Political differences apart, the handshake between Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his Gujarat counterpart, Narendra Modi, on the sidelines of the NDC meeting in New Delhi recently seems to have rubbed off on the young CM rather positively.
The UP government is now keen on getting an insight into what makes Gujarat so investor-friendly. It has asked seven of its principal secretaries to visit the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2013 to be held in Gandhinagar from January 11-13, along with their departmental teams, and engage with their counterparts in the Gujarat government.
In a letter to the officials of the seven departments ? environment, urban development, irrigation, technical education, minor irrigation and ground water, alternative energy sources and higher education ? on December 29, UP secretary Jawed Usmani has asked the officials to participate in the seminars related to their departments and also interact with departmental officials in the Gujarat government to ?better understand the discussions that take place at the summit and also gain experience from such programmes?.
Confederation of Indian Industries, UP Region, vice-chairman Atul Mehra said UP Inc is definitely encouraged by this step. ?We are happy that the UP has set aside political compulsions when it comes to understanding how to create a better environment to make industry flourish. Good practices, wherever they be from, are welcome,? he said.
However, Samajwadi Party sources ruled out any bonhomie with the BJP and said that the move to send a team to Gujarat was to understand the mood of investors. ?It will be a learning experience for UP officials as far as dealing with and facilitating the industry is concerned,? said an official requesting anonymity. The initiative comes in the backdrop of the Global Partnership Summit to be held in Agra from January 27-29.
The summit is being promoted as a big launch pad for the newly drafted policies of the state government.
The Global Partnership Summit, a prestigious event in the country’s business calendar organised jointly by the Union commerce ministry and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) every year, was scheduled to be held in Kolkata.
But the event became a casualty to the changing political equations between the UPA and Mamata ?s Trinamool Congress and, eventually, landed in UP?s kitty.
