Visit any city of Uttar Pradesh (UP) day or night, you would notice a marked difference from what it was around one decade ago. From Noida to Agra and Kanpur to Banaras, you would find glittering markets, malls and business activities everywhere. Talk to anyone in UP, he would surely say that now UP is on the move and law and order situation is perfectly fine. Welcome to new UP which is attracting tourists and investors in hordes. Further, economic activities are going on thick and fast.
The State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is spot on when he says that his State has moved out of the BIMARU category and is on its way to becoming a “saksham” State. Yogi’s remarks came recently after the NITI Aayog said India witnessed 13.5 crore people moving out of multi-dimensional poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21.
The districts with maximum reduction in poverty in the State are Maharajganj (29.64 per cent), Gonda (29.55 per cent), Balrampur (27.9 per cent), Kaushambi (25.75 per cent), Lakhimpur Kheri (25.33 per cent), Shravasti (24.42 per cent), Jaunpur (26.65 per cent), Basti (23.36 per cent), Ghazipur (22.83 per cent), Kushinagar (22.28 per cent), and Chitrakoot (21.40 per cent). Those who know UP would tell you that these districts were really in a bad shape as there were economic activities there till couple of years ago. Therefore, the heartwarming news that is coming from the State where both Lord Ram and Lord Krishna were born is really augurs well for the State and the Country.
The BIMARU (sick in Hindi) acronym has often been used to refer to Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and UP, usually to imply that these States lagged in terms of economic growth, health care, education, and other indices. Growth in UP, with its large population and low per-capita income, is vitally important to India reaching its USD 10 trillion goal and transforming itself. With the new delimitation underway, the State will be more politically important than today. Transforming UP to play this larger role in India’s economic path requires a new trajectory of growth focusing on multiple layers within its society and dynamic political leadership. India can succeed as a major political power if Uttar Pradesh leads the way. UP needs specialised industries like electronics component design, defence parts manufacturing and pharmaceuticals with a significant R&D and IP production component for higher value.
Citing the NITI Aayog report, the Adityanath-led Government on claimed that UP recorded the maximum drop in the number of poor among all the States and union territories (UTs) from 2015-2016 to 2019-2021. National Multidimensional Poverty Index has revealed that of the 13.5 crore people overcoming multidimensional poverty during this period, UP alone had 3.43 crore people who got out poverty. This is a staggering number.
Having taken estimates from 36 States, union territories and 707 administrative districts, the report pointed out the sharpest reduction in multidimensional poverty in Uttar Pradesh. States like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan follow UP in terms of the number of poor.
The finding also revealed that number of poor decreased rapidly in the villages across the State, the Government claimed, adding that positive results have also been seen on the parameters related to health, education and standard of living of the poor in UP. Echoing the findings of NITI Aayog report, Manish Mittal, an Agra based entrepreneur and Rotary club head, says that the mood in entire UP is upbeat as the State is making rapid progress in all the fields.“ Trust me, our business is doing well and we are poised to take a big leap in terms of economic growth. There is work for everyone if he is willing to work.” NITI Aayog report says, the number of poor deprived of nutrition came down to 18.45 per cent in 2019-21 from 30.40 per cent in 2015-16. The mortality rate of children and adolescents also improved, falling from 3.81 per cent in 2015-16 to 2.20 per cent in 2019-21, it said.
Even maternal health improved significantly in the State as maternal mortality rate decreased from 25.20 per cent in 2015-16 to 15.97 per cent in 2019-21. Also, the percentage of poor with no access to cooking fuel was 17.95 per cent in 2019-21 against 34.24 per cent in 2015-16. Moreover, people deprived of drinking water in 2019-21 was 0.93 per cent against 2.09 per cent in 2015-16.
Providing estimates for the 36 States and Union Territories and 707 administrative districts, the report said the fastest reduction in the proportion of multi-dimensional poor was observed in UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan.
It goes without saying that the able leadership of Yogi Adityanath has done yeoman service for the State that was previously known for backwardness.
Well, the world today recognises that Uttar Pradesh is not a poor and ailing State, but a State where 5.5 crore people have risen above the poverty line during the last six years. This is no mean a small feat.
Sadly, we had seen the previous Governments of Congress, SP and BSP could not remove poverty but gave empty slogans to the State. The SP’s slogans became symbols of corruption in the clutches of casteism and anarchy, while the BSP’s ‘elephant’ (election symbol) devoured the entire State, leaving UP far behind other States in the race for development.
Work of development and public welfare seen in Uttar Pradesh in the last six years could have been done earlier also but the previous Governments lacked willpower. They exploited farmers, and traders, did injustice to the youth and endangered the safety of women.
Finally, Yogi Adityanath aims to place the State’s economy on a sustainable path to reach $1 trillion in five years, is an opportunity to change the State’s prospects and those of its residents for the better. Economic growth has proven itself to be by far the most powerful and sustainable driver of poverty reduction and improvement in living standards across the world, including in India, and Mission 1 Trillion has the potential to transform UP. Remember, If India has to grow fast, UP has to take the lead.
