The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the State of Uttar Pradesh has to be transformed into Uttam Pradesh in terms of development and welfare. He was addressing the Lucknow Utsav on the occasion of Uttar Pradesh Diwas, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh today. The Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Ram Naik, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.The Vice President said that Uttar Pradesh has been a great contributor to the freedom movement and it is important to remember the great figures like Veeranari Rani Lakshmi Bai. He further said that this land is a witness to the martyrdom of Amar Krantikari Mangal Pandey and his companions in 1857. Shaheed Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq Alla Khan, Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya, Govind Vallabh Pant, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jawaharlal Nehru, Acharya Narendra Dev and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee are the great men from Uttar Pradesh, he added.
The Vice President said that the State Government has taken steps to encourage new entrepreneurs in the direction of self-employment in the state through the Government of India's monetary policy, Stand-up India, PMFGP, Chief Minister Yuva Swarojgar Yojana and Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana. He further said that in the list of this year’s Ease of Doing Business, the state ranked 15th and hoped it will be improved during coming years.The Vice President said that one of the objectives of the Uttar Pradesh Utsav is to present and promote the rich cultural heritage, literary, artistic and craftsmanship. The experience of poverty eradication and employment generation through tourism in Uttar Pradesh will benefit other states, he added.