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UP trying to copy Naidu's 'woo NRI formula'

The new industrial policy of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh, aimed at attracting maximum private investment, is being given final touches.

And Chief Minister Kalyan Singh is understood to be giving a serious thought to copying the Andhra Pradesh model in tapping non-resident Indian investments.

Sources told Rediff On The NeT, "The whole idea is to woo well-to-do NRIs to their neglected home state."

The funds will be used to provide basic amenities like drinking water and sanitation besides setting up major industries, as had been done in Andhra Pradesh. In AP, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu drew up an innovative plan to establish direct contact with NRIs from his state.

Kalyan Singh too is toying with the same idea. However, this would require much spadework commencing with a census of the state's NRIs. ''We would initiate this exercise very soon,'' he said. ''It would not be much of a problem with details of several Indian universities's alumni associations being available on the Internet.''

UP's Principal Secretary for Industrial Development A P Verma said, ''The data available with us has only 19 NRIs engaged in industrial projects worth about Rs 350 million. Surely, there is much greater potential."

Rohit Nandan, executive director of Udyog Bandhu, a state undertaking devoted to building bridges between the government and industry, who has closely studied the Andhra model, said, "Once UP NRIs are convinced about the government's seriousness, funds will flow into the state. This may leave even Andhra behind in both social and industrial investments."

Verma and Nandan have put up as many as 103 potential projects on the UP government's website to target NRI investments. These are in the thrust areas including tourism, telecom, metallurgy and food processing.