Economy of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India with a population of nearly 240 million people. The economy of Uttar Pradesh is the second largest among states in India. The gross state domestic product (GSDP) of Uttar Pradesh increased from 27.50 lakh crore in 2024–2025 to 30.8 lakh crore in 2025-26 (estimated) . According to chief minister Yogi Adityanath Uttar Pradesh, GSDP might hit Rs 27.5 lakh crore by March 2025. Merchandise exports from Uttar Pradesh reached US$21.03 billion in FY22.
Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of food grains in India and accounted for about 17.83% share in the country's total food grain output in 2016–17. Food grain production in the state stood at 49,903.1 thousand tonnes in 2016-17 and 51,252.7 thousand tonnes in 2017–18. Major food grains produced in the state include rice, wheat, maize, millet (bajra), gram, pea and lentils.
Uttar Pradesh is a favoured tourist destination in India with Varanasi, considered to be one of the oldest living city of the world, a holy place for devotees of Lord Shiva and Taj Mahal, one of the eight Wonders of the World, is also located here in Agra. In 2022, domestic tourist arrivals in the state stood at 317.91 million. Varanasi, Agra, Ayodhya, Mathura and Prayagraj were among the most visited cities. 2025 Mahakumbh attracted more than 550 million devotees and is estimated to generate ₹3.50 lakh crore in revenue.
Cities like Noida, Meerut, Kanpur Nagar, Agra, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj and Ghaziabad are leading economic centres in the state.
The growth of Noida has come due to Yamuna Expressway. Now the government is pushing to create Meerut as the next Industrial hub and the Ganga Expressway is expected to fuel this.
Uttar Pradesh is a major contributor to the national food grain stock. In FY 2020–21, the state produced 5.81 crores (58.10 million) tonnes of food grain, 18.68% of the country's total production. This is partly due to the fertile regions of the Indo-Gangetic plain and also the well-developed irrigation facilities such as canals and tube wells. It has been the foremost producer of food grains in India since the 1950s, due to high-yielding varieties of seed, greater availability of fertilisers, and increased use of irrigation.
Western Uttar Pradesh is more advanced in terms of agriculture as compared to the other regions in the state. The majority of the state's population depends upon farming activities. Wheat, rice, pulses, oilseeds, and potatoes are major agricultural products. Sugarcane is the most important cash crop throughout the state. Uttar Pradesh is one of the most important states in India as far as horticulture is concerned. Mangoes are extensively grown in the state.
Uttar Pradesh has a robust industrial infrastructure, including 15 industrial areas, 12 specialised parks, four growth centres and industrial infrastructure development centres (IIDC). As of January 2019, Uttar Pradesh had 21 notified, 12 operational SEZs and 24 formally approved SEZs.
The Noida-Greater Noida- Yamuna Expressway belt has been a keen choice for many IT/ITES and electronic manufacturing firms. This belt alone has contributed about 40 percent to the manufacturing of mobiles in the country and about 55 per cent of their components.
There are a huge quantity of mineral resources found in the Vindhya mountain range of Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh has many resources like limestone, Magnesite, Copper, Gypsum. There are several cement plants in Mirzapur in the Vindhya region, a bauxite-based aluminium plant in the Banda region, and the Sonbhadra region.Coal deposits are found in the Singrauli region.
Main Industries of Uttar Pradesh
Cottage industries, such as handloom and handicrafts, have traditionally provided livelihood to a large number of people in the state. These industries include:
Dibiyapur is a notable industrial town of Auraiya district which has installations of India's leading public sector enterprises viz.
Cycle power plant of NTPC. Pata Petrochemical plant Gas compressor station of GAIL (previously known as Gas Authority of India Limited).
The Rice-mills and Dal-mills are working well. Other than these mills some steel furniture and cement products small scale industries are there in town located at different places. The raw material for these small-scale industries is imported from Agra and Kanpur. Mainly, the rice, pulses and desi ghee is transported at large scale to the other districts and states. In the Dibiyapur town itself the wooden furniture work is on large scale and due to its cost and quality factor, the furniture has made a good place in the market of nearby districts.
Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Kanpur, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, and Balrampur are the most industrious areas in the state.
Mathura Refinery situated in Mathura is the only oil refinery in Uttar Pradesh, and is the 6th largest oil refinery in India.
Handlooms and handicrafts are a very important source of income in Uttar Pradesh. There are thousands of power looms and handlooms in the state, most of which are situated in eastern UP. Many people depend on it for their livelihood. Main centres in eastern Uttar Pradesh include Tanda, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Bhadohi, Mirzapur, Mau and Mau Aima (Prayagraj). In Western Uttar Pradesh some of the important centres are Meerut, Etawah, Etah and Kasganj. In Eastern UP, Tanda is a small town with a population of approximately 1,50,000 people with over 1,00,000 power looms. The main products include Lungis, Gamchas, Shawls, Rumaal, and garment clothes.
One District One Product is a State Government scheme to encourage local handicrafts and specialized product from each district by helping workers financially. By providing them machineries and tools government helps small local workers.
Uttar Pradesh is the 'IT-Hub' of northern India, with a share of software exports next to that of Karnataka. IT enterprises are limited to particular areas, such as Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, which lie in the National Capital Region (NCR), commercial capital Kanpur and in the state capital Lucknow.
Noida is also famous for TV News broadcasters. Almost all News channels such as ABP News, Zee News and Mahua News are located in Film City.
The infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh is improving in comparison to the other advanced states of India. In 2013, the Government of India declared the construction of Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow and Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport in Varanasi, and both became operational in 2016.
Lucknow Metro and Kanpur Metro became operational in September 2017 and December 2021 respectively with Kanpur Metro being the fastest built metro network in India. The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation bus service is one of the largest in the country with more than 10,000 buses. UPSRTC ALSO introduced Volvo, Scania, and Janrath ac buses service across the state.
The length of the national highway and railway track is highest in India. A new international airport had been proposed in Gautambudh Nagar is under construction and supposed to start by 2024. Kushinagar International Airport become operational in 2021.
Ayodhya airport was inaugurated in December 2023. Uttar Pradesh has the most national highways and the state's 8th airport Bareilly Airport began operation in March 2021, with the first route between Bareilly and Delhi, the flight will take an hour. The Yamuna Expressway, which is between New Delhi to Agra, is one of the best highways in the country. In 2015, the state government started another expressway project between Agra to Lucknow that has reduced the journey time; it was inaugurated on 21 November 2016.
India's first inter city metro, Delhi Meerut RRTS is also partially operational. Delhi – Meerut RRTS (RAPIDX) is an 82.15 km under-construction semi-high speed rail line with 22 stations connecting Delhi – Meerut through a series of tunnels and elevated viaducts as part of Delhi's Regional Rapid Transit System.
Uttar Pradesh is also set to get operational Eastern and Western dedicated freight corridors. The primary objective of the National Rail Plan is to increase the freight share of railways from 28 per cent to 44 per cent by the year 2051. Uttar Pradesh will have big logistic hubs at Meerut and Khurja.
Ganga Expressway, is an under-construction, 594 km (369 mi) long, 6-lane (expandable to 8) wide greenfield expressway in the state. Pharma parks, textile parks will be developed around Ganga Expressway. Plans are underway to build large industrial corridors at the beginning and end of the expressway. Due to its proximity to the expressway, many investors are expected to set up industries here.
The land around the departure points of Meerut, from where the expressway is to begin, will be developed for industries.
On 31 December 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an expressway between New Delhi and Meerut, which will cost ₹7,500 crore. It will reduce the journey time to one hour. Delhi-Meerut expressway was opened for public use in April 2021. In 2018 four new expressways - Purvanchal expressway, Bundelkhand expressway, Kanpur-Lucknow expressway, Gorakhpur Link expressway, Ganga expressway, Ballia link expressway are being constructed. Purvanchal expressway has been opened for public use in February 2022, while the Bundelkhand expressway has started operating in July 2022.
India's largest airport is also expected to open in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh.
There is a huge income parity in Uttar Pradesh. Western Uttar Pradesh contributes more than 50% of revenues to the state government. Also the per capita income is also visibly higher in districts in western Uttar Pradesh.
This is also due to more fertile soil, suitable infrastructure for industries, better transportation and logistic channels like expressways and dedicated freight corridors and also due to its proximity to national capital Delhi.
Cities like Noida which is an IT hub in the state, Meerut and Agra are leading districts in the state with highest per capita income.
While west UP accounts for 71.71% of state GDP, the lagging Bundelkhand accounts for just 5.22%, though it has risen from 4.95% bringing some solace to the government.
Among all the monuments in India, the Taj Mahal, Agra (5.65 million) was the most visited monument in 2018-19 for domestic visitors. In respect of foreign visitors too Taj Mahal (10.87 million) was the most visited monument.
Just an hour's drive from Agra, on the banks of the river Yamuna, is situated the birthplace of Lord Krishna, Mathura. The entire land is dotted with magnificent temples, dedicated to various aspects of his life. Gokul, Barsana and Govardhan are the other township associated with the legend of Lord Krishna. Gokul is the hideout where Lord Krishna was secretly brought up- away from the eyes of his maternal uncle Kansa. His consort Goddess Radha belonged to Barsana, where the unique Holi festival Latthamar Holi is celebrated with great gusto.
Varanasi, in eastern Uttar Pradesh is among the oldest living cities in the world and its antiquity finds place in ancient scriptures. Located along the banks of Ganga it is a sacred place for all Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists.
Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, famed for its Nawabi era finesse and amazing food, is a unique mix of the ancient and the modern. It is home to extraordinary monuments depicting a fascinating blend of ancient, colonial and oriental architecture.
Kushinagar is one of the principal centres of the Buddhist pilgrimage, is the place where Lord Buddha left his corporal self and attained Mahaparinirvana. It attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world every year. In the uniquely designed Mahaparinirvana temple is a huge statue of the reclining Buddha, excavated in 1876. The monuments here are clustered in three groups – the Nirvana site, the central Stupa and the surrounding monasteries, Mathakuar Kot and Ramabhar Stupa.
Located on the east bank of River Saryu in central Uttar Pradesh, Ayodhya is brimming with the remnants of a bygone era. The famous epics, Ramayana and Shri Ramcharitmanas exhibit the splendor of Ayodhya. Many eminent kings such as Ikshvaku, Prithu, Mandhata, Harishchandra, Sagar, Bhagirath, Raghu, Dileep, Dashrath and Lord Rama ruled the capital city of Kosala. It was during their reign, that the grandeur of the kingdom reached its pinnacle and epitomized Ram Rajya. An episode of Ramayana, a page of ancient history and a cluster of tourist attractions, this town has been a major centre for pilgrims, historians, archaeologists and students alike.
The literacy rate of Uttar Pradesh is 74% with male literacy rate at 82% and female literacy rate at 66.1%.
According to NITI Aayog's Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) based on NFHS-5, 22.93% population of Uttar Pradesh is poor.