UP to convert highways into green energy corridors

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 30, 2020

The Uttar Pradesh government will convert major highways and expressways into green energy corridors to promote the use of cleaner fuel in the state transport sector.

In this regard, UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has now earmarked a land parcel at Bilhaur in Kanpur district on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway for the corridor.

The state urban development department is planning to operate 1,525 CNG buses in 15 major cities of UP, while about 37 gas companies have been authorised for the city gas distribution (CGD) in different regions of the state.

Besides, the government has directed major industrial enclaves including NOIDA, Greater Noida, Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) etc to expedite setting up of piped natural gas (PNG) network for providing green fuel to the industries.

According to UP industrial development minister Satish Mahana, this would help not only in ensuring environmental protection, but also enable safe fuel supply to the industrial units along with mitigating pressure on transportation traffic.

The decision has been taken in view of the rapid industrial growth and investment in the state manufacturing sector, apart from proactively conserving environment by promoting the use of green fuel.

The directive to support natural gas companies in developing the PNG network in the state industrial enclave have been issued to Noida, Greater Noida, UP State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA), YEIDA, Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority (GIDA), Satharia Industrial Development Authority (SIDA) and Lucknow Industrial Development Authority (LIDA).

“In addition to being safe, the PNG proves to be economical as well due to savings on storage and transportation expenses,” additional chief secretary, industrial development Alok Kumar noted.

The state government had recently directed the CEOs of the industrial development authorities to implement the ‘Dig Rand Restore’ policy of the urban development department in compliance of the Petroleum Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) directives for developing CGD network.

Under the policy, permission has been given to lay the underground gas pipelines by using such technology that does not affect or interrupt traffic and normal activities.

“To promote pollution-free fuel in vehicles for transportation, UPSIDA has been instructed to provide support to the CGD licensees for setting up facilities for the supply of CNG under the plan to convert major highways of the state into green energy corridors,” Kumar informed.

UP government to put data centres under ESMA

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 29, 2020

The Uttar Pradesh government, which is hammering out a data centre policy, is looking to include the new age industry under the stringent Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to ensure uninhibited operation and power supply.

The proposed policy will target attracting Rs 20,000 crore worth of private investment and creation of 150,000 job opportunities in the next five years. The draft of the new UP data centre policy has been prepared and steps are now being taken to get the state cabinet nod for its speedier implementation.

The new policy will push for setting up at least three data centre parks and 10 smaller data centre units in the state.

Interestingly, the state has so far received data centre proposals totalling Rs 10,000 crore from the private sector, including Adani Group, Hiranandani Group, RackBank etc. On November 30, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had virtually laid the foundation of Hiranandani’s 20 acre data centre park in Greater Noida.

Data centre refers to a place housing computing infrastructure viz. servers, routers, switches and firewalls, apart from supporting paraphernalia like backup equipment, fire suppression facilities and air conditioning.

Since, a data centre entails heavy energy consumption, the UP government has proposed to allow them open access electricity for uninterrupted supply.

Other major sops to be provided to the state date centre investors include interest subsidy, land subsidy, stamp duty waiver, electricity duty and transmission duty waiver etc apart from other incentives.

Besides, the Centre is actively pursuing the policy of data localisation for greater data security amid the fast penetration of internet and online services in both the public and private sector domains.

Currently, due to the lack of robust data centres in India, the domestic data are preserved in servers based in foreign companies, including USA, thus exposing vital onshore data pertaining to banking, social media, retail, tourism, health segments etc, to possible cyber attacks and manipulations.

Once data centres are developed indigenously, there would be greater data security within the country’s geography.

UP hand sanitiser output tops 18 million litres

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 27, 2020

The pandemic induced hand sanitiser industry in Uttar Pradesh continues to flourish, logging more than 18 million litres (ML) in production so far and counting.

Currently, there are 97 hand sanitiser units, including sugar mills, distilleries and standalone manufacturers, with combined production capacity of 630,000 litres per day. The state had shipped sanitiser consignments to nearly all the Indian states during the lockdown periods and beyond, he informed.

The states of Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana and Uttarakhand accounted for the highest shipments of hand sanitiser from UP. The product was supplied to even remote and faraway places viz. Ladakh, Nagaland, Kerala etc.

Since, UP is the country’s top sugarcane and sugar producer, it has an abundance of ethanol/alcohol, which are essentially sugar byproducts. This allowed the state mills and distilleries to speedily establish downstream and captive hand sanitiser facilities within their complexes after taking the necessary approvals from the government.

Besides, the state had also liberalised the licensing for augmenting the production in the initial months of the pandemic, when the demand for the medical product had risen sharply to control the spread of the disease, while there was an acute shortage in the market.

While, some mills are manufacturing bulk quantities of sanitiser themselves or supplying to other firms for bottling and marketing, a few others have signed contracts to supply ethanol/ethyl alcohol/extra neutral alcohol (ENA) to external plants.

Although, sanitiser is generally manufactured with isopropyl alcohol (IPA), it has been found effective if made from ethanol/ethyl alcohol/ENA.

Meanwhile, Rana claimed 119 sugar mills in UP had paid more than Rs 1.12 trillion to the cane farmers during the three and half years of the incumbent Yogi Adityanath government.

The payment of Rs 1.12 trillion is Rs 17,614 crore more than the total sugarcane payment to the state farmers during the entire five years (2012-17) rule of the previous Akhilesh Yadav government.

Private investments totalling Rs 273 crore were made in setting up of khandsari units (unrefined sugar units) in the rural areas, which generated fresh job opportunities for 50,000 youth.

UP startup register logs 3,406 mark

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 24, 2020

With an improving ‘Ease of doing business’ matrix, the number of startups registered in Uttar Pradesh in the last three years has gone up to 3,406 as recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India.

According to UP deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, the state was developing a world-class startup ecosystem through a strong infrastructure and policy environment after the implementation of IT and Startup Policy-2017 and New Startup Policy 2020.

“Apart from creating employment, the policy is promoting innovation and entrepreneurship along with contribution to the state’s economy and empowerment of the youth,” he observed.

UP additional chief secretary, IT and electronics, Alok Kumar said despite Covid-19 pandemic, 773 startups were established between December 2019 and December 2020.

In addition to 17 incubators set up in the last two years under the previous IT & Startup policy 2017, seven fresh proposals for incubators have been approved under the new policy, including NASSCOM 10,000 Startup Warehouse in Noida.

 

Underlining the objective startups in non-IT sectors, he said establishment of 117 incubators has been set as target for developing startup ecosystems in universities and colleges under the main departments like MSME, Khadi, agricultural education, medical education, higher/technical education etc.

A portal (www.startinup.up.gov.in) has been developed for registration of startups being set up in UP. It provides the facility of online submission of applications for obtaining financial incentives as well as issuance of all clearances.

In September 2020, UP was ranked in the category of ‘Emerging Startup Ecosystem’ in the Startup Ranking 2020 of states released by the DPIIT.

Yogi government to provide 10 inch tablets to students

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 22, 2020

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to procure 10 inch advanced tablet computers for promoting digital learning in select state government run colleges.

In the first phase, 18 government colleges in the seven aspirational districts would be provided with 160 preloaded e-learning tablets, which would be issued to their students just like books from the respective libraries.

The decision to procure tablet computers was taken to promote digital learning during the current pandemic period and to equip the students in the comparatively backward aspirational districts of the state with modern learning technologies and gadgets.

The seven districts comprise Fatehpur, Sonbhadra, Chandauli, Shravasti, Siddharthnagar, Balrampur and Chitrakoot, according to UP deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma. He said the New Education Policy laid emphasis on the usage of modern technology and integration of education for creating a knowledge-based economy.

Meanwhile, UP additional chief secretary, higher education department, Monika S Garg said each of the 18 government colleges in the current 2020-21 financial year would be given 8-9 tablet computers each after loading them with academic and other educational content.

UP transfers Rs 5,100 crore in MSP to paddy farmers

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow, 21 Dec

Amid the ongoing farm stir, the Uttar Pradesh government has transferred more than Rs 5,100 crore in the minimum support price (MSP) to the bank accounts of the state paddy farmers.

Besides, the state has logged nearly 20 per cent jump in paddy procurement compared to the corresponding period of the kharif marketing season last year. Compared to the paddy procurement of about 3.3 million tonnes (MT) in 2019-20, the corresponding figure for the current season is in excess of 3.96 MT, a jump of 20 per cent over last year.

Since, the UP government is targetting 5.5 MT in paddy purchase, the procurement agencies have achieved 72 per cent of the target with over two months still left in the kharif procurement cycle.

According to the UP food and civil supplies department, more than 740,000 state paddy farmers had so far directly benefitted under the MSP purchase mechanism. The MSP of A-grade and common variety of paddy in this kharif season was fixed at Rs 1,888 per quintal and Rs 1,868 per quintal respectively.

In the 2020-21 kharif season, the UP paddy output is estimated at 26.4 MT, while the state is expecting rice production of 17.7 MT. Last year, the paddy production in UP stood at 24.4 MT, while the state government had procured 5.657 MT of paddy from farmers. UP is among the top paddy producers in India.

In wake of the ongoing stir in the national capital region (NCR) over new central farm laws, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had directed senior officials to ensure seamless functioning of the procurement centres and prompt payment to the farmers. As such, the procurement process is being monitored at the highest level.

Earlier, the state government had decided to raise Rs 3,000 crore in bank loans to pay farmers for the MSP paddy procurement. The short term working capital loan was meant to be sourced by state nodal agency UP State Food and Essential Commodities Corporation Limited (SFC), which in turn allocates funds to the food and civil supplies department for the field paddy procurement.

The government would stand as guarantor for the Rs 3,000 crore credit window, while the interest payment of the loan, until it is finally repaid by the SFC, would also be incurred by the state.

Meanwhile, the different government agencies have set up about 4,000 procurement centres, including 100 odd operated by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

The procurement season in the Western UP districts started from October 1 to January 31, 2021, while in the Eastern UP pockets, the paddy procurement began on October 15 and would continue till February 28, 2021.

For greater efficiency, the government had geo-tagged rice millers for the custom milling of paddy. The food storage depots were also geo-tagged.

Yogi government to float global tender for Ayodhya master plan

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 20, 2020

To elevate Ayodhya as a world class tourist destination, the Yogi Adityanath government will soon float a global tender for picking up a consultant to prepare the master plan for the sleepy town.

While the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) has prepared the bidding documents for selecting a global consultant for the project, the state level committee is currently vetting the documents.

The state government has constituted three different committees viz. monitoring committee, bid evaluation committee and implementation committee for accelerating the works in this regard.

Chairing a review meeting recently, UP chief secretary R K Tiwari has directed senior officials to expedite the process of selecting the consultant so that the work on the composite development of the Ayodhya City could begin.

After coming to power in March 2017, the Yogi government had renamed Faizabad district as Ayodhya, while upgrading Ayodhya town as a municipal corporation for improving the civic standards and infusing more government funds.

Apart from the proposed construction of Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya, there are a slew of other projects in the pipeline to develop the town as a future tourist hub with good road and air connectivity.

On August 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ram temple, thus setting the tone for a speedier pace of infra and tourism projects. The temple project would span nearly 85,000 sq ft and rank among the biggest Hindu temples in the world. It will have a capacity to accommodate 50,000 devotees at a time.

The Ram temple construction committee has set up an eight-member panel of India’s top engineers and structural experts headed by IIT-Delhi’s former Director V S Raju to supervise its foundation laying. The other members include CBRI-Rookie Director N Gopal Krishnan, NIT-Surat Director S R Gandhi, IIT-Guwahati Director T G Sitaram, IIT-Delhi’s professor emeritus B Bhattacharji, TCI advisor A P Mull, besides Manu Santhanam of IIT-Madras and Pradipt Banerjee of IIT-Bombay.

The state has also decided to expand the geographical jurisdiction of the ADA by bringing several new villages in Ayodhya and the adjoining districts under its purview. The Ayodhya airstrip is being developed to handle wide bodied scheduled flights and thus put the town on the national and international tourism map.

Another mega project proposed by the Adityanath government is the world’s tallest 221 metres Lord Ram’s bronze statue in Ayodhya. Besides, the government has mooted a ‘New Ayodhya’ township project spanning 500 acres comprising residential enclaves, parks, luxury hotels, shopping arcades etc.

IIT Kanpur to groom cybersecurity ‘warriors’

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 17, 2020

To address the shortfall of skilled cybersecurity personnel amid growing cyber threats, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur has announced to launch advanced masters programmes in cybersecurity in addition to a dedicated centre for cybersecurity.

The three courses are designed for the training of dedicated and highly skilled manpower and accelerating the nation’s march towards Digital India.

The IIT Kanpur Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) would offer M Tech, MS by Research, and BT-MT Dual Degree in Cybersecurity. According to a press communiqué, the programmes would start with a limited number of seats, which will be gradually scaled up in size and scope. The admissions will commence during the April-May 2021 cycle.

“In the world of Digital Nomads, especially after Covid-19 and Gig Economy, there has been a significant shift to the cloud as almost everyone involved in a productive activity has had to go online and use digital devices. We have timed these masters programmes to ensure we start producing ‘cyber warriors’ of the future who can defend not only national boundaries but also make a mark internationally,” Institute director Prof Abhay Krandikar said.

The courses will also meet the demand from the country’s defence sector for a specialised Masters program in Cybersecurity for defence personnel.

Upon completion of the course, these trained personnel could take up responsibilities at defence establishments such as CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team), WESEE (Weapons and Electronics Engineering Centre, Indian Navy), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Defence Cyber Agency (DCyA) and others where there is an urgent requirement for trained cybersecurity professionals and become cyber soldiers guarding our cyber borders.

Meanwhile, Prof Manindra Agarwal of the IIT Kanpur CSE department said NASSCOM has indicated rise in cyber attacks along with data protection and privacy laws will lead to a US$35 billion revenue opportunity and job opportunities for millions of Indian professionals by 2025. 

The global cybersecurity workforce shortage has been projected to top 1.8 million unfilled positions. In India, an estimate by the Data Security Council of India indicated, a requirement of about 1 million cybersecurity professionals. Another study indicated last year, there was a 117 per cent increase in incidents of cyber attacks on Indian enterprises as compared to the previous year.

Yogi makes investment outreach to Indian diaspora in North America

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 16, 2020

Claiming that investments totalling Rs 3 trillion had flown over the last three years in Uttar Pradesh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath has reached out to the Indian diaspora in North America for investing in their home state.

In his virtual address to the UP Association of North America recently, Yogi observed the Indian diaspora had earned an enviable place for themselves by the dint of their hard work and enterprise.

He showcased the untapped eco, spiritual and heritage tourism potential in UP before these offshore investors while referring to the popular religious and cultural tourist hotspots of Mathura, Varanasi, Prayagraj (Allahabad), Ayodhya, Chitrakoot etc and the slew of infra projects including expressways and airports to improve the connectivity in the state.

The CM exhorted the entrepreneurs and investors to support the ambitious vision of India and UP becoming $5 trillion and $1 trillion economies respectively. “With the help of the investors and entrepreneurs, we can take the country and the state to new heights of economic, social and cultural development.”

He noted UP was the largest state in India by way of population and thus the country’s largest consumer market as well, which offered limitless natural resources for commercial harnessing.

He informed his government was developing four expressways viz. Ganga Expressway, Purvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway and Gorakhpur Link Expressway to link the length and breadth of the state with high speed roads for speedier socioeconomic growth.

Yogi also broached upon other big infrastructure projects, including metro rails, airports, film city, defence corridor, health, education etc to buttress the point that the state was further facilitating doing business ecosystem for the benefit of investors and industry.

“Samsung is investing Rs 5,000 crore in its smartphone display unit manufacturing facility in Noida, while investments of Rs 6,000 crore are lined up for data centre projects,” he claimed while mentioning that improvement in the power sector and law and order matrix had played a major role in attracting private investment and winning the confidence of industry.

RBI lifts embargo on Lucknow-based urban cooperative bank

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 12, 2020

 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted the more than two-year old embargo on a Lucknow-based urban cooperative bank (UCB), thus allowing it to resume normal banking operations.

 

The UP Civil Secretariat Primary Cooperative Bank Limited (UPCSPCBL) had come under the RBI scanner following allegations of financial and other wrongdoings. Later, the regulator had imposed restrictions on the UCB in September 2018, which affected nearly 5,000 depositors.

 

Now, the RBI had lifted the restrictions but directed the bank management to submit a workable revival plan in six weeks.

 

Under the restrictions imposed in September 2018, the bank was barred from granting or renewing loans, making investment, incurring liability including borrowing funds and accepting fresh deposits, disbursing payment in discharge of liabilities, entering into an arrangement and selling, transferring or disposing of any of its properties or assets without prior written approval from the RBI.

 

Now the bank’s depositors are allowed to withdraw from their accounts, while the term deposits could also be liquidated only on maturity.

 

Meanwhile, UPCSPCBL depositors’ committee president Arjun Dev Bharti thanked UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on the development and said the committee had earlier met the CM to apprise him of the matter and urged for facilitating an early resolution of the issue.

 

“The bank was subjected to the RBI restrictions owing to the financial irregularities and frauds, which caused the hard earned money of thousands of depositors and running into crores getting stuck and causing hardships to them,” he noted adding the committee was therefore constituted to protect the interests of the depositors and to revive the bank.

 

Earlier, a police case was filed against several people relating to the financial irregularities in the UCB, which occurred during the previous Akhilesh Yadav government in the state. The case was registered under relevant sections of the IPC against former managing directors of the bank apart from other senior officials.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever to invest Rs 700 crore in UP

 

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 11, 2020

 

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) will invest Rs 700 crore to ramp up its detergent production capacity in Uttar Pradesh.

 

According to UP micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and export promotion minister Sidharth Nath Singh, HUL will infuse about Rs 700 crore in its detergent and Surf manufacturing plant at Sumerpur.

 

“Even during the current phase of covid-19 pandemic, the national and international investors are keen to invest in UP owing to the proactive industry outreach by the state government,” he said claiming investment proposals worth more than Rs 47,000 crore had been received by the state in recent months from Indian and foreign companies.

 

IndoSpace Capital Advisors will invest Rs 1,000 crore to set up a datacentre in the National Capital Region (NCR), Singh informed adding the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) has proposed to facilitate investment of nearly Rs 1,000 crore in a mega furniture cluster in the Noida region.

 

“The V K Modi is looking to invest Rs 1,000 crore to establish a high-tech precision equipment manufacturing facility in Rampur,” he said.

 

In his recent two-day visit to Mumbai earlier this month, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath had met top industry captains to discuss issues related to industry and investments. “During the Mumbai visit, prominent corporate houses and companies, including the Tata Group, Adani Group, L&T, Siemens, NABARD, Aditya Birla Group, Hiranandani etc evinced interest in making investments in different sectors in UP.”

 

He said the Tata Group was exploring the possibilities of investing in different segments including electronics, hotel, electric vehicle, charging stations, solar power. Similarly, the diversified Hiranandani Group is looking at education, skill development, construction and township development for possible foray.

 

Meanwhile, the cabinet minister has instructed state officials to keep the channel of discussions open with the private sector companies for addressing their needs.

 

“Of the total investment proposals worth Rs 47,572 crore garnered by the state government during the current phase of pandemic, the foreign and domestic investors account for Rs 9,858 crore and Rs 37,714 crore respectively,” Singh informed.

 

He said the state government had maintained regular contact with the ambassadors and high commissions of major countries, which helped UP attract investment from the offshore private sector companies.

 

The offshore investment proposals have emanated from Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, United Kingdom etc. For example, two Canadian companies viz. Ekagrata and Medicom, have committed to invest total of Rs 1,746 crore in grain infrastructure equipment and medical devices facilities respectively in the state.

NASSCOM to launch startup incubator in Noida

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 10, 2020

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) will extend its flagship ‘10,000 Startups’ Warehouse programme in Uttar Pradesh and setup an incubator wing at Noida.

NASSCOM Warehouse is a joint initiative between the Information Technology (IT) trade body and the respective state governments to promote startups by providing a connected network of startups.

The UP government has approved the proposal of seven new startup incubators, including the NASSCOM Warehouse.

Apart from NASSCOM, six new startup incubators to be set up by leading educational and research institutions, including Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and Jainpuria Institute of Management, across UP have been approved by the state nodal committee headed by UP additional chief secretary, IT and electronics, Alok Kumar.

 

Launched in April 2013, NASSCOM ‘10,000 Startups’ is aimed at scaling up the startup ecosystem by enabling incubation, funding and support for 10,000 technology startups in India over successive 10 years. Established in 1988, NASSCOM is a non-profit trade association of IT and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies.

“These incubators will act as the points of first contacts for entrepreneurs and startup promoters. This would lend support to the trained youth to become entrepreneurs and also develop the startup ecosystem in the state,” Kumar said.

Under the UP Startup Policy 2020, the Yogi Adityanath government is targetting to set up 10,000 startups and 100 incubators, including the country’s largest incubator at Lucknow, spanning all 75 districts with at least one incubator in each district.

So far, 18 startup incubators have already become operational and the count would go up to 25 with the approval of seven new entities. Currently, about 2,850 startups are functional in the state.

The state government has estimated the new policy will help in generating 150,000 direct and indirect employment and self employment opportunities. At present, UP is ranked among the top three in the states’ Startup Rankings, and the Adityanath government is targetting to further improve its ranking.

The state has also developed an online clearance system and set up a Rs 1,000 crore ‘Startup Fund’ with the help of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), apart from a ‘UP Angel Network’ to handhold green business ventures.

According to the state government, prominent venture capital and angel investor funds had evinced keen interest in the UP Startup Fund.

Before the UP Startup Policy 2020 was promulgated, the state startups were governed under the UP Information Technology and Start-up Policy 2017, which was primarily focussed on the IT sector while neglecting other fields.

However, the new policy has accorded parity to the startups spanning all key segments viz. agriculture, medical and health, energy, Khadi, education, tourism, transport etc. The policy was prepared after studying the startup policies of leading states and taking the feedback from sectoral experts.

UP power regulator denies tariff hike in Noida

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 9, 2020

Giving a major relief to the power consumers of Noida region, the Uttar Pradesh electricity sector regulator today rejected the plea of the Noida Power Company Limited (NPCL) for an upward revision of power tariffs for the financial year 2020-21.

The UP Electricity Regulatory Authority (UPERC) ordered that the tariff applicable in the state-owned power distribution companies (discoms) would be applicable to NPCL as well.

Last month, the power watchdog had restrained the state-owned discoms from raising power tariffs for 2020-21, and now the same has been made applicable to the private sector NPCL.

Meanwhile, UP State Power Consumers Council president Awadhesh Kumar Verma said he would file a review petition with the UPERC seeking a 10 per cent reduction in the existing power tariffs, since NPCL had outstanding worth Rs 148 crore in consumer dues.

“The NPCL had sought total revenues of Rs 1,437 crore in 2020-21 even as it is expected to mop up Rs 1,639 crore even without any tariff hike. In such a case, it was imperative to reduce the existing tariffs to give a message to the private sector company,” he observed.

Earlier, citing adverse financial impact of covid-19 on livelihood and economic activities, the UPERC had ordered the UP discoms to retain the existing tariffs. The Commission had considered last year’s tariff hike, adverse impact of the pandemic on livelihood, commercial and industrial activities; and reduced paying capacity of consumers due to contraction in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for retaining the existing tariffs for 2020-21.

After consideration of expenditure on capex, depreciation, operation & maintenance, interest on loan, return on equity heads, the UPERC had approved annual revenue requirement (ARR) of Rs 65,175 crore against five state-owned discoms’ claim of Rs 70,792 crore for 2020-21 for sales of 92,410 million units (MU) of electricity to consumers.

Farm stir: Yogi government to hold back-channel talks with farmers

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 7, 2020

In the backdrop of raging protests on the central farm laws and the ‘Bharat Bandh’ call by the protesting farmers, the Uttar Pradesh government will be holding back-channel talks with the farmers’ organisations to desist from the proposed stir on Tuesday.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed top officials to hold confabulations with the representatives of different farmers’ bodies in all the 75 districts and convince them to call off their proposed ‘Bharat Bandh’ on December 8.

Chairing a review meeting here, he stressed the state government was taking all steps in the interests of farmers, including making adequate and timely availability of critical farm inputs viz. seeds, irrigation, fertiliser etc.

Over the past few days, several rounds of talks between the protesting farmers, mainly from Punjab, and the central government have failed to break the deadlock even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the new farm laws as imperative to empower Indian farmers and open new markets for their agricultural produce, both nationally and internationally.

In view of the Bharat Bandh call, the respective divisional commissioners, district magistrates and police chiefs in UP have also been asked for maintaining vigil and patrolling to prevent any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, the CM instructed the state agricultural marketing department to ensure smooth functioning of the agro procurement centres in the ongoing paddy procurement season and prompt payment to the paddy and sugarcane farmers. He ordered for taking strict action against those responsible for delaying the farmers’ payment.

So far, the UP government agencies have procured about 2.7 million tonnes (MT) of paddy from nearly half a million farmers on the minimum support price (MSP). The MSP of A-grade and common variety of paddy in this kharif season has been fixed at Rs 1,888 per quintal and Rs 1,868 per quintal respectively.

The state is targetting to procure 5.5 MT of paddy in the current kharif marketing season.

Yogi further issued directives to take progressive steps for increasing the farm income, including production of compressed natural gas (CNG) from cow dung. He asked for engaging the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to integrate those cow shelters, which house more than a thousand cattle, in the CNG production chain to augment the income of local farmers.

Besides, the CM stressed upon leveraging the central government’s flagship Aatmanirbhar Bharat package for benefitting the state entrepreneurs and creating the basic infrastructure facilities for investors. He observed the government could become a catalyst for the composite development of UP only after providing a conducive business environment.

Bank of India sanctions Rs 500 crore loan for Gorakhpur Link Expressway

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 6, 2020

Public lender Bank of India (BoI) today sanctioned a loan of Rs 500 crore for 91-km Gorakhpur Link Expressway, which is estimated to benefit a population of nearly 50 million in the Eastern UP region.

BoI is a constituent of a consortium of commercial banks, led by Punjab National Bank, who have greed to provide credit to the Rs 5,800 crore mega project. Other constituents are Uco Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Union Bank of India and Canara Bank.

With fresh loan facility of Rs 500 crore by the BoI, the project’s nodal agency UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has claimed to have raised a total of Rs 2,300 crore for the project.

The consortium has agreed to waive off the upfront and processing fee for the project, which is among the flagship infra projects of the Yogi Adityanath government.

According to UPEIDA CEO Awanish Kumar Awasthi, these funds would be utilised by the UPEIDA in the next three years. The 15 year loan repayment period would begin after a moratorium of three years in 48 equated quarterly installments.

Gorakhpur Link Expresway, spanning four districts viz. Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh, will primarily benefit Gorakhpur and the adjoining areas by providing a fast connectivity for public and movement of goods. It will also link them with another mega expressway project underway, 340 km Purvanchal Expressway, which is estimated to cost Rs 23,000 crore.

Meanwhile, the Authority has intensified the land acquisition drive to ensure the project is completed on time. Gorakhpur Link Expressway was divided into two packages and respectively awarded to private developers, Apco Infratech and Dilip Buildcon, for simultaneous construction.

Gorakhpur Link Expressway is the 5th greenfield expressway project in UP after Yamuna Expressway, Agra-Lucknow Expressway, Purvanchal Expressway and Bundelkhand Expressway.

Another mega project, 600 km Ganga Expressway estimated to cost more than Rs 36,000 crore, has also been proposed by the Adityanath government, for which the bidding process is likely to begin soon.

In the recent visit to his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had noted Uttar Pradesh was now reckoned as ‘Express Pradesh’ owing to the slew of mega expressway projects currently being developed.

Last month, the state cabinet had nominated SBI Capital Markets Limited for the financial advisory services to Ganga Expressway and approved the proposal to tap the foreign direct investment (FDI) route for raising funds for the ultra-mega project, which is said to be the largest access controlled expressway in the world on completion.

The Ganga Expressway will offer faster travel alongside river Ganga from Haridwar to Varanasi via Prayagraj (Allahabad), thus boosting socioeconomic development across UP and creating jobs. It will offer land connectivity link to the Haldia-Varanasi inland waterway transport to-and-fro Delhi and other interstate routes.

Modi to inaugurate Rs 8,300 crore Agra Metro project on Dec 7

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 4, 2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the much awaited Rs 8,300 crore Agra Metro Rail project via video conferencing on December 7.

The mass rapid transport system (MRTS) project in Agra, the 3rd largest city in Uttar Pradesh, is estimated to benefit a population of nearly 2 million.

Interestingly, Modi had virtually laid the foundation of the Kanpur and Agra metro projects on March 8, 2019. The Yogi Adityanath government has proposed light metro rail services in other big cities as well viz. Varanasi, Allahabad, Meerut and Gorakhpur.

Currently, metro rail services are operational in three cities of UP, including Noida, Ghaziabad and Lucknow, while the work on the Kanpur project is underway. Now, Agra will also join the MRTS league in the state.

On February 28, 2019, the Union cabinet had cleared the Agra metro project, which will comprise two corridors along total 29.4 km rail route having 27 underground and elevated stations. While, the Sikandra-Taj East Gate corridor runs along 14 km and consisting of 13 metro stations, the second Agra Cantonment-Kalindi Vihar corridor comprises 15.4 km and having 14 stations.

In July 2020, the Supreme Court (SC), with certain conditions, had cleared the Agra metro project, thus paving the way for the MRTS in the Taj City. The SC had directed the UPMRC to ensure the plantation of 18,230 trees during the project phase in Agra. The state government had filed an application in the apex court seeking permission for the metro project owing to the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ).

Nodal agency UP Metro Rail Corporation Limited (UPMRC) has started the groundwork for the proposed inauguration ceremony, which will be attended in person by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath along with senior brass of the state government on Monday.

Earlier, M/s Bombardier Transport India Private Limited had won the contract for supplying the rolling stock and signaling system for the Kanpur and Agra metro rail projects. In the global competitive bidding process, four international firms had submitted bids with the UPMRC on February 18, 2020, following which Bombardier emerged the winner.

The state-of-art modern stainless steel trains will be manufactured by Bombardier at its plant in Savli, Gujarat. The contract covers the supply, testing and commissioning of 201 cars for 67 trains of 3 cars each alongwith the train control & signaling system for the Kanpur and Agra metro projects.

The MRTS in Kanpur and Agra is characterised by short inter-station distance of one km between the stations, having a maximum design speed of 90 kmph and schedule speed of 80 kmph.

UP to establish Centre of Excellence for Li-ion cells in Noida

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 3, 2020

Uttar Pradesh government will establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Noida for the IT and electronic gadgets based on Li-ion cells.

According to UP deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, the CoE will provide crucial technical input to the startups and the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) for the production of ‘mass market electronics accessories’ up to the prototype stage.

Underlining its importance, additional chief secretary, IT & electronics, Alok Kumar said the state government was committed to providing world class infrastructure for enabling research, innovation and entrepreneurship in Electronics System Design & Manufacturing, Skill Development (ESDM) industry.

In view of the availability of well-established necessary ecosystem at Noida, Indian Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) proposed the establishment of Li-ion Cells CoE in Noida.

In fact, the state is looking to set up three CoEs in collaboration with the Centre and the industry associations. While, UP will bear 25% of the cost, remaining 75% of the cost will be borne by the central government and the industry partners.

Once established, the CoE is expected to boost high-end manufacturing of Li-ion cell based products viz. battery monitoring system for electric vehicles, solar system battery pack, GPS navigation system, ticket vending machines, power banks, bluetooth speakers, chargers, wireless chargers, smart lighting systems, radio, UPS system, routers etc.

Further, the Centre will provide standardisation and testing support for in-country and global needs as well as encouragement to around 100 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with creation of 5,000-7,000 employment avenues.

Yogi meets corporate honchos, filmmakers in Mumbai

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 2, 2020

On a two-day visit to the country’s financial capital of Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath  met corporate honchos and filmmakers in Mumbai to apprise them of the slew of investment related steps taken by his government.

He briefed the select gathering as to how the state was creating a conducive atmosphere for rapid industrialisation by way of simplification of policies, single-window mechanism for clearances, availability of basic infrastructure and manpower, apart from a robust law and order in the state.

In the backdrop of the Yogi government developing a mega 1,000 acre Film City in Noida, the CM confabulated with leading filmmakers and cinema personalities, including Akshay Kumar, Boney Kapoor etc.

Meanwhile, Yogi, who had reached Mumbai last evening, also attended today the ‘ringing the bell’ ceremony at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for the listing of bond floated by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC). Lucknow is the first city in Northern India to issue municipal bonds, while sister municipal corporations of Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Kanpur and Agra will follow suit.

In December 2017, Yogi had met prominent industrialists including Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra etc, in Mumbai to invite them for the UP Investors Summit, which was later held in February 2018 and garnered memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth Rs 4.68 trillion from Indian and foreign companies.

Of these, projects totalling nearly Rs 2 trillion have already come on the ground through two groundbreaking ceremonies attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

While, UP is targetting to become a $trillion economy in the near future, the state has also made a quantum leap of 10 places to be adjudged 2nd in the latest ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings of the Indian states. Even during the global covid-19 pandemic, 52 domestic and foreign companies have invested Rs 45,000 crore in different sectors.

Saddled with Rs 5,000 crore arrears, UP sugar mills seek relief

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Dec 1, 2020

Saddled with farmers arrests worth about Rs 5,000 crore for the last crushing season 2019-20, the private sugar mills have written to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath seeking urgent relief, including subsidy, for the current season 2020-21.

In a letter, UP Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) president C B Patodia has urged the CM to maintain the cane price at last year’s level in the backdrop of lower sugar recovery vis-à-vis last crushing season.

Besides, the Association, representing private units, has demanded a subsidy of Rs 15 per quintal (100 kg) to compensate for the expected increase in cost of production due to lower recovery by 0.5 to 0.8 per cent compared to 2019-20, apart from allowing payment of sugarcane price in 2-3 installments to “reduce the burden of the working capital.”

Interestingly, the UP farmers have sought 25 per cent hike in the state advised price (SAP) of cane for current season 2020-21 citing higher farm input costs.

Last year, the Yogi government had kept the SAP unchanged at Rs 315 per quintal for the common variety of the cash crop. The prices for the early and rejected varieties of cane were held at Rs 325 and Rs 305 per quintal respectively.

Interestingly, the state has not increased the SAP since 2018-19 in view of the market glut and the fall in the domestic and international sugar prices.

In August 2020, the Centre had fixed the cane Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for 2020-21 at Rs 285 per quintal at a recovery of 10 per cent. FRP is the minimum cane price to be paid by the sugar mills for the procurement of the crop. However, some states fix a higher floor price, SAP, for cane to incentivise growers.

The UP government has begun the process of determining SAP for the season. A committee headed by UP additional chief secretary, sugarcane, Sanjay Bhoosreddy had earlier chaired a meeting with the representatives of farmers, sugar industry and experts. Now, the committee will submit its report to the panel headed by the chief secretary, which will later give its recommendation to the cabinet.

According to the UPSMA, the sugar sector was facing the cash flow challenges owing to the market glut and higher cost of production compared to the prevailing prices of sugar. This scenario is expected to continue in 2020-21 as well owing to the surplus production in Maharashtra by 4 million tonnes (MT) and reduced consumption due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic due to closure of restaurants, reduced sale of sweets, beverages etc.

Besides, the export policy for 2020-21 has been delayed due to which exports will be lower this year, it said adding “the ethanol blending program is a welcome move, but it will not ease the sugar surplus situation in the short term.”