The Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh has breathed new life into the declining economy of Uttar Pradesh. The fact has been confirmed by the numbers revealed in the state’s Economic Survey 2025-26. According to the economic survey presented by the state Finance Minister Suresh Khanna on 9th February in the state assembly, the economy of Uttar Pradesh has doubled over the past eight years. It registered a remarkable increase from ₹13.30 lakh crore in 2016-17 to ₹30.25 lakh crore in 2024-25.
The achievement is historic since this is the first time that the state’s share in the national GDP has increased since 1980. This is the first time since 1980 that Uttar Pradesh’s share of the country’s GDP has started to increase. In 1980-81, Uttar Pradesh’s share in India’s GDP was 13.2%, but in 2017-18, this figure steadily declined, stopping at 8.6%.
The dwindling numbers stabilised for the first time and then gradually began to increase after Yogi Adityanath came into power in Uttar Pradesh.
The Economic Survey 2024-25 states that Uttar Pradesh’s share in the country’s GDP has now increased to 9.1%. An EAC-PM research paper shows that since 1960-61, while states like Karnataka and Gujarat have continued to increase their share in the country’s GDP, states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have lagged.
Notably, in 1960-61, Uttar Pradesh’s share of the country’s GDP was 14.4%. However, due to continued governmental neglect of industry and deteriorating law and order, this number steadily declined in the following years. In 2000-01, it dropped to 10% and further declined to 8.7% in 2010-11.
During this period, not only did the state’s share in the national GDP decline, but its population also became poorer compared to other states. In 1970-71, the average annual income of the people of Uttar Pradesh was ₹82, while the average annual income of the country’s population was ₹100. By 2014-15, this figure further dropped to ₹50.
After Yogi Adityanath assumed power in Uttar Pradesh, the average annual income of the people of the state also registered an increase and reached ₹53.
Recently, during the Pharma Conclave 1.0 held in Lucknow, Ramesh Juneja, Chairman of Mankind, one of the country’s top pharmaceutical companies, highlighted the appalling state of Uttar Pradesh’s economy before the Yogi government came to power.
रमेश जुनेजा ने बताया कि वो मेरठ से ही अपनी कंपनी रन करते थे लेकिन गुंडाराज का माहौल ऐसा आया कि उन्हें यूपी छोड़ना पड़ा।
— ऑपइंडिया (@OpIndia_in) February 13, 2026
उन्होंने बताया कि उनका भतीजा उस दौरान किडनैप हो गया और उन्हें अपना प्रदेश छोड़ के बिजनेस शिफ्ट करना पड़ा। (7/8) pic.twitter.com/p1y79lTAVd
Ramesh Juneja said that he used to run his company from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, but the hooliganism in the area was so rampant that he had to move his business out of Uttar Pradesh. He said that his nephew was kidnapped during that time, and he was compelled to relocate. He emotionally recalled how he had to move to Delhi after the kidnapping of his nephew. He said that he still missed his home in Meerut.
Juneja said that after the Yogi government came to power, he started visiting Meerut again. Juneja has not only promised to invest in Uttar Pradesh, but has also appealed to others to invest in the state as much as possible.
