Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the two-day Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit 2018 along with Chief Minister Adityanath, the Hindustan Times reported. At the event in Lucknow, Modi said that there would be “no red tape but a red carpet for investors”.

“Potential, policy, planning and performance lead to progress,” the prime minister said. “UP has tremendous potential in the tourism sector. I am sure the new tourism policy announced by the UP government would facilitate investment.” Modi said the Kumbh Mela could improve tourism. He also announced a defence industrial corridor in Bundelkhand. He said that Uttar Pradesh could compete with Maharashtra, which had set itself a target of becoming the first trillion-dollar state economy.

Former Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth said the country was willing to become a partner of Uttar Pradesh for religious tourism and in strengthening the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

Earlier, Adityanath had announced that the state had signed Memorandums of Understanding worth Rs 4.28 lakh crore. He said that the government had proposed building an expressway in Bundelkhand and Purvanchal to boost the industrial corridor.

Tata Sons board chairperson N Chandrasekharan, Aditya Birla Group chairperson Kumar Mangalam Birla, Reliance Industries chairperson Mukesh Ambani, Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani, and Mahindra Group chairperson Anand Mahindra also attended the event.

Adani announced an investment of Rs 35,000 crore over five years in metro rail projects, food processing units and the power sector. Ambani said Reliance would invest Rs 10,000 crore in the state over the next three years, while Birla pledged Rs 20,000 crore in the next five years in telecom, chemicals and the expansion of manufacturing units. Mahindra said the company would build an electric vehicle manufacturing plant. Chandrasekharan said Tata Consultancy Services wanted to increase its footprint in Uttar Pradesh.