Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that during the seven years of the BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh, a “red carpet culture” has replaced the “red-tape culture” as crime declined and a business environment flourished in the State.

He was addressing the Viksit Bharat-Viksit Uttar Pradesh programme in Lucknow after launching 14,000 projects across the state worth more than Rs 10 lakh crore at the fourth groundbreaking ceremony of the UP Global Investors Summit 2023, held in February last year.

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The prime minister said there is an atmosphere of positivity in the state regarding investments and employment opportunities. “Today, Uttar Pradesh is witnessing investments worth lakhs of crores of rupees,” he said, expressing delight with the state’s progress since he is also a Member of Parliament from Varanasi.

Mr Modi affirmed that today’s projects would change the face of Uttar Pradesh, and congratulated investors as well as the youth. The projects cover manufacturing, renewable energy, information technology and Information Technology enabled Services, housing and real estate, among others.

“In the last seven years, an atmosphere of business, development and trust has developed in Uttar Pradesh”, the prime minister noted. The double-engine government of the state has proven the inevitability of change if there is a genuine desire for it, he added.

There was a doubling of exports from the state during this period, he said while praising the state’s strides in electricity generation and transmission. “Today, UP is a state with the maximum number of expressways, and international airports in the country. It is the state where the country’s first rapid rail is running,” the prime minister said.

A big chunk of Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways falls in the state, he said. Acknowledging the use of river waterways in the state, the PM praised the connectivity and ease of travel in the state at present.

Modi said he was not viewing the development projects launched on Monday in terms of investments only, but as presenting a vision for a better future and a ray of hope for investors.

Recalling his recent visit to UAE and Qatar, the prime minister said there was unprecedented positivity towards India, all around the globe and said that every nation feels assurance and trust in India’s growth story. “Even though ‘Modi ki guarantee’ is being widely discussed around the country today, the world is seeing India as a guarantee for better returns,” the prime minister said.

Reaffirming the belief of investors, he said that India has broken the trend of foreign investors drifting away from investing when elections are knocking on the doors. “Investors around the globe now trust the government’s policies and stability,” the prime minister remarked, noting there is a similar trend emerging in Uttar Pradesh.

He said the concept of Viksit Bharat needs new thinking and direction. Earlier, there was an approach of keeping citizens at a bare minimum existence. The Governments then thought let people cry for ease of living. This approach kept large parts of the country undeveloped and Uttar Pradesh was one of the victims of this policy.

The double-engine government of the state has completely changed the image of the state and it is involved in making the life of every family easy, as ease of living leads to ease of doing business, he said.

Along with the four crore pucca houses’ construction under the PM Awas Yojana, urban middle-class families were also provided assistance of Rs 60,000 crore to realize their dream of owning a house. Through this, he said 25 lakh beneficiary families, including 1.5 lakh families from UP, received rebates in interest.

Income tax reforms like raising the limit of exemption from Rs 2 lakh in 2014 to Rs 7 lakh now have helped the middle class, he said. “Modi ki guarantee vehicle has reached almost all villages and cities,” he said.

The policy of saturation pursued by the government constitutes the truest form of social justice, he said. “This is true secularism”, he said, pointing out the prevalence of corrupt practices and disparity during the previous government which led to tedious processes for the beneficiaries.

“Modi’s guarantee is that the government will not rest till every beneficiary gets what they deserve, be it pucca homes, electricity supply, gas connection or tapped water,” the prime minister said.

He reiterated, “Modi is looking after those who were ignored by all earlier”. Elaborating on such segments he said Rs 10,000 crore worth of assistance has been given to street vendors under the PM SVANidhi scheme. In UP, about 22 lakh street vendors received the benefits.

The prime minister said “Honoring Chaudhary Saheb, the son of the soil of Uttar Pradesh, is an honor for crores of laboring farmers of the country.” The Congress was obstructing when references were being made to the conferring of Bharat Ratna on the great leader in Parliament, he said.

Modi reiterated his government’s commitment to supporting farmers in exploring new avenues in agriculture. Reflecting on Uttar Pradesh’s pivotal role in driving the rural economy and agriculture-based growth of India, Mr Modi called upon stakeholders to maximize the benefits of this opportunity.