Lucknow, Apr 14 (PTI) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the growth engine of the country and is no longer a ‘BIMARU’ (laggard) state.

Addressing the National Executive Committee Meeting of FICCI in Lucknow, Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh has transformed in the last eight years of BJP rule.

“How did UP become a ‘fisaddi’ (backward)? How did it become BIMARU? There must be reasons. When the country became independent, the per capita income of UP was equal to the national average. Slowly, it got reduced, and a time came when the per capita income was one-third of the national average.

“However, in the last eight years, the country as well as the world have seen UP transforming,” the chief minister said.

Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the steps taken by the Uttar Pradesh government is moving towards becoming a developed state, Adityanath said.

“Today, UP is not in the queue of a BIMARU state… It has emerged as the growth engine of India… it is moving forward as the number 2 economy in the country,” Adityanath said.

“UP is possibly the first state, which has successfully worked to double its GSDP and Per Capita Income in eight years,” he added.

Demographer Ashish Bose coined the acronym ‘BIMARU’ in the mid-1980s. It is formed from the first letters of the names of some of the country’s poorest states: Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

Adityanath asserted that Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state and consumer and labour market, welcomes entrepreneurs.

Describing FICCI as an important partner in the development of Uttar Pradesh, the chief minister said the organisation has supported the government in creating a positive environment and ecosystem for investors.

In particular, FICCI’s contribution to making Investor Summit 2018 and 2023 successful has been commendable.

Referring to the financial challenges, he said after the formation of his government in 2017, there was a shortage of funds for proposals like loan waivers for farmers. At that time, there was no cooperation from the banks and there were no resources even for the salaries of the employees.

However, the government identified the leakage of Rs 36,000 crore in the budget and eliminated it, due to which Uttar Pradesh has now become a state with surplus revenue.

Adityanath said earlier, there was anarchy, hooliganism and corruption in the state but his government has established the rule of law.

Unnecessary loudspeakers were removed, religious events on roads were controlled and the safety of daughters and traders was ensured. Transparency was brought in police recruitment and more than 60,000 policemen were trained and appointed, he said.

Emphasising the infrastructure development of Uttar Pradesh, he said earlier the state was identified with bad roads, but today it boasts of the country’s largest expressway network, metro rail, railway network and waterways.

The state has four lakh km of national highway network, 16 functioning airports (four international and 12 domestic) and Asia’s largest airport in Jewar is under construction, he said.

Adityanath said 122 sugar mills are operating in Uttar Pradesh and the dues of sugarcane farmers are now being paid in three to seven days. In the last eight years, the sugarcane price has been paid directly into the accounts of farmers through DBT, he said.

Adityanath said the government has also improved the investment environment for industries.

In 2017, when companies like Samsung and TCS were ready to leave Uttar Pradesh, the government assured them and today an investment of Rs 15 lakh crore has been realised, he said.

The chief minister described the “success” of the Maha Kumbh as a symbol of Uttar Pradesh’s potential.

He said the infrastructure in Prayagraj was rejuvenated by spending Rs 7,500 crore. The opposition used to raise questions about the Maha Kumbh, asking whether organising the Maha Kumbh is the government’s job.

“But all of you must have seen that the Maha Kumbh was not limited to Prayagraj as crowds of devotees also gathered in cities like Kashi, Ayodhya, Mathura. This boosted trade and changed the image of Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

He asserted that the role of Uttar Pradesh and FICCI is important in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of self-reliant India. PTI NAV RHL