UP tops India chart with 5.1 million covid-19 tests

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Aug 27, 2020

With total covid-19 testing of nearly 5.1 million samples so far, Uttar Pradesh has topped the tally among the Indian states.

While, chief minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed health officials to increase daily testing to 150,000, the state logged 138,378 sample tests yesterday, according to UP additional chief secretary, home, Awanish Kumar Awasthi here on Thursday.

Currently, there are 52,309 active covid-19 cases in UP, of which 26,504 are recuperating in home isolation with the remaining admitted in private, semi-paid and public hospitals.

He said 152,493 patients had fully recovered, while the people have also been actively using the e-sanjeevani portal to consult doctors for their health conditions.

The authorities have collected almost Rs 70 crore in penalties imposed for the violation of the covid-19 protocols.

UP tested 70,000 prisoners for covid-19

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Aug 26, 2020

Uttar Pradesh government has conducted covid-19 sample testing on more than 70,000 prisoners lodged in different jails of the state.

The testing paced up after chief minister Yogi Adityanath issued directives to intensify efforts to curb the spread of the infection in jails and conduct testing on a war footing.

According to the state prison administration, 1,690 prisoners and 59 jail staff had so far been found to be positive after testing, and were put under medical supervision. All of them were reported to be convalescing.

To arrest the pandemic, 83 temporary jails have been established across 64 districts to lodge new inmates. They are later shifted to the permanent prisons only after they are found to be negative. However, they are kept in isolation for 14 days in the permanent jails as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, the state jails have also been producing facemasks and hand sanitiser. So far, nearly 3 million facemasks and 2,400 personal protection equipment (PPE) kits had been manufactured in these facilities, of which 14.5 million masks and 250 PPE kits were supplied to the external organisations and non-government organisations (NGO).

Yogi lauds role of startups, MSMEs during covid-19

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Aug 25, 2020

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has lauded the role played by the startups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to support economy in the current covid-19 crisis.

He observed the world was facing a pandemic, and the startups and MSMEs were the ray of hope to strengthen the state and national economy.

Yogi was addressing a select gathering after inaugurating an MSME support centre set up by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in Lucknow.

The ‘SIDBI Swavalamban Kendra’ will aid the sector with institutional support pertaining to financing and handholding.

The CM waxed eloquent upon the stellar role played by SIDBI in national missions of Startup India, Stand-Up India, Make in India etc. “These missions kindle the entrepreneurial spirit in youth and make them to assimilate the ‘Swavalamban’ culture of being job creator as against being job seeker,” he noted.

Yogi warns against black marketing of urea in UP

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Aug 24, 2020

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath today warned against the black marketing of fertilisers in the current kharif season and ordered for slapping the National Security Act (NSA) against such culprits.

He directed concerned officials to ensure about the adequate supply of soil nutrients to the farmers and to deal firmly against elements trying to divert fertilisers to the black market.

The state government agencies have been conducting raids across the state to curb the illegal practise, which leaves the farmers high and dry. Several persons have been arrested in these raids and the authorities seized fertiliser supplies meant for the black market. A number of warehouses and dealership premises have been sealed as well.

Meanwhile, Yogi stressed upon increasing investments in the state and cultivating a close rapport with investors and entrepreneurs, so that their grievances were resolved in a time bound manner.

UP to nurture women, transgender entrepreneurs

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow, Aug 21, 2020

The Yogi Adityanath government will promote startup ventures of women, transgender and ‘divyangjan’ (differently abled) entrepreneurs under the new Uttar Pradesh Startup Policy 2020 with additional incentives and institutional support.

This is expected to bring these communities into the mainstream of the business world through startup ecosystem.

Under the new Policy, the government is targetting to set up 100 incubators covering all the 75 districts in UP with the goal of generating 150,000 employment and self employment opportunities, including 50,000 direct jobs in the state.

The new Policy was cleared by the state cabinet last month. The government is looking to break into the top three startup congenial states in India. On May 20, the chief minister had launched the UP Startup Fund to be managed by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

“The much talked about Fund has garnered interest from leading Venture Funds/AIF (alternative investment fund) of the country. SIDBI has so far received four applications from leading AIFs for an aggregate amount of Rs 285 crore to create the initial corpus,” the state government today said.

The decision on these applications will be taken by SIDBI and the Startup Nodal Agency in its first Venture Capital Investment Committee (VCIC) meeting scheduled later this month.

The funding will be disbursed in the form of sustenance allowance at idea stage, seed capital assistance at commercialisation stage and capital grant to incubators for strengthening the IT infrastructure.

Besides, a corpus of Rs 150 crore has been set up by the government with the help of Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) to fund startups at the stage of ideation, patent registration, participation in domestic and international events etc.

UP eyeing $5 billion investment in electronics manufacturing

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow, Aug 19, 2020

Armed with a new electronic manufacturing policy, the Uttar Pradesh government is eyeing more than $5 billion investment over the next five years.

The Yogi Adityanath government is keen to wooing global corporations, who are mulling to shift their manufacturing or vendors’ bases outside China in the wake of covid-19 outbreak and the stiffening US-China trade war.

In this backdrop, the state cabinet on Tuesday cleared the UP Electronic Manufacturing Policy 2020, which seeks to position UP as a global production hub and attract international investors.

According to the document, the policy aimed at attracting investment of Rs 40,000 crore, equivalent to more than $5 billion, in five years, while generating 400,000 direct employment opportunities.

The new policy replaces the erstwhile policy, which was promulgated in 2017 and was largely targetted at the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway regions. The new policy envisages setting up of the electronics manufacturing value chain across the state.

At present, the state accounts for 60 per cent of the domestic mobile phone production, especially in the national capital region (NCR).

To address regional imbalance, the policy promises to double the rate of land subsidy for investment in the backward Bundelkhand and Purvanchal regions for electronics manufacturing.

To promote MSMEs, the government will encourage development of rental facilities on ‘Plug and Play’ model through the public private partnership (PPP).

Korean e-vehicle maker Edison Motors to invest Rs 5,000 crore in UP

 

Lucknow, Aug 18, 2020

South Korean electric vehicle giant Edison Motors is looking to invest almost Rs 5,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh.

The company has planned to invest Rs 500-700 crore in first phase, Rs 1,000-1,500 crore in second phase and Rs 2,000-3,000 crore in third phase of its proposed e-vehicle manufacturing facility, which will create fresh job opportunities for 10,000 people.

In this regard, Edison Motors MD Y K Lee met UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Monday. The CM assured the Korean delegation of extending full support of the government.

In fact, the state is already in the process of amending the existing electric vehicle policy to woo investors.

Edison Motors has said it would source 90% of its raw material from local vendors, which would promote the local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in UP. The company is looking for land in the vicinity of Lucknow and the Yamuna Expressway for its maiden plant in the state.

Indian Navy partners UP government for cutting edge research

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow, Aug 16, 2020

Indian Navy has partnered the Uttar Pradesh government for setting up a ‘Centre of Excellence’ (CoE) for promoting cutting edge research and innovation in the defence sector.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Navy and the state nodal agency, UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), on Thursday (Aug 13). The CoE will be established in the proposed UP Defence Corridor.

In his virtual address, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stressed on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self reliant India) for innovation and domestic production.

Referring to the launch of the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation, he said it would augment domestic defence production for the Indian armed forces.

“This will promote better coordination between the educational groups and industries,” the CM said and noted the indigenous manufacturing of 101 defence items was crucial for the state’s Defence Corridor.

The webinar was also attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who thanked Yogi for expediting the UP Defence Corridor project.

UP revenue kitty surges to 98% of last fiscal

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow, Aug 10, 2020

After reporting a massive dip in tax and non-tax revenues in the first quarter (Apr-June) of the current financial year 2020-21 due to covid-19 lockdown, the mop up in July 2020 has surged to 98% of the corresponding month last fiscal.

Compared to revenue collection by various departments in July 2019 at more than Rs 10,926 crore, the state kitty surged to Rs 10,675 crore in July 2020, which is roughly 97.7% of July 2019 level.

“The economic activity in UP is coming back to track faster than we had expected and it is getting reflected in our revenues,” UP finance minister Suresh Khanna said here recently.

He conceded that covid-19 had disrupted the economic and commercial activities, as such there was sluggish revenue collection during the first three months of the current fiscal. Interestingly, the revenues in July 2020 under value added tax (VAT), excise/stamp/transport and mining heads were higher compared to July 2019, showing faster recouping of the adverse revenue situation.

Owing to the impact of covid-19 lockdown, against tax and non-tax revenue target of Rs 46,127 crore during Apr-June 2020, the state’s collection stood at Rs 17,412 crore or 37.74 per cent of the quarterly target. Of this, the tax revenue during Apr-June 2020 stood at Rs 15,716 crore against the target of Rs 41,602 crore, which was 37.77 per cent of the quarterly target. Similarly, the non-tax revenue mop up stood at Rs 1,696 crore or 37.5 per cent compared to Rs 4,525 crore during the Apr-June quarter of 2020-21.

“We have been able to balance our revenue and expenditure quite efficiently despite the covid-19 headwinds due to our adherence to financial management and fiscal discipline,” Khanna noted. He said the government paid the salaries and pensions to state employees and retired personnel on time without any deductions, although there were instances of some states resorting to delays or deductions to manage the adverse financial condition arising out of the lockdown.

Meanwhile, the government is in the process to recalibrate and pare revenue targets of the current financial year under the shadow of lockdown impact. The state is aiming to at least touch last financial year’s revenue levels, although the targets set earlier were 10-15 per cent higher.

EOM

Yogi looking to turn covid-19 crisis into opportunity for UP

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow, Aug 2, 2020

Amid the global economic and business tailspin induced by covid-19 pandemic, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has stressed on turning this adversity into a socioeconomic opportunity for the state.

Presiding over a meeting here on Friday, Yogi asked officials to explore industrial growth potential during the current crisis and take urgent steps to resolve all grievances, so that mass employment opportunities could be created.

He tasked key officials with impressing upon industrialists to invest in UP by harping upon the competitive edge of the state in the forms of trained manpower, expressways, good connectivity, infrastructure facilities and abundant natural resources.

The CM asked the concerned departments to evolve a mechanism for prompt redress of issues pertaining to investors.

Recently, the state has roped in consulting major PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) with a view to positioning UP among the major global supply chains in select category of products viz. ceramics, woven fabrics, suitcases, footwear etc.

The Yogi government is eyeing to attract global corporations looking to exit China following the covid-19 outbreak and the ongoing US-China trade war. Senior cabinet ministers have been regularly holding virtual parleys with industry bodies and government representatives of major countries, including USA, Japan, EU, South Korea, Thailand etc to apprise them of the various pro-industry steps and the availability of industrial land bank across the state.

Meanwhile, the CM instructed officials to develop industrial corridors on the barren swathes of land flanking the major expressway projects on priority.