UP builds 25,000-acre industrial land bank: drug park gets 1,470 acres

With Uttar Pradesh aiming to become a trillion-dollar economy by 2027, the state government has built a robust land bank of 25,000 acres for prompt allotment to industries.

State nodal agency UP State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) has acquired land across 75 districts.

Recently, 1,470 acres were allocated by UPSIDA in Lalitpur district for the development of a bulk drug park. The project is poised to position the state as a leading hub for pharmaceuticals, generic medicines, and medical devices in South Asia.

According to UPSIDA Chief Executive Officer Mayur Maheshwari, land acquisitions were also undertaken in Hathras, Hardoi, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Barabanki, and Chitrakoot. UPSIDA is working to enhance the inventory through audits and expanding into untapped areas, he added.

In 2019-20, UPSIDA introduced e-auction of plots for transparency, which resulted in over a three-fold increase in plot allotments from 191 plots in 2017-18 to 693 plots in 2023-24. The operating revenue also doubled from Rs 615 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1,359 crore in 2023-24.

UPSIDA has built women-centric facilities under Atal Industrial Infrastructure Mission (AIIM) and Safe Industrial Area Projects to enhance female participation and employment in industrial parks.

Meanwhile, the state also plans to set up mini-industrial clusters in the rural areas for boosting economic activities and creating jobs.

According to UP micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) minister Rakesh Sachan, the Gram Sabha land would be handed over to the industrial department for allotment at the local circle rates.

The state is looking to set up 25,000 units in the hinterland by providing incentives, including 100 per cent stamp duty waiver.

The local village committees will forward proposals to the district administration regarding the availability of uncultivable and barren tracts of Gram Sabha land for allotment to industry.

The proposal is aimed at stemming the migration of youth from the rural areas by generating local employment and catalysing the MSME ecosystem.

The Yogi Adityanath government is aiming to double the MSME exports to Rs 3 trillion.

MSMEs contribute 60 per cent to UP’s annual industrial output, thus forming the backbone of the ‘Make in UP’ agenda, and feeding the growth of other sectors.

The state is renowned for traditional industries such as Varanasi for Banarasi silk sari, Bhadohi (carpet), Lucknow (chikan), Kanpur (leather goods), Agra (leather footwear), Aligarh (lock), Moradabad (brassware), Meerut (sports goods), and Saharanpur (wooden products), among others. Business Standard