Greater Noida, 25 September: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah inaugurated the fourth edition of the Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show (UPITS) in Greater Noida, saying the fair would make it easier for producers across the state to expand their trade and production and help take Uttar Pradesh’s identity to the world.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was among those present. A website for ‘One District, One Cuisine’ (ODOC) was also launched at the event. Through it, Shah said, foods such as Varanasi’s Malaiyo and Tiranga Barfi, Agra’s Petha, Mathura’s Peda and Meerut’s Gajak will be made available to people across the country.
Trade show aims to beat 2025 figures
Shah said the 2025 edition drew more than 5 lakh visitors, saw more than 2,400 MoUs signed, brought in investment worth thousands of crores of rupees and led to trade agreements. He said he was confident the 2026 edition would break those records.
He traced how the show had grown. The first edition introduced the world to the changes in Uttar Pradesh, the second drew expressions of intent to invest, and the third brought investors to the state. In the fourth, he said, they would work as partners in the state’s development towards a 1-trillion-dollar economy. Buyers from across the world were present at the fair.
Make in India completes 12 years
The inauguration fell on the 12th anniversary of the ‘Make in India’ mission, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on 25 September 12 years ago. Shah said the Indian economy was then counted among the ‘Fragile 5’ and is now among the top five, which he credited to the policy.
He cited several economic figures. According to Shah, Moody’s has raised India’s growth forecast from 6% to 7%, Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) has upgraded India’s sovereign rating from BBB+ to A-, and India recorded growth of 7.8% in the last quarter. Electronic exports have risen 11 times compared with 2015, he said, and GST collection in July was ₹2.11 lakh crore, the highest for the month so far.
There are 12 semiconductor projects in six states with investment of more than ₹1.64 lakh crore, and capital expenditure has crossed ₹12.2 lakh crore, Shah said. He also referred to free trade agreements signed with partners including Mauritius, the UAE, the UK, Oman, New Zealand, the European Union and a group of four European countries.
Responding to those who describe India as a “dead economy”, Shah said people “whose thinking itself is dead cannot see its vibrancy”.
Defence corridor and investment in Uttar Pradesh
Shah said investment was flowing into defence manufacturing at the six nodes of the state’s Defence Corridor in Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Lucknow, Agra, Aligarh and Kanpur. He put India’s defence production at ₹1,78,000 crore, and said defence exports have increased 56 times compared with 2013-14, with Indian defence products now exported to 80 countries.
With a population of nearly 24 crore, Uttar Pradesh is the country’s largest state, Shah said. He credited the Yogi Adityanath government with eliminating the mafia and creating an investment-friendly climate, saying good law and order, a favourable industrial policy, a proactive government and the enthusiasm to facilitate industry are all present in the state. The same state whose law and order forced the 2013 investment summit to be held in Delhi, he said, is now targeting a $1 trillion economy.
He also pointed to Noida Airport, expressways and other infrastructure projects, and said metro services run in seven cities of Uttar Pradesh, the highest for any state.
One District, One Product
The One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme has helped young people, small entrepreneurs and small-scale industries, Shah said, and young people who once left Uttar Pradesh for work are now finding jobs in their own state. He cited Bhadohi’s carpets, Moradabad’s brassware, Firozabad’s glass, Saharanpur’s woodcraft, Kannauj’s perfume and Banaras silk sarees.
The day also marked the 110th birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. Shah said Upadhyaya was the first after Independence to put forward an economic policy based on free trade and free agriculture, which later became a foundation of India’s development.
Earlier this week, Shah set a 2029 deadline to end the drug trade at the Anti-Narcotics Task Force conference in New Delhi.