Economic strength of small businesses, traders will lead to prosperity: Akhilesh

Agra, Jun 14 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said India cannot achieve prosperity unless small traders and businesses become economically strong, stressing the need to understand and address the challenges faced by the sector.

Addressing a “Vision India (PDA)” seminar in Agra, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the initiative would focus on identifying why small businesses are declining and finding solutions through dialogue with entrepreneurs and stakeholders.

“I have come to Agra to seek your suggestions on why small businesses are being ruined. If we want to see India in a new form, we must begin by understanding the reasons behind the decline of small businesses,” Yadav said.

He said prosperity cannot be achieved

without the economic well-being of traders and entrepreneurs.

“Unless our business community becomes prosperous, we cannot move towards prosperity. We need to think on a larger scale about small businesses and those engaged in them,” he said.

Yadav said the problems, expectations and aspirations of small traders could not be understood or resolved unless they were properly classified according to their nature and requirements.

Referring to the Samajwadi Party government’s tenure from 2012 to 2017, he said development works carried out during that period were visible to the public.

“You have seen development work taking place during the Samajwadi government. Through Vision India and PDA dialogue, we want to connect entrepreneurs, professionals and intellectuals and engage in a progressive dialogue,” he said.

Highlighting projects undertaken during his tenure, Yadav cited the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, metro rail projects and museums, claiming the expressway was the first state-funded expressway built in Uttar Pradesh and was completed in record time despite difficulties in securing financial support.

He also referred to an earlier Vision India programme held in Ghaziabad that focused on farmers and agriculture.

“We had said that when the fields smile, the country smiles. That is where the wheels of small businesses and industries begin to move and where our economy starts,” he said.

Yadav said Agra enjoyed global recognition and emphasised the importance of tourism, citing development initiatives from Agra to Etawah, including the lion safari project in Etawah.

He also highlighted the cycle track connecting Agra and Etawah, describing it as the country’s first dedicated and safe cycle highway, and linked its continued relevance to rising fuel prices.

The SP chief said the foundation of Uttar Pradesh’s industrial policy was laid in 2013 and claimed that the state was still following a modified version of the same framework.

He also promised that a future Samajwadi Party government would work towards establishing an IT city in Agra. PTI AR CDN PRK