Lucknow: Days after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's meeting with heads of premier banks, all leading banks of the country have agreed to provide loans to the business community setting up enterprises in Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, they are ready to participate in all the projects by associating with the UP government, a press note released by the UP government said on Saturday.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath, who reached Mumbai on January 5 to invite major industrial groups and hold a roadshow for the Global Investors Summit to be held in Lucknow in February, met with the country's top banking and finance professionals. The bankers praised the reforms in the state at this meeting in addition to approving financial aid for the projects to be established in UP.
The Chief Minister met heads of banks including Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of Baroda, SBI, Standard Chartered Bank, Yes Bank, IDBI, Exim Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited as well as heads of financial institutions such as SIDBI, NABARD, National Stock Exchange and Motilal Oswal Pvt. Equity Advisors in Mumbai.
"These are the same banks that refused to lend money for any UP project five years ago, but since CM Yogi came to office, the state has transformed, and this has caused the bankers' perspectives to shift. These bankers are also now considering Uttar Pradesh as an ideal destination for investment," the press note read.
"They no longer fear losing money in UP. Instead, they are now considering a big investment in Uttar Pradesh as an opportunity. They are also expecting a big business deal through this investment. This shift in bankers' perspectives is due to Uttar Pradesh's changing environment, security, and good governance," it added.
Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak said, "The stability that has developed in Uttar Pradesh under CM Yogi's leadership has increased bankers' and investors' faith in the state. Progressive policies for economic development, lakhs of MSMEs, infrastructure, sector development, and startup ecoculture have opened new doors for us."
Assuring full cooperation to the government, SIDBI Chairman and MD Shiv Subramaniam Raman said, "We are working closely with the Government of Uttar Pradesh in many areas and will continue to contribute to the government's goal."
On the other hand, Exim Bank's MD Harsha Bangri said that there has been a lot of development in the infrastructure of Uttar Pradesh. Development is the priority of the government, and we are in favour of making every possible contribution to this.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed to them to join him in the development of Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state. During the meeting, he said, "You are both a participant in and a witness to our development journey. In 2017, when our government first took office, the state's finances were in bad shape. We made some arrangements and called the banks, but because of the credit situation, they didn't respond. In UP, much has changed as of late. Today, we are a revenue-surplus state. We've more than doubled our annual budget. Without the assistance of banks and financial institutions, this task of development and change would not have been feasible."
"Look, Uttar Pradesh has changed because of your cooperation with us. We have set a target of 1 trillion dollars for ourselves to fulfil the Prime Minister's target of a 5 trillion dollars economy. Only with your help can we complete this task. We will provide you with the best environment, resources, and assistance in Uttar Pradesh. To support our MSME units, agriculture, FPOs, startups, etc., banking institutions should collaborate with us. Banks will need to put up significant effort to raise the CD ratio to 60 per cent now that it has been successfully raised from 40 to 53 per cent. We look forward to making any contribution from our side," he added. —ANI