Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that in spite of the Covid wave and lockdowns, Uttar Pradesh has been able to increase its excise collection from Rs 14500 crores to Rs 42500 crores in the last 6 years.
Goyal was speaking at a special session on ‘Excise and Opportunities in Sugar Industry’ on the final day of the UP Global Investors Summit 2023.
Addressing the session, Goyal said that a large number of investors from all over the world are turning towards Uttar Pradesh and it is a proof that the investors have faith in the Uttar Pradesh government. He further added that the start-up culture has increased in the country, due to which the youth of the country can solve the lithium crisis. The number of startups in the country has increased to 8277 in the last 6 years.
The Union Minister said that the wave of development is moving at a fast pace in Uttar Pradesh. He said that a country like Australia too is dependent on India for wine. He said that Indian made wine has found love across the globe. India now produces liquors and wine from 27 fruits.
Appreciating the Excise policy of UP, Goyal said that the state’s policy has set a fine example for an excise policy and he will soon ask other states to implement a similar policy.
The session was also addressed by UP Minister for Excise Nitin Agarwal. He said that UP has been continuously progressing in the excise department. The state introduced a wine policy for the first time, where local farmers are being supported and wine is also made from local fruit. The investors are being asked to use local fruit for the production of wine.
The minister also shared details about distilleries and breweries in UP. He said that from 61, the number of distilleries in UP has increased to 85 and 13 are in pipeline and we aim to take this figure above 100 to become the first state to have over 100 distilleries. There are 6 breweries in the state and 4 more are in the pipeline, while the number of microbreweries has gone from 0 to 19 and 2 more are in the pipeline.
Additional Chief Secretary of Sugar Industries and Excise Department, Sanjay R. Bhoosreddy said that UP is the only state which is blending 14 to 15 percent ethanol of the country. “Earlier fruit juice worth Rs 400 crores was wasted, now we are exporting it. We have shifted from an importing state to an exporting state. We had set a target of attracting investment of Rs 25,000 crores through the summit and have so far attracted Rs 32,000 crores”, he remarked.
Others who were present at the session included Vineet Chopra of Wallop Brewing Pvt, Amar Sinha COO Of Radico Khaitan, Anil Kumar Sahni of Godson Organic Farm and Excise Commissioner UP Dr Senthil Pandian.
Amar Sinha, COO of Radico Khaitan said that Uttar Pradesh has now become the most preferred destination for investment. “Here the license for broadband messaging is available in 30 days. The entire process has been done online. With an investment of Rs 600 crores, we are placing 4 lakh shares per day in the largest unit in Uttar Pradesh”, he said.
