Ratan Tata waxes eloquent on UP, Akhilesh

Says UP misunderstood and underplayed

Tata Group chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata on Monday waxed eloquent about Uttar Pradesh (UP) and its chief minister Akhilesh Yadav during a brief visit to the state capital.

Addressing a gathering at Yadav official residence on 5 Kalidas Marg in Lucknow, Tata reiterated UP was a great state and often “misunderstood and underplayed.”

He was here to witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Tata Trusts and the state government for collaboration in sectors such as nutrition, health and education seeking to improve the quality of life amongst the people. Ratan Tata is the chairman of Tata Trusts.

Expressing happiness on his visit, he said the signing of the MoU was a great moment in time, which would help a charitable organisation (Tata Trusts) to contribute towards the development of the state.

Lauding the "dynamism" of Yadav and his officials, Tata observed it was "great to be in UP, new UP." He complemented the government for its support in extending the health initiatives of Tata Trusts in the state.

In due course of time, UP would definitely secure its rightful place and take a lead in several spheres, he said in his brief yet emotional speech.

“…I am losing my heart to the state,” Tata said even as he assured to contribute everything at his disposal, including time, energy and efforts to help the state progress.

Meanwhile, Yadav urged Tata to keep visiting UP for giving “guidance and blessings” and assured the government out of its own limited resources would continue working towards the socioeconomic development.

Unless UP's socioeconomic statistics improve, India's statistics on the world stage would not improve, he underlined.

This is Tata's second visit to UP in less than a month. On November 27, he had toured the neighbouring Unnao district for the foundation laying of Shahid Chandrashekhar Azad Handicapped Sports Academy being set up by Padma Shri Arunima Sinha, the first female amputee to scale Mount Everest.

Tata had promised full support to UP towards industrial development even as he termed the performance of UP under Yadav as impressive.