About Uttar Pradesh: Tourism, Agriculture, Industries, Economy & Geography

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India with a population of nearly 200 million people. Uttar Pradesh shares its borders with Nepal on the north, the Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh on the northwest, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan on the west, Madhya Pradesh on the south, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on the southeast, and Bihar on the east.

The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Uttar Pradesh grew at a CAGR of around 8.43% between 2015-16 and 2020-21 to reach Rs. 17.06 trillion (US$ 234.96 billion). The Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) grew at a CAGR of around 8.42% between 2015-16 and 2020-21 to reach Rs. 15.12 trillion (US$ 208.34 billion).

Uttar Pradesh is a favored tourist destination in India with Taj Mahal, one of the eight Wonders of the World, located in Agra. In 2019, domestic tourist arrivals in the state reached 535.8 million. Foreign tourist arrivals crossed over 4.74 million.

As of April 2021, Uttar Pradesh had an installed power generation capacity of 28,001.95 MW—6,242.20 MW (state utilities), 13,562.74 MW (private utilities) and 8,197.01 MW (central utilities). Thermal power contributed 20,303.33 MW to the state’s total installed power generation capacity, followed by 3,424.03 MW (hydropower), 289.48 MW (nuclear power) and 3,985.11 MW (renewable power).

Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of food grains in India and accounted for about 17.83% share in the country’s total food grain output in 2016-17. Food grain production in the state stood at 49,903.1 thousand tonnes in 2016-17 and 51,252.7 thousand tonnes in 2017-18. Major food grains produced in the state include rice, wheat, maize, millet (bajra), gram, pea and lentils.

Pulses production in the state stood at 2,208.0 thousand tonnes in 2017-18. The state remains the largest producer of vegetables in India and produced 1,002.64 thousand MT of vegetables in 2018-19^.

As of October 2020, Uttar Pradesh had 21 notified, 13 operational SEZs and 24 formally approved SEZs. The state offers a wide range of subsidies, policy and fiscal incentives as well as assistance for businesses under the Industrial and Service Sector Investment Policy, 2004 and Infrastructure and Industrial Investment Policy, 2012. The state has well-drafted, sector-specific policies for IT and biotechnology. The new Uttar Pradesh Civil Aviation Promotion Policy 2017 was brought to promote investment and trade in Uttar Pradesh and to promote tourism while increased road connectivity along with air connectivity will create more employment avenues.

The state attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow worth US$ 664.66 million between October 2019 and December 2020 according to the data released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). In 2019, 147 investment intentions worth Rs. 16,799 crore (US$ 2.40 billion) were filed in Uttar Pradesh.

Merchandise exports from Uttar Pradesh reached US$ 16.99 billion in 2019-20 and US$ 12.93 billion in April 2020 to January 2021.

In 2020, the state govt. rolled out New Electronics Manufacturing Policy, 2020 and Uttar Pradesh Startup Policy, 2020, to promote the local manufacturing and new startups in the state.

Key Sectors:

• In June 2021, Greenply Industries announced that it will invest around Rs. 75 crore (US$ 10.30 million) to set up a plywood and allied products manufacturing unit at Sandila Industrial Area in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh.
• In May 2021, Uttar Pradesh government announced that it would spend US$ 1 billion to buy COVID-19 vaccine. 
• In January 2021, the state government announced its plan to build 1,038 new Ganga aarti platforms along the river in Bijnor and Ballia districts.
• In November 2020, Union minister for road transport, highways and MSMEs Mr. Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 16 highway projects worth Rs. 7,477 crore (US$ 1.06 billion) in Uttar Pradesh
• In November 2020, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Yogi Adityanath dedicated power projects worth about Rs 216 crore (US$ 30.64 million) to Gorakhpur in a pre-Diwali gesture
• In February 2020, the state organised Defence Expo-2020 and received proposals worth Rs. 5 lakh crore (US$ 70.93 billion) for investment. Investments were focused on key sectors such as IT & ITeS, Dairy, Electronics, Tourism, Manufacturing, Renewable Energy, and Agro and Food Processing.
• In December 2019, Zurich Airport International got the approval from the state cabinet to develop and construct Jewar Aiport.
• Uttar Pradesh accounts for strong demand for fertilisers on account of the high availability of acreage coupled with the large size of the state.

Note: ^ - As per 3rd Advance Estimates