UP Transformation Dialogues: Awanish Awasthi outlines technology-driven governance and institutional reforms

Awanish Awasthi, advisor to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, outlined how institutional reforms, technology, and transparency are transforming governance in the state during a fireside chat at the UP Transformation Dialogues on Friday.

In the session titled “Institutions Powering UP’s Transformation,” Awasthi reflected on the state’s governance journey. “A long distance has been covered. We have been in governance since 1987 and covered almost 40 years,” he said. He emphasized that effective institutional reform begins with law and order.

“Institutional reform has to start with law and zero tolerance to criminality. Yogi ji changed the perception of law and order. Largest police force in the world. He changed the way we look at the police,” he added.

Awasthi highlighted major initiatives in the police force, including the recruitment of women. “Every recruitment had 30 percent women force,” he said. He also spoke about infrastructure upgrades for the police, fire department, CISF, STF, and UP ATS.

Technological improvements, such as cybersecurity measures, forensic labs, intelligence gathering, and a separate UP 112 system with six-minute response times, were also underlined. “No state has a forensic infrastructure of this nature,” he said, praising the Chief Minister’s hands-on approach, including nightly reviews of law and order.

He further discussed the state’s economic growth. “Till 2017 per capita income was 50 percent of the national average but today the per capita income is 1 lakh 20 thousand, which is 53 to 54 percent of the national average. We are now increasing our contribution for the country,” Awasthi said.

He highlighted human resource development as a key focus, adding, “10 lakh people are set to be trained under the propositions of this budget.”

Awasthi also spoke about citizen-centric initiatives, including helplines and improved service delivery, emphasising how these reforms build trust and accountability. He noted that lessons from Uttar Pradesh’s institutional changes could be replicated in other states to strengthen governance nationwide.

The dialogue demonstrated how Uttar Pradesh is leveraging governance reforms, technology, and institutional innovation to deliver measurable outcomes, improve citizen services, and position itself as a key contributor to India’s growth

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