Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has earned his state Uttar Pradesh the first reward for standing by the UPA in its moment of crisis. The Global Partnership Summit, a prestigious event in the country’s business calendar, organised jointly by the commerce ministry and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) every year, will be held in Agra instead of Kolkata, where it was scheduled to be held earlier.
The meet, which has the potential to attract big investment, is likely to provide a boost to the sagging fortunes of the state, where investments have stagnated over the last few years.
While the commerce ministry has written to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, requesting him to host the summit, the CII has also approached the state government for support in making the event, to be held from January 27 to 29 next year, a success.
Excited over the event, the state machinery has already started working on the event. “We have already started gearing up for the three-day event, which will be an excellent platform to showcase the state and compete for investments as against the better developed states. Separate committees of the industry, tourism and cultural departments will be formed to start work on the prestigious event, which will test both the readiness as well as the capability of the state as far as hosting such important international events are concerned,” said an official of the state government, requesting anonymity, adding that a nodal agency will also be chosen to monitor the event.
While the shift in venue is definitely being seen as the first casualty for West Bengal, following its chief minister Mamata Banerjee unceremonious exit from the UPA , it is also being said that this is the first pound of flesh that Mulayam Singh has extracted for his support.
Speaking on the importance of the event for the state, another official of the finance department said Kolkata’s loss is definitely Uttar Pradesh’s gain. “Uttar Pradesh is in dire need of investment, especially in view of the fact that a huge private sector investment is required to finance the growth target of 10% as approved by the Planning Commission. The state needs a minimum R2 lakh crore of investment every year to reach that target,” he added.
