Opinion | Uttar Pradesh 2047: Three Development Forces That Can Uplift 240 Million Lives

The 3Is of Investment, Industry, and Infrastructure would be foundational for this economic transformation to take flight

Women vegetable sellers in Gorakhpur are up early before dawn to travel to the nearest market kilometres away. The products at risk of spoilage are vegetables, perishable with a short shelf life. If the road network improves and a cold storage facility is built, the women can choose buyers and negotiate on price. The vegetables would command higher prices, raising household incomes for the women involved. As a direct result, savings would increase, college education for children would be more affordable, and their farms could operate more as agribusiness enterprises.

Further west in Agra, young men have completed vocational training as precision welders. However, due to weak demand, they are underemployed and unable to transition from vocational school to full-time careers. Some among them are exploring migrating to Chennai or to the Gulf in search of decent wages and opportunities. There is news that a defence factory may come up in a nearby industrial corridor. If this were to come onboard, the youth could find full employment with good wages. In a few years, some would supervise the factory floor, progress as production managers, and perhaps become local suppliers to anchor investors.

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Uttar Pradesh’s Vision 2047 could be the difference between the current challenges of vegetable sellers and welders and the possibilities of the millions of women and men of the state. In the last 8 years, UP’s economy has doubled from Rs 13.3 lakh crore in 2016–17 to Rs 30.25 lakh crore in 2024–25 (UP Economic Survey 2025–26). Per capita income has similarly doubled from Rs 54,564 to Rs 1,09,844 over this period (UP Economic Survey 2025-26). These are real and commendable gains. However, the Vision 2047 aims to grow the state’s economy from current levels to Rs 500 lakh crore (approximately US $6 trillion) by 2047 (Viksit UP 2047 Vision). This expansion translates into a sustained annualised growth rate upwards of 13%. Such growth rates over a two-decade period have never been accomplished in independent India.

To pursue such a transformation would require........

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