UP’s 25-crore population is an advantage, not a challenge: CM Yogi Adityanath

Calling Uttar Pradesh’s large young population a “demographic dividend” rather than a challenge, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said the government’s responsibility was to provide the state’s youth with the platform and skills needed to turn their numbers into an economic advantage.

"Uttar Pradesh has the world's most talented and energetic young workforce. It is the government's responsibility to provide them with a platform," Adityanath said while addressing young entrepreneurs and industry representatives in Lucknow.

The Chief Minister was speaking after distributing more than Rs 3.42 crore in incentives to 107 startups and Rs 1.79 crore to nine incubators under the state’s Startup Policy. He also released the Uttar Pradesh Startup Policy 2026 booklet and launched the Uttar Pradesh Startup Mission portal.

Twelve new incubators were also granted recognition during the programme. Referring to conversations with foreign delegations, including ambassadors and high commissioners, Adityanath said they often point to the state population of more than 25 crore as a major challenge.

“The population of UP that people call a challenge, we consider it a demographic dividend. By linking their scale with skilling, we can utilise it as a demographic dividend,” he said. According to the chief minister, the state had only around 120 startups before 2017, a number that has now crossed 24,000.

Of these, he said, eight have become unicorns. The Chief Minister attributed the expansion partly to the state’s startup policy and institutional support. He said the government had established a Fund of Funds with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in 2019 and subsequently expanded its support for startups and incubators.

He also highlighted the participation of women in the ecosystem, saying that “Aadhi Aabadi” was running half of the startups. Drawing contrast with the situation before 2017, Adityanath said the state’s environment at the time had made discussions around entrepreneurship and innovation difficult.

"School, colleges and markets would remain closed for months. The common people were compelled to live under the shadow of curfews. At that time, more than 700 riots took place in five years. Under those circumstances, discussing employment, incubators, education and innovation within the state was nothing more than a dream," he said.

Adityanath urged universities and higher educational institutions to move beyond traditional courses, and create a stronger environment for innovation and research and development. He said the government had provided separate funds to universities for innovation and research and was supporting Centres of Excellence in emerging areas.

He cited proposals from IIT Kanpur for MedTech and drone technology, IIT-BHU for work with UP Agriculture and SGPGI for a Centre of Excellence. “Wherever there is a need in areas such as emerging technology, quantum computing, space technology, drone technology, robotics, green hydrogen, etc., the government stands ready to provide every support,” he said, adding that the state was operating or developing more than a dozen Centres of Excellence.

Adityanath said the state now needed to increase its share of India’s startups ecosystem further. While Uttar Pradesh accounts for around one-sixth of the country’s population, he said its share of startups was currently about one-tenth.

“If India has one-sixth of its population in UP, then 20 per cent of India’s total startups should be in UP. We will have to prepare for this,” he said.