Lucknow, 1 April

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said the state is witnessing rapid economic progress and it will become the nation's largest economy with a per capita income equal to the national average by 2030.

In an interview to PTI, Adityanath said during his eight-year tenure as chief minister, Uttar Pradesh had emerged as the second largest economy of the country and slammed previous governments for neglecting development of the state over the past few decades.

'When India became independent, the per capita income of Uttar Pradesh was equal to the national average. In 2016-17, it was reduced to one third of the national average. We have succeeded in doubling it from the 2016-17 levels. As per my assessment, Uttar Pradesh will be the number one economy of the country,' he said.

'We have set a timeline and the manner in which we are working in different sectors, we believe that we will achieve our targets by 2029-30,' Adityanath said.

The chief minister said Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in the country and also faces maximum challenges.

'These challenges were more artificial in nature. This was a result of the activities of those who ruled Uttar Pradesh for a long time. The state that was well endowed with natural resources, remained backward in every sector,' he said.

'Be it in the area of governance, welfare schemes for the needy, infrastructure development, employment generation, the situation in 2016 was such that the very identity of the state was in doldrums,' he said.

Adityanath said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed the government in 2014, there was a new wave of hope and expectation, but the schemes and initiatives he took were not implemented in the state.

'Finally, in 2017 the people of Uttar Pradesh heeded to Prime Minister Modi’s appeal and voted for a BJP government with full majority, the results are for everyone to see,' he said.

'In the last eight years, we have tried to complete the works that the previous governments could not achieve in 70 years. In the 70 years between 1947 and 2017, the economy of Uttar Pradesh was in the range of Rs 12-12.5 lakh crore and ranked seventh or eighth in the country,' the chief minister said.

'In the past eight years, the economy of the state has crossed Rs 27.5 lakh crore and emerged as the number two economy in the country,' he said.