Agra: New policies for defence manufacturing and startups will be soon announced by the Uttar Pradesh government, an official said on Tuesday.

At a session in the Taj city on the second day of the 'UP Pravasi Diwas', principal secretary for infrastructure and industrial development Mahesh Gupta said the state government had over the last three years maintained a sharp focus on all critical factors that catalyse industrial development.

He said the government would shortly introduce new policies on defence manufacturing and startups.

Among other key initiatives, the government is working to ensure total self-sufficiency in power by December 2017, he said.

"The UP government is not only developing new growth centres but has also taken key steps to revive traditional industrial centres like the development of the Trans-Ganga City, Saraswati Hi-tech City, and Plastic City in Auriya and IT City in Lucknow," he told the gathering of PIOs and NRIs.

The official also said that while investors have always expressed keen interest in cities like Lucknow and Noida, there was a growing interest among investors to also foray into the eastern, central and Bundelkhand regions of the state after the Mumbai Investment Conclave last year.

PK Gupta, chairman of Cafe Buddy Foods Pvt Ltd, said food processing holds immense potential in Uttar Pradesh and investors would increasingly view the state as a major hub for food processing business.

Hari Om Rai, chairman and managing director of Lava International Ltd., said India was emerging as a key destination for low-end manufacturing, and within the country, Uttar Pradesh could be one of the preferred destinations.

Ashok K Chauhan, founder president of the Amity Group, spoke about the need for greater awareness and efforts for skill development.

He said vocational training must be customised to serve the real needs of the industry and that industry must proactively participate in the development of appropriate training modules and courses.

He urged the industry to create more opportunities for apprenticeship and added that lab facilities in engineering colleges could also be better utilised after college hours to train unskilled people.(IANS)