Niti Aayog to lead panel to transform lagging Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI: A joint working group of the Uttar Pradesh administration and Niti Aayog will transform the state which lags behind in many areas despite huge growth potential, the government think-tank's CEO Amitabh Kant said today.

A joint working group comprising top functionaries of Niti Aayog and Uttar Pradesh government was formed yesterday to prepare a roadmap for the state's overall development, in the next 15 days.

"Uttar Pradesh has been lagging behind in several areas but there is a huge potential to transform the state.

"We will work with them (state government) to focus on outcomes of the joint working group," National Institution for Transforming India (Niti) Aayog Chief Executive Amitabh Kant told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event here.

The focus will be on all the areas, including health, education, infrastructure and tourism, for the overall development of the state, Kant added.

He said it was important for India's progress that Uttar Pradesh also develops as it is a huge state with huge potential.

Speaking on governance, learnings and global experience at the FICCI event, he said most of the recommendations by the Aayog on strategic divestment of sick public sector units (PSUs) have been approved by the union cabinet.

Recently, the government think-tank recommended closure of several more sick central public sector entities to address the issue of mounting losses incurred by them.