The UP model of inclusive development

The true progress of any state is possible only when its leadership thinks about uplifting every corner, every class, and every individual, while actively eliminating regional disparities. When the capital and metropolitan cities glow with lights, but far-flung villages remain plunged in darkness, such development is unbalanced. It gives rise to regional inequality, which becomes the root cause of discontent, migration, and societal backwardness. Over the past nine and a half years under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh has materialized a model of inclusive development by striving to eliminate this very regional imbalance. If the landscape of every district in the state has changed, it is the direct result of a policy that views the entire state with an equal eye. As per the vision of PM Modi & mission of CM Yogi, UP’s model of inclusive development not only connects backward regions to the mainstream but also makes the person standing at the absolute last mile a partner in progress. The Chief Minister’s frequent visits to even the smallest districts to gift development schemes are a prime example of this approach.

Breaking past neglect

The political reality that the road to national power passes through UP cannot be denied; yet, no serious attempt was ever made to eliminate regional inequality in this most populous state. If one looks at the picture of UP from a decade ago, the backwardness of Purvanchal, the drought of Bundelkhand, and the neglect of smaller districts in the west were glaringly visible. The light of development was confined to a handful of chosen cities, and the governments of the time had no concern for a vast territory left in the dark. These regions were simply not on the policy priority list of those governments. Power was confined within the boundaries of family and caste, and the scope of development was restricted accordingly. The tenure of the previous government stands as the biggest example of this, when apart from the capital, Lucknow, only Etawah and Mainpuri topped their priorities. Districts like Shamli, Amroha, Sambhal, and Basti did not even appear on the map of development. However, today the face of these very districts has clearly changed.

Shifting the paradigm of power

When a Chief Minister continuously visits districts personally, it sends a clear message: development is no longer the fiefdom of a specific family or a specific region, but a fundamental right of every district, every tehsil, and every village. Recent visits in the past weeks serve as an excellent illustration. The Chief Minister visited relatively small and previously neglected districts such as Amroha and Sambhal, inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for schemes worth over Rs 776 crore in both districts. Today, assembly constituencies such as Sambhal, Chandausi, Gunnaur, and Asmoli are emerging as hubs of development. Similarly, Shamli district, which had long been excluded from the list of major projects, saw the Chief Minister visit its Kairana region. Alongside Shamli, he toured Bijnor and Ghaziabad, delivering over 255 development projects worth approximately Rs 2,500 crore-of which the Shamli, Kairana, and Thanabhawan areas alone received 89 projects worth over Rs 581 crore.

While the grand development of Ayodhya naturally remains a frequent topic of discussion, the Chief Minister’s focus has not been limited to it. Immediately after his Ayodhya visit, the Chief Minister reached the Harraiya area of Basti district, where 77 development projects worth about Rs 504.34 crore were inaugurated or initiated. This included the groundbreaking ceremony for a Chief Minister Composite School to be built at a cost of Rs 27 crore. Combining Ayodhya and Basti, projects worth over Rs 937 crore were brought to fruition on the ground in a single tour. This demonstrates that the government’s priorities include not just large, high-profile cities but also small tehsils like Harraiya, whose names had never previously made headlines for development schemes.

Ground-level impact and economic growth

An equitable vision for development is integral to Chief Minister Yogi’s well-planned governance style. Another hallmark of these visits is that the nature of the projects is highly practical and publicly useful. Basic infrastructure such as veterinary hospitals, Government Women’s ITIs, composite schools, PAC battalions, and tax department offices directly impacts the life of the common man. This represents an infrastructural investment that caters to everyday needs.

The broader economic data also corroborates this local transformation. In 2016-17, Uttar Pradesh’s per capita income was around Rs 43,000, which has surged to nearly Rs 1.26 lakh in 2024-25. This stands as proof of actual improvement in the standard of living for the common man. The state’s GSDP also reflects a massive leap in this direction. Such growth is possible only when economic activities are not confined to metropolitan areas but also spread to districts such as Sambhal, Amroha, and Basti.

Infrastructure as an equalizer

The most tangible example of this inclusive growth is the expressway network. While the Purvanchal Expressway connected the backward areas from Lucknow to Ghazipur with the capital, the Bundelkhand Expressway linked the drought-prone region from Chitrakoot to Etawah to the mainstream. The recently inaugurated Gorakhpur Link Expressway starts in Gorakhpur and connects to the Purvanchal Expressway in Azamgarh, bringing high-speed connectivity to districts such as Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, and Azamgarh. Alongside this, 18 Integrated Manufacturing and Logistics Clusters are being developed along the major expressway corridors, spanning districts such as Banda, Auraiya, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Ghazipur, and Amethi.

A cultural shift in governance

At the core of all this lies a major ideological transformation: a fundamental shift in the character of governance. Under previous governments, development schemes were often decided based on political patronage and proximity to the ruling family. Today, the Chief Minister personally visiting small districts to inaugurate projects symbolizes that good governance has become a culture of direct inspection and accountability.

Naturally, it would be unfair to view this scenario entirely one-dimensionally; ensuring the high-quality, ground-level implementation of the financial outlays announced during foundation-laying ceremonies remains crucial. Nonetheless, the undeniable fact remains that Uttar Pradesh has taken concrete, measurable steps toward breaking free from its decades-old image of regional disparity. The definition of development has fundamentally changed. It is now a shared aspiration for the entire state. This is the true meaning of inclusive development, and this is the very model that is being discussed across the country today.

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