American firms see an opportunity to invest in UP
(Sourced from PTI)
American firms are seeing a window of opportunity to invest in Uttar Pradesh, the head of a US business advocacy group said today, underlining that a change in India's most populous state would mean a change in the entire country. President of the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum, Mukesh Aghi, said he has taken several American delegations to UP in last one year.
Aghi said that he had also held meetings with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who, he noted, is eager to embark on a massive developmental effort in the state. "A lot of American companies are showing interest in UP," Aghi said, adding, "If you change UP, you change India." The USISPF is facilitating a leadership delegation from UP between April 30 and May 4.
The leadership delegation will be led by the state's Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh, who also heads a 'US investment cell' created to attract American investment. The cell has identified health, skill development, infrastructure as priority areas of investment, Aghi said.
Other members of the delegation include Industries Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey and Special Advisor to the CM Amit Kumar Singh. He said the delegation would have intensive interaction with leaders of the Silicon Valley in San Francisco and is also scheduled to travel to Washington DC and New York. Other areas of interest for the delegation are digital economy, tourism, food, agriculture, and defense.
"The whole objective is to understand, how do we sell UP as a state. I think, a lot of companies are interested in UP and these guys are focused on that," Aghi said.
Referring to a recent announcement for a defense corridor in UP by PM Modi, Aghi said the delegation is also planning to visit some companies to explore what can be done there from the defense perspective. "I feel that the attitude and support of the central government towards UP is promising and hopefully after this trip will bring Adityanath to the US," he said.
The USISPF had recently organized a summit in the state capital of Lucknow, with 26 American companies in attendance. "CM Adityanath is quite supportive from that perspective. I think where we have to see a shift is more middle-level bureaucracy. That culture shift has to take place otherwise all indication from the minister-level down to senior workers is very, very positive," Aghi said.
