UTTAR PRADESH – New India’s Growth Engine

By Akshay Tripathi

Uttar Pradesh aspires to become a One Trillion-dollar (USD) Economy and be a major contributor to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of making India a 5 – trillion-dollar (USD) economy.

Uttar Pradesh is one of the fast- growing economies of India and contributes nearly 8% to National GDP. Being home to 240 million people, it has India’s largest population size, and hence, India’s largest consumer and labour market. Uttar Pradesh aspires to become a One Trillion-dollar (USD) Economy and be a major contributor to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of making India a 5 – trillion-dollar(USD) economy.

Under the effective and successful guidance of the Hon’ble Prime Minister and leadership of the Hon’ble Chief Minister, the State has witnessed are mark able improvement in infrastructure and business environment and has undergone significant transformation over the past few years. The state has become a preferred investment destination for industries world wide and has made significant strides in social and economic development.

The government has taken proactive initiatives to facilitate investments such as creating transparent single window systems Nivesh Sarathi, Nivesh Mitra, Mukhyamantri Udyami Mitra, and Incentive Monitoring System to assist the entrepreneurs from signing the MoUs to getting the investment on the ground The state organized a three-day Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit in Lucknow from the 10th to the 12th of February 2023, which attracted more than 10,000 delegates. The State Government of UP partnered with countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Italy, UAE, United Kingdom, and Mauritius for the Global Investors Summit.  The Government of Uttar Pradesh has received investment proposals worth INR 33.50 lakh crore with potential employment of 93 lakhs in a successfully concluded global investment summit. Out of which investment proposals worth INR 3.79 lakh crore with potential employment of 2.4 lakh shave been received in the IT and Electronics sector.

UP is a fast-emerging hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing. Uttar Pradesh holds the unique distinction of contributing nearly 65% of India’s total mobile manufacturing. It is home to nearly 55% of India’s mobile component manufacturers. Nearly 40% of India’s mobile manufacturers operate in UP and over 200+ ESDM companies are based in UP. Further, the State Govt is endeavouring to develop clusters for Semiconductor manufacturing and Fab units.

The State Government is committed to offering competitive infrastructure and a favorable policy environment to potential in vectors. In line with this,  a dedicated Electronics manufacturing policy was launched in 2020 to make Uttar Pradesh the most preferred investment destination for the ESDM and Semiconductor sector. The policy is more comprehensive and more investor friendly. Financial incentives offered under this policy are over and above that offered by the Government of India. Some major incentives that are covered under this policy are :

1- Capital Subsidy at the rate of 15% of Fixed Capital Investment (FCI) for investments less than INR 1000 crores and for investments more than or equal to INR 1000 crores additional capital subsidy of 10% shall be given on investments exceeding INR 1000 crores.

2- 5% additional capital subsidy to investor acting as an Anchor unit and guaranteeing to get ancillary units a long.

3- 5% additional capital subsidy for investors engaged in focus are as like Defence Electronics, Strategic Electronics, Robotics, etc

4- Interest Subsidy at the rate of 5% up to a maximum of INR 1 crore per annum per unit for 7 years

5- 100% Stamp Duty exemption

6-  Patent Cost Reimbursement of upto INR 5 lakhs for domestic and INR 10 lakhs for international patent filing.

7- Land Subsidy at the rate of 25% in Madhyanchal and Paschimanchal regions and at the rate of 50% in Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal regions

8- Electricity Duty Exemption at the rate of 50% in Paschimanchal, 75% in Madhyanchal, and 100% in Poorvanchal & Bundelkhand regions for the period of 10 years.

9- 100% EPF Reimbursement for UP domicile professional workers working in the ESDM sector.

The Government of Uttar Pradesh is fully committed to facilitating the investors and entrepreneurs for establishing and smoothly carrying out their business operations in the State. Nivesh Mitra, the single window portal, is one of the steps in this direction. Nivesh Mitra is an end- to-end online platform (from online application/ documents submission, online fee payment, and online status tracking to digitally signed NOC) to provide NOCs/ Clearances/ Licenses related to Pre-Establishment and Pre- Operation including Renewals and Additional Certificates required for setting up and running a business in Uttar Pradesh.

Nivesh Mitra offers 406 online services from 33 departments such as Labour / PCB / UPPCL / Revenue / Stamp & Registration / Legal Metrology / Fire services/Urban/Housing/IDAs and many others. With over 97% of license applications disposal rate, Nivesh Mitra has become one of the most efficient single window portals.

Nivesh Mitra has also integrated with the National Single Window System(NSWS),which is envisaged to provide clearances from all central ministries and states for starting a business in India. Further more, Nivesh Mitra also bagged the ‘Award of excellence’ in February 2021 from the Computer Society of India and the ‘Gold Category’ award in the prestigious ‘SKOCH Award 2019’.

Through these initiatives, and many more, the state of Uttar Pradesh is facilitating investors and entrepreneurs to make it a promising destination for business opportunities in India.

Author

Akshay Tripathi (IAS) is Special Secretary, IT and Electronics, and Managing Director, Uttar Pradesh Electronics Corporation Limited, Government of Uttar Pradesh.