How UP CM Turned Covid Crisis Into An Opportunity To Boost State’s Industrial Productivity

Over the last three years Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a radical transformation in terms of economic and social development under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Stable governance coupled with creation of a robust infrastructure in terms of roads, water supply and irrigation capacity, along with year-round 24x7 power supply has put UP among the frontrunners on the growth trajectory among large states of the nation. The State has witnessed a high rate of infrastructure growth in the recent past. The projects of national repute such as UP Defence Corridor, Jewar airport, Purvanchal expressway, Bundelkhand expressway and Ganga expressway will help Uttar Pradesh in attracting major investments, thus giving further impetus to its growth story.  The state government has a strong focus on education, health, tribal welfare and upliftment of backward classes.

Under the leadership of CM Adityanath, the government recently presented the biggest budget in the history of the state, thus providing much needed boost to social and human resource development. The government has also accepted the challenge to be a trillion-dollar economy by 2024 and has identified 5 major sectors - infrastructure development, industry, agriculture, urban development and service sectors to achieve this target.

Amidst the Coronavirus (COVID -19) outbreak, nations across the globe are dealing to counter the threatening impact of the pandemic on the economic and regional stability of their respective territories. Realising the serious threat on lives and livelihoods; Centre and state governments are also developing effective strategies to address the challenges posed by Covid-19.

Uttar Pradesh government has adopted some innovative strategies to address the adverse impact of Covid-19. The state government has adopted the message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that that the war against the pandemic must be fought on two fronts – jaan (lives) and jahaan (livelihood). Thus, CM Adityanath has formed 11 teams of senior bureaucrats to develop strategies and monitor the implementation of activities during these tough times. He is also closely monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of the measures adopted by the government.

One such team is led by Commissioner-IID (Infrastructure and Industrial Development) comprising Principal Secretary-Industrial development, Principal Secretary-Labor Department and Principal Secretary, MSME & Export Promotion as its members. The idea behind creation of this team is to address the issues of wage payments to the workers, uninterrupted functioning of units related to essential goods, among others.

The team has adopted a holistic approach and developed short-term and long-term plan to address the issues. A control room has been established at Lucknow to address the inter-department and intra-department issues of MSME units. Till now, more than 1,216 queries have been received by the control room. The queries are mostly related to labour department, local district level issues like passes, transportation, among others. MSME department through its district officials is continuously addressing the district-level issues for smooth functioning of MSME units related to essential goods. More than 6250 such MSME units have been supported and have become functional in the State due to department’s efforts. Deputy Commissioners, Industries (DC-DIEPCs) have been directed to ensure the issuance of necessary passes to all the MSME units and their employees through a government notification so that payment of wages to industrial labours are made expeditiously. Through its "Mission ShramikSahyog", the team continuously followed up with MSME units and ensured the timely wage payment of workers/labourers in the units. Because of the efforts of this control room , Rs.512 crores have been disbursed as wages by MSME units to more than 3.87 lakh workers/labourers till now, which is a world record. Arrangement of stay and food for labourers within the factory complex is also being made by many industries.

The team has also developed a strategy document for effective functioning of MSMEs, related to manufacturing of test kits, testing labs, N-95 masks, PPE and ventilators. Department is also interacting and supporting interested MSME units on continuous basis for establishment of new production line for PPE kits and masks. Till now, 14 new units have been supported to set up new production line and samples of PPE kits and other related accessories has been sent for testing from these new units.

The team is also supporting units to cope up with the sudden high demand of sanitizers by resolving the issues of passes and raw material. Continuous coordination with all stakeholders has resulted in functioning of 40 new units producing hand sanitizers in the State. Team at State and district level is also interacting with all stakeholders to ensure uninterrupted functioning of flour, oil and pulses mills. Till now, 980 flour mill, 451 oil mills and 344 pulses mills were contacted to ensure production of essential items. Khadi department has made 50 lakh face masks from 6 lakh meter of Khadi cloth which have been distributed in rural areas through self-help groups.

The team is supporting units in getting their products tested and certified by designated labs like South India Textile Research Association (SITARA), Coimbatore and DRDE, Gwalior. Two pharma manufacturing companies are also being supported in terms of land & other initiatives to establish manufacturing units for rapid testing kits in the state. Department is also exploring opportunities to involve drone manufacturing and robot manufacturing units in fight against Corona outbreak. Apart from all these interventions, department is also interacting continuously with industry associations and using social media to promote social distancing and other measures within the units related to essential units.

Uttar Pradesh has a well-developed policy infrastructure and business-climate for industries like food processing, light engineering goods, sports goods, among others. Having established a strong pedestal for rapid economic development, the people-centric transparent policies and hassle-free investment procedures in the state are gradually making Uttar Pradesh a global investment hub.

The Chief Minister has sensed the business opportunity during this outbreak and instructed the teams to develop a strategy and chalk out a plan to attract the multinational companies which are looking to shift their manufacturing base out of China. He recently chaired a meeting with Satish Mahana, Cabinet Minister, Department of Infrastructure & Industrial Development and Sidharth Nath Singh, Cabinet Minister, Khadi, Village Industries, Sericulture, Textile, MSME and Export Promotion on this matter. The CM asked the departments to convert this C19 threat into opportunity in order to bring in the businesses to Uttar Pradesh. He also hinted to revise the policies to attract the businesses in the state which will ensure the job-growth and prosperity for all.

(Shashikant Awasthi is an entrepreneur and former research associate LSE, London. Views expressed are personal.)