After lockdown hits revenue, Yogi government heads to drawing board to chalk out fresh plans

LUCKNOW: With the lockdown biting and revenue flow dipping in the first month of the current financial year, the YogiAdityanath government is busy chalking out fresh strategies to deal with the challenges ahead.

While asking officials at a recent review meeting to explore alternative sources of revenue, CM Yogi Adityanath also issued directives for the setting up of a special committee that will prepare the roadmap for boosting revenues and rebooting industrial activities in the state.

It was also decided at the review meeting that the post-COVID economic strategy will focus on attracting investments from leading industrialised nations.

As per sources in the finance department, the state government in the month of April received only Rs 281.12 crore of the targetted Rs 19,178 crore revenue. Despite this, salaries were paid on time.

"UP is among those few states that have neither cut nor delayed salary payments to its employees," said Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi. 

He added that to overcome the difficult financial situation, the housing department had been asked to expedite the process of freeholding and compounding so that this can generate additional revenue for the exchequer.

Besides, CM Yogi also emphasised the need to make concerted efforts to attract fresh investment.

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Based on reports that a number of companies are planning to shift their manufacturing outside China following the corona crisis, the UP government has set off a process to identify such corporate houses to target and convince them to invest in the state.

According to highly-placed sources, the state government is also planning to make changes in the existing labour laws as demanded by over 100 US-based companies in a recent webinar.

Meanwhile, the government, according to sources, needs to raise Rs 2000 crore to pay farmers during the Rabi procurement season.

The state cabinet had recently approved the proposal of the UP State Food and Essential Commodities Corporation Limited to raise Rs 2,000 crore from the Bank of Baroda to pay farmers and procure their wheat.

The government is targeting the procurement of 5.5 million tonnes (MT) of wheat this season at the minimum support price of Rs 1,925 per quintal (100 kg).

So far, more than 0.8 MT of wheat has been procured by the various procurement agencies.

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