To transform Uttar Pradesh into a $trillion economy, the state government today approved the Special Investment Region Act during a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Similar Acts are already in place in three states viz. Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Karnataka. UP has now become the 4th state in India to implement such an Act.
Titled as Nodal Investment Region for Manufacturing Act (NIRMAN), it seeks to attract domestic and global investors in UP, and promote ‘ease of doing business’, boost economic development, and create new employment opportunities.
UP infrastructure and industrial development principal secretary Anil Kumar Sagar said the Act has been created to develop mega investment areas, wherein the powers usually held by the state government or other departments are decentralised to the authority level.
“This decentralisation has two main benefits: first, any changes needed in the master planning can be done there itself. Secondly, all the NOCs and clearances that usually require state-level approval are also decentralised, which attracts investors,” he added.
He emphasised creating such investment areas is crucial for UP to achieve its goal of becoming a $trillion economy.
While, the state has not fixed the minimum limit of land for investment in the Act; however, similar to the Bundelkhand Industrial Development Authority (BIDA), which has an area of 5,000 hectares, the Special Investment Regions will also cover large areas.
Sagar mentioned that the proposal includes the creation of at least four Special Investment Regions in UP, each located in one of the state’s four geographical areas.
“We have a substantial land bank available, with approximately 20,000 acres ready for allotment,” he claimed.