Preparations are underway for the third groundbreaking ceremony (GBC-3) in Lucknow which is expected to pave the way for making the state a $1 trillion economy.

The ceremony will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 3 and more than 60 captains from corporate and industry are expected to participate in it. The prime minister will perform the 'bhoomi pujan' for about 2,000 projects worth Rs 75,000 crore at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Uttar Pradesh has reinforced its reputation as an industry and investment-friendly state with repeated investments by global giants in various sectors. In the last five years, sectors such as information technology and electronics, food and food processing and infrastructure have seen massive investments by companies with a global footprint.

The third groundbreaking and investment ceremony marks a display of confidence by the industry and corporate of India and abroad due to the conducive industrial environment created by the Yogi Adityanath government in the last five years. While the Investors' Summit held in February 2018 was followed by the first groundbreaking ceremony, the second groundbreaking ceremony was held in July 2019.

In the first groundbreaking ceremony in July 2018, 81 projects with projected investments of Rs 61,800 crore were initiated. The second groundbreaking ceremony on July 28, 2019, saw 290 projects worth Rs 67,000 crore taking shape.  The third groundbreaking ceremony is bigger than the previous two with a larger projected investment.

In terms of number of projects, the top department is food processing, with 474 projects worth Rs 4,118.39 crore as the sum of investment intent. However, in terms of value, the top department is IT and Electronics, where the number of projects is 14, but the sum of investment intent is a staggering Rs 20,587.05 crore. In this sector, projects are related to setting up of data centres, software development centres, Information technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) centres.

Among other departments with large number of projects are: FSDA or Food Safety and Drug Administration (59), Tourism (23), Cooperative (24), Housing (23), Additional Sources of Energy (20), Excise (13), Textile (12), Animal Husbandry (6), Higher Education (4) and Dairy (3).

Among facilitating departments are UP State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA), New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA), UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), Greater NOIDA, Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority (GIDA), Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).