81 projects in UP expected to ‘generate 2.12 lakh jobs’

LUCKNOW: The 81 projects for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stones at the groundbreaking ceremony here on Sunday are expected to generate over 2.12 lakh job opportunities, according to the industry department.

The projects worth ~61,846.67 crore relate to various sectors like infrastructure, food processing and information technology.

Sector-wise, heavy industry (36%), food processing (17%) and IT and electronics (11%) have received maximum investment. Noida and Greater Noida remain the most preferred investment destinations for big projects especially those related to the IT and electronics.

Nevertheless, the list also includes smaller places like Bijnor, Jaunpur, Hardoi, Shamli, Ayodhya, Jhansi, Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Rampur and Mirzapur, representing all the regions.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd’s ~10,000 crore project for laying of optical fibre network across UP and the Mobile Open Exchange Clusters (at World Trade Centre) worth ~10,000 crore project for developing an electronic manufacturing zone in Noida are the two biggest projects in terms of the amount of investment.

Three projects, all related to IT & electronics, are worth ~5,000 crore each, while another is of ~3,500 crore. The cost of six projects, including that of Adani Energy, is between ~1,200 crore and ~2,500 crore. The projects include Ramdev’s Patanjali Food and Herbal Park in Greater Noida, promising creation of 800 direct and indirect jobs.

Eight projects envisage investment between ~500 crore and ~800 crore while the cost of around 60 projects is between ~2.5 crore and ~350 crore. Only 18 projects are worth less than ~100 crore. Desi Dairy’s ~2.5 crore project seeking to set up a modern unit with an integrated dairy farm in Meerut is the smallest project in terms of investment.

Sources said some of the projects for which the prime minister laid the foundation stones were already in place, such as Reliance Jio and BSNL’S optical fibre cable laying projects.