UP has emerged as growth engine of India’s economy, says Yogi

LUCKNOW Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said his government has delivered significant economic results and Uttar Pradesh would soon catapult to the position of a top economy in the country, moving on the fast track of development.

Once considered a laggard state, UP has now become the growth engine of India’s economic progress. UP has transformed from a deficit economy into a revenue-surplus state, Adityanath said while speaking to media persons on completion of eight years in office.

He noted that the unemployment rate has significantly dropped, per capita income has risen, and UP is on its way to becoming a USD 1 trillion economy.

The CM also announced plans to create State Development Regions around key cities like Lucknow, Varanasi and Kanpur, similar to the National Capital Region (NCR), to boost urban expansion and economic activity.

“... our team is working with full promptness, making efforts to make UP a trillion-dollar economy with a push to growth rate in different sectors. There is no doubt that the state will become a top economy in the country soon,” he said.

The CM or senior ministers of his government, present on the dais, did not take any questions from media persons. However, Adityanath dwelt at length, listing achievements of his government in the past eight years. Several BJP workers, who were allowed in the Lok Bhawan auditorium, clapped as and when Yogi listed any big achievement. Several hoardings listing Yogi government’s achievements have also come up at major points in Lucknow while the BJP proposes to hold statewide celebrations to mark the occasion.

Besides thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other central and UP leaders for the achievements of his government, Adityanath said the ‘changed perception’ about UP is the outcome of efforts being made with a ‘team spirit, good faith and honest commitment’. He said these leaders and several institutions helped in linking the scale at which the state government has been working with skill and speed with team spirit. “This speed will help in making UP the top economy in the country,” he said.

He also emphasised that UP is changing from ‘shram shakti punj’ (labour force state) to ‘arth shakti punj’ (economic power house). 

Adityanath said UP’s growth rate in every sector, be it agriculture, MSME, infrastructure development and various spheres of economy, has gone up. “This shows that the double engine government has taken the right steps in the right direction in every sphere in the past eight years,” said the CM.

The CM began his address speaking about the state’s transformation from being a Bimaru state in 2017 to one becoming the growth engine of the country, making all-round progress with the double engine model of governance and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of making India a $5-trillion economy. He said the country has already become the fifth largest economy in the world and is set to become the third largest economy by 2027. Bimaru is an acronym for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, often used to show the economic backwardness of these states.

UP has implemented investment proposals worth ₹15 lakh crore while its GSDP grew from ₹12.75 lakh crore in 2016-2017 to nearly ₹27.50 lakh crore now (as on 31 March, 2025). In contrast to merely ₹3,300 crore FDI between 2000 and 2017, the state got ₹14,808 crore FDI between April 2017 and 2024, said the CM.

Adityanath said the state’s per capita income, which was ₹46,000 in 2017, has now reached ₹1,24,000, showcasing a strong economic turnaround. The banking business in UP has grown from ₹12.50 lakh crore in 2016-2017 to ₹29.66 lakh crore in 2024-2025 while the CD ratio in the state has gone up from 46% in 2016-2017 to 61% now, he said, adding that UP is on top with a 16.2 % share in attracting funds for project financing.

UP is number one in food, sugarcane. potato production, the largest supplier of ethanol and achiever state in ease of doing business. The state has the largest number of MSMEs, emphasised the CM.