cheque distribution ceremony for the development of a private industrial park under the Pledge (Promoting Leadership and Enterprises for Development of Growth Engine) scheme. He provided the first instalment of Rs 1,6.89 crore to developers under the scheme for the development of private industrial parks in Aligarh, Saharanpur and Kanpur Dehat.
During the programme organised at the CM residence, Yogi said that the country’s first National Waterway from Varanasi to Haldia has become operational. “The new authority will work for the development of waterways in UP. A policy will be made to promote water transport in UP and how to make freight easy and cheap,” he said.
He said that 6 years ago nothing could happen in UP but today the same state is presenting its potential in front of the country and the world through its innovative schemes. “The Pledge scheme is a part of the same series,” he said.
The CM said that UP is a state with infinite possibilities and blessed by nature and God’s grace. “The need is to prepare according to the competition,” he said.
He said, “We have inherited hundreds of years of heritage.There were 96 lakh MSME units in the state, but they were dying due to lack of encouragement, design, technology, packaging and promotion. Due to which the artisans kept on migrating for a long time.”
Yogi said, “We launched the most popular One District One Product (ODOP) scheme in the country. After this, we started the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana which became part of the Union Budget and is being implemented across the country. Similarly, the UP government is running many other schemes.”
He said that the encouragement of private investment and traditional enterprise is required to meet the needs of a large population of UP. “The hindrance to this was poor law and order, but today the law and order situation of the state has become an example,” he said.
The CM emphasised on the progress in infrastructure work, interstate connectivity by four lanes,the exodus of Purvanchal and Bundelkhand used to worry the whole country, western UP was at a dangerous juncture of bad law and order and insecurity but today change is visible in all these places.
He said that the work of Ganga Expressway, Gorakhpur Link and Ballia Link Expressway, Lucknow and Kanpur Greenfield is underway. “This will give further impetus to the industrial possibilities in UP,” he said
Yogi said that all the big entrepreneurs of the country and the world came to Lucknow with investment proposals of Rs 35 lakh crore in the UP Global Investor Summit held this year. “This investment will become the biggest medium to provide employment to one crore youth. MSMEs will become the base of these big industries,” he said.
He said, “I remember the good work done by the MSME sector during the Covid period, when 40 lakh labor migrants came back, who were absorbed by the MSMEs. UP has now become an export hub worth Rs.2.5 lakh crore.”
The CM said that three cheques have been distributed, one to Saharanpur which is famous for its wood work and which needs to be given good design. “The central government is ready for this. We should immediately send a proposal for this. Another to Aligarh which is famous for hardware in the world and node of the Defence Corridor,” he said.
He said, “Kanpur being a defence node, private industrial park in Kanpur Dehat is a good initiative. I have full faith that all the entrepreneurs will take maximum advantage of the schemes of the UP government. Apart from this, I also appeal to all other MSME entrepreneurs to come forward to make private parks in their respective areas. Today the world is looking towards India with a positive attitude, similarly the whole of India is seeing UP as a state of possibilities.”
