A mega trade and business event ‘Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show’ (UPITS) started yesterday in Greater Noida.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the 2nd edition of the 5-day UPITS, which will showcase UP’s bandwidth in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) value chain.
With Vietnam as the partner country, the event encompasses more than 2,500 participants apart from 350+ buyers from 70 countries representing every continent.
In his address, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said UPITS offers a global platform to the state’s MSMEs to showcase their products and forge business alliances.
“UP is working towards becoming a $trillion economy. Unlike the pre-2017 era, when the state was seen as a barrier to development, UP is today reckoned as the growth engine of India,” he noted.
He maintained no big industry can proliferate without the contribution of the MSMEs even as he mentioned that UP is the country’s largest MSME hub with 9.6 million units, representing 14 percent of India’s MSME universe.
The CM referred to the various government schemes to promote MSMEs, including Rs 5 lakh insurance cover, private industrial parks, One District One Product (ODOP) etc.
UPITS will witness a series of G2G (Government-2-Government) and B2B (Business-2-Business) parleys to foster trade alliances.
Yogi said the MSME sector is UP’s largest employment generator after agriculture and allied activities.
“The state witnessed an influx of 4 million workers during the pandemic. We conducted their skills mapping and then facilitated their employment across 75 districts,” he recalled, adding these workers contributed to the state’s economic development.
He mentioned the operational and under-construction expressways and airports in UP to buttress his point of UP being a preferred investment destination in India.
Meanwhile, union MSME minister Jitan Ram Manjhi lauded UP’s fast stride in the MSME and industrial development domain.
He said the MSME contributed 30 percent, 35 percent and 45 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), manufacturing and exports of India respectively.
Manjhi said the MSME sector is imperative for job creation and women empowerment even as he termed UP as a vital cog in India’s MSME ecosystem.
“India has around 24,000 big industries, while there are about 60 million MSME units providing livelihood to 210 million people in the country,” he added.
In his address, Dhankhar waxed eloquent on UP for its contribution in the MSME sector even as he praised Yogi for his governance.
Meanwhile, UPITS is likely to clock more than 350,000 attendees, and exceed the turnout of the first edition of the Show.
This year’s edition aims to introduce UP’s rich craftsmanship, culinary delights and cultural heritage, and position ‘Brand UP’ and ‘Make in UP’ themes.
In collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), cultural programs will be performed by groups from Vietnam, Bolivia, Russia, Venezuela, Egypt and Kazakhstan.