Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s efforts to make Uttar Pradesh a $1 trillion economy state have started paying off. Whether it is to attract private investment, or moving forward with the resolution of Antyodaya to bring crores of people out of the shackles of poverty into the mainstream, the Yogi Government’s planned efforts are visible in every sector, presenting the picture of a new and resurgent UP.
Despite the economic recession witnessed across the world and within the country for about three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Uttar Pradesh’s economy has been able to maintain its growth trajectory.
The planned and coordinated efforts of the Yogi Government have led to continuous increase in the annual income of the state. The GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product), which was ₹16,45,317 crore in the financial year 2020-21 has increased by about 20% to ₹19,74,532 crore in 2021-22. Besides, the state’s income for 2022-23 has been estimated at ₹ 21.91 lakh crore on the basis of advance estimates.
UP’s economic growth gains momentum after Covid with CM Yogi’s policies
UP number one in attracting funds from banks & other financial institutions, witnesses 15 times increase
20% increase in UP’s GSDP in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21
State is estimated to earn revenue of Rs 21.91 lakh crore in 2022-23
Unprecedented increase in filing of ITR in UP; jumps from 1.65 lakh in June 2014 to 11.92 lakh in June 2023
Similarly, according to the August 2023 bulletin of the Reserve Bank of India, Uttar Pradesh tops in the country with a share of 16.2% investment in terms of attracting funds from banks and other financial institutions. The RBI report states that UP has registered a 16.2% increase in raising funds from banks and other financial institutions in 2022-23, a 15-fold increase from 1.1% in the financial year 2013-14. Not only this, Uttar Pradesh is also the second largest state in the country in terms of the number of income tax return (ITR) filers. The number of ITRs filed has shot up from 1.65 lakh in June 2014 to 11.92 lakh in June 2023.
The resolution of Antyodaya is being fulfilled
The efforts being made by the Yogi government to eradicate poverty and increase the income of the poor through various schemes have yielded pleasant results. According to NITI Aayog’s report ‘National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023’, between 2015-16 and 2019-21, while a record 135 million people in India have moved out of multidimensional poverty, Uttar Pradesh has recorded the highest decline in the number of poor people in the country.
According to the report, due to the meaningful efforts of the government, 3.43 crore people have been able to come out of multidimensional poverty in Uttar Pradesh. Providing multidimensional poverty estimates for 36 states, union territories and 707 administrative districts, the report said the most extensive decline in the proportion of multidimensional poor was recorded in Uttar Pradesh. States like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan come after UP.
UP becomes revenue surplus state
Uttar Pradesh, once known as Bimaru, has now become a revenue surplus state. In the year 2016-17, the tax revenue of the state was about ₹ 86 thousand crore, which increased to more than ₹ 01.47 lakh crore in the year 2021-22, witnessing an increase of 71%. The sales tax/VAT in the year 2016-17 was around ₹ 51,883 crore which has crossed ₹ 125 crore in the year 2022-23. It is also important to note here that petrol, diesel and ATF VAT rates in Uttar Pradesh are lower than many states and there is no change in the rates after May 2022.
The Yogi Government, with its strong financial management, has also succeeded in keeping the fiscal deficit at 3.96% as against 4.0% in the year 2022-23 FRBM Act. Statistics reveal that earlier in UP about 8% of the budget was spent on repaying the interest of loans, which has come down to 6.5% in the year 2022-23.
Yogi removes Bimaru state tag from UP
A discussion was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi recently on the policies of the Yogi Government, which is creating new paradigms of economic upliftment in Uttar Pradesh. Addressing the program, President of Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts, Prof. Ram Bahadur Rai agreed that Yogi Adityanath has removed the Bimaru state tag from UP.
According to Rai, today a better investment environment has been created in UP and all-round development is taking place in the state under the leadership of CM Yogi. This is the reason why the UP CM is getting full support of the public even in his second term, he pointed out. He said that Yogi Adityanath is bringing about development which former UP Chief Minister Sampurnanand had talked about in his book.
It is worth mentioning here that the Yogi Government has made sector-wise short term and long term strategies to strengthen the economy of Uttar Pradesh. The Government’s efforts are directed towards improving governance, expediting business decisions, increasing ease of doing business as well as smooth implementation of existing rules. As the most important sectors in the state are agriculture, industry and services, the Government’s focus is on strengthening these sectors first. For this, some high level committees have been constituted, which give suggestions to the government from time to time for further improvement.
