UP needs to bring more investments in agriculture, MSME sector: CII

LUCKNOW: While observing that UP as a state has not received its proportionate share of investments, the Chairman CII Northern Region Vijay Thadani said that it would be working closely with the government to promote industry friendly policies so that the state can receive a larger share of investments.

Thadani who is also CEO of NIIT, said that sustainable agriculture, industrial relations, better economic reforms and stronger infrastructure are needed for better investment prospects not only for UP but some other northern states.

He said that the agriculture and MSME’s could bring in the maximum investment and growth to the state and the government was working towards it.

He said that in knowledge economy availability of skilled people is important to attract investments.

To improve skills of people in the region CII would be setting up Centres of Excellence on Skills in the northern region and also have five university-industry partnerships one of which would be in UP.

This would include setting up of finishing schools, research opportunity to faculty and assisting in curriculum upgradation.

Vijay Thadani said that they were committed to affirmative action for the underprivileged and would undertake some projects in UP towards this cause.

CII would also be working towards advocating the modification of the APMC Act Uttar Pradesh to increase the growth rate of agri-business within the state.

Chairman, CII, UP state council, Ved Krishna said that there was a mutual understanding that both the government and industry need to work towards better branding of UP to attract more investments.

He said that the new land acquisition policy of the state government in which the state would completely withdraw from acquiring land for private industry was welcome. But he said that the land laws should also be changed because at times there were tracts of land like gram sabha land, which cannot be bought by industry and may delay projects.

Ved Krishna said that industry should first look at barren land for their project so that while factories are set up agricultural land does not recede.