UP Govt Sets Up Nodal Agency To Attract Foreign Investments

After restricting FDI from neighbouring countries like China, various state governments are trying to scoop investments from other countries. The Uttar Pradesh state government has set up a nodal agency, Invest UP, to streamline the state’s investment approval and other related procedures.

The agency will be headed by chief minister while the cabinet minister for MSME, Investment & Export and cabinet minister for Industrial Development will be deputies. It will have an executive board that will be headed by the chief of the Department of Infrastructure and Industrial Development.

The government plans to clear investment-related proposals within 15 days. “This is the first time in Uttar Pradesh that a special ministry has been set up for investment,” said Sidharth Nath Singh, cabinet minister for MSME, Investment & xport.

Singh added that the agency would provide a common platform to businessmen, industrialists and investors to address issues which crop up as part of investing in the state. The state government also plans to make professionals part of the agency, who will help in the promotion of the nodal agency among investors while senior bureaucrats will handle the investments.

The cabinet minister of Industrial Development would work for the grounding of the investment, the role of a cabinet minister for MSME, Investment & Export will be reaching out to multinational companies and investors and convince them to invest in the state.

Further, the Uttar Pradesh government is reportedly in talks with companies in different countries to promote the state as an investment destination, considering lack of attraction towards China due to Covid-19 outbreak.

Recently reports surfaced that the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working on a National Seed Fund and a credit guarantee scheme. The schemes are said to be part of the country’s broader roadmap for startups and the overall vision for the sector will detail the priority areas that need support.

The Indian government envisions to take the country to the top 50 in the global Ease of Doing Business rankings. India managed to improve its rank for EoDB from 77th position in 2019 to 63rd in 2020 as mentioned in World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report.