Earlier UP youth suffered from inferiority complex, state was labelled 'BIMARU': CM Adityanath

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that earlier, the youth of the state suffered from an inferiority complex when they went outside UP, as the state was once known as 'BIMARU'.

"When you were in your schools and polytechnics, you might have experienced that two things were associated with Uttar Pradesh. First, when the youngsters of Uttar Pradesh used to go outside the state, they were looked down upon by people. They faced an identity crisis.

“As a result, an inferiority complex developed in their minds," he said while addressing a programme held in Lucknow for the distribution of appointment letters to newly-selected instructors for the state-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

Highlighting the transformation in law and order between previous governments and his tenure, Adityanath said, "Recently, Ganpati Mahotsav and Barawafat were celebrated, but there was no riot or hooliganism. In Ayodhya, Kashi, Prayagraj and Garhmukteshwar, lakhs of people can now take a dip (in the Ganga).

"The label of BIMARU state was put on us, which, in other words, meant a barrier in the development of the country. A big state, which is filled with resources, a state in which (even) God came in one incarnation or the other, such a state became a 'BIMARU' and had to face an identity crisis," said the UP CM.

The acronym 'BIMARU' (sick) was coined by demographer Ashish Bose in the mid-1980s, formed from the first letters of names of some of the country's then poorest states — Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

"In the past 8 years, we have been successful in bringing that state from the seventh and eighth largest economy to the number 2 economy in the country.

"We have been successful in uprooting the label of 'BIMARU' state, and today we have established UP as the growth engine of India's development," Adityanath emphasised.

He added that this happened due to the collective efforts of the 25 crore people of the state, the state government officials, employees and the public representatives.

Talking about recruitments for government jobs, Adityanath said that under his governance, the process has become transparent and merit-based, unlike in previous regimes and highlighted the role of UP Skill Development Mission in generating jobs.

“Over 60 lakh people got jobs. Among them, 14 lakh youth were trained through the UP Skill Development Mission," the CM said and added that earlier, both industries and ITIs were shutting down, but now the government is running over 300 ITIs.

In the last eight years alone, 60 new ITIs have been established by the government, while the private sector has added more than 3,000, the CM said and underscored that, at present, 100 different trades are being taught, providing skilled manpower to meet global market demands.

"Today, UP has 96 lakh MSME units....during COVID-19, when workers migrated back from other states, 40 lakh workers were absorbed into these MSME units. This ensured no one was left empty-handed. With better law and order, investments came in. Proposals worth more than Rs 15 lakh crore materialised, providing jobs and employment to over 60 lakh youth," he further said.

Lambasting previous governments for bringing UP from number one to number eight (in share of contribution to national GDP) in post-independent India, the CM said, “When policies are made for selfish gains, vote banks and family interests, they inevitably lead to misery." The CM also interacted with the new ITI instructors and urged them not to hesitate in learning and teaching others. “The trade and its nuances may evolve with time, but constant learning will make you an expert. The youth you would train in the future should be so competent that no one in the global market can question their skills," he said.

He also instructed the Vocational Education department to open career counselling cells in every ITI, track the needs of various industries and markets, and engage in dialogue with different embassies.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) Kapil Dev Agarwal, Acting Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar, Principal Secretary Hariom and others were also present at the event, the statement added.