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

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

The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Uttar Pradesh grew at a CAGR of around 11.29 per cent between 2011-12 and 2017-18 to reach Rs 13.76 trillion (US$ 213.44 billion). The Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) grew at a CAGR of around 11.24 per cent between 2011-12 and 2017-18 to reach Rs 12.22 trillion (US$ 189.62 billion).

Uttar Pradesh is a favoured tourist destination in India due to the location of Taj Mahal, one of the Eight Wonders of the World, in Agra. In 2017, domestic tourist arrivals in the state were 234 million and stood second. Foreign tourist arrivals had crossed over 3.56 million and rank third. Under the state budget 2018-19, Rs 1,240 crore (US$ 192.4 million) has been allocated to boost religious tourism. In February 2018, state government launched a new Tourism policy to attract investments worth Rs 5,000 crore (US$ 772.32 million) every year, to increase domestic tourist footfall by 15 per cent and foreign tourist footfall by 10 per cent.

Uttar Pradesh had a total installed power generation capacity of 24,909.33 megawatt (MW) as of June 2018.

Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of food grains in India and accounted for about 17.83 per cent share in the country’s total food grain output in 2016-17. Food grain production in the state in 2016-17 stood at 49,144.6 thousand tonnes. Major food grains produced in the state include rice, wheat, maize, millet (bajra), gram, pea and lentils. Pulses production in the state stood at 1,985.0 thousand tonnes in 2017-18 and production of vegetables are 28,226.19 thousand tonnes in 2017-18, the state remains largest producer of vegetables in India.

Owing to the state’s large base of skilled labourers, it has emerged as a key hub for IT and ITeS industries, including software, captive business process outsourcing (BPO) and electronics. The state has become a hub for the semiconductor industry with several major players having their offices and R&D centres in Noida.

As of July 2018, the state had 21 notified and 12 operational Special Economic Zones (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 & 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 has been brought to promote investments and trade in Uttar Pradesh and will also promote tourism while increased road connectivity along with air connectivity will create more employment avenues.

The state has attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows worth US$ 660 million during the period April 2000 to March 2018, according to data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Key Sectors:

As per Investor Summit 2018, Uttar Pradesh government will focus on key sectors such as IT and ITeS, Dairy, Electronics, Tourism, Manufacturing, Renewable Energy and Agro & Food Processing

The major factor driving the growth in the manufacturing sector is the availability of robust infrastructure, extensive road network, large pool of talent, and various investments and incentives offered by the state government.

In 2017-18, exports of major agriculture commodities from Uttar Pradesh stood at US$ 2.83 billion and Merchandise exports from Uttar Pradesh reach US$ 13.80 billion.

In state budget 2018-19, Uttar Pradesh government has increased its railway budget to Rs 36,000 crore (US$ 5.59 billion) for development of several railway projects as compared to previous year.

Uttar Pradesh accounts for strong demand for fertilisers on account of the high availability of acreage coupled with the large size of the state.

Richness in the availability of raw material is an important factor for setting up cement plants and the state has 13 cement plants.

As per state budget 2018-19, Rs 15 crore (US$ 2.33 million) has been allocated for National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) schemes which will help to boost production of dairy products.