The state planning department has begun the process to hire a consultant for the challenging task of boosting the state’s economy to the targeted $1 trillion by 2025.
The department has floated a RFP (request for proposal) for selection of a consultant “to boost up the size of GSDP (gross state domestic product) of UP to $1 trillion in five years.”
The department, in the RFP document, says: “It would be a challenging task to boost the size of the GSDP by nearly five times to attain the target of $1 trillion, which is in alignment with the central government’s target of making India a $5 trillion economy in the same time frame.”
“We have invited eBids for providing consultancy services and the pre-bid meeting is scheduled on June 29,” said a senior state government officer. He added: “The bid submission start date was June 19 and the technical eBids will be opened on July 22.”
The department said: “This Herculean task demands some giant steps to be taken by the state government.”
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state and contributes 8% of the national GDP.
The state’s GSDP has already touched $230 billion (Rs 15.80 lakh crore). The state’s current growth rate is 7% and it will require raising it substantially for which a significant increase in the investment rate will be needed, besides improvement in basic infrastructure, the RFP document says.
The consultant will have to do critical analysis of macro and micro economic sectoral data around GSDP, trade, investment, expenditure, saving, workforce participation, inflation, import and export between the four fiscals — 2016 to 2020. The consultant will also have to compare the structural, institutional, financial and governance reforms carried out and outcomes achieved in top the three states of the country and top three countries across the world, with similarities to UP. Then it will have to develop a strategic framework for achieving the target, create implementation roadmap and design institutional reforms, also.