LUCKNOW, May 31 -- After announcing electronics manufacturing clusters (EMC) along Yamuna Expressway and at Greater Noida, the Yogi government is now gearing up to develop a third EMC in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The government will be making the policy changes soon in order to attract IT firms to eastern part of the state by offering more incentives to them. Recently, a semiconductor unit by Foxconn and HCL was okayed by the Centre near the Jewar airport in the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) area. The new semiconductor unit - the first in Uttar Pradesh - is expected to attract an investment of Rs 3,700 crore. Confirming the development, state's IT and electronics minister Sunil Kumar Sharma told HT, "EMC 1 is about to start and we have also announced EMC 2 in Greater Noida. One such cluster creates around 70,000 to 80,000 employment opportunities. Soon we will be starting work on EMC 3, which will be in eastern Uttar Pradesh." "As companies are more attracted towards NCR, we will be seeking to make changes in the policy and give some more incentives to the companies which decide to come to East U.P," he said. The EMC 1 of 100 acres located at YEIDA Sector 10, along the Yamuna Expressway, aims to be a modern electronics manufacturing hub, with Havells setting up a domestic appliance facility. The EMC 2 of 210 acres in Greater Noida is likely to facilitate the growth of the electronics system design manufacturing (ESDM) sector in the region. The EMCs will function as manufacturing zones, promoting the growth of the ESDM sector by providing a robust infrastructure base for electronic manufacturing industries. The clusters will support various electronic verticals, including consumer electronics, lighting, power electronics, computers/IT, and telecom equipment, along with their entire value chain. "The companies are getting attracted to UP on their own as no one can force them to do so. Our CM Yogi Ji has given such an environment in the state which is favourable for doing business. There is trust that all the commitments by the government will be fulfilled," state's IT and electronics minister Sunil Kumar Sharma said. "Law and order, ease of doing business, single window system and all the help given to the businessmen by the government contribute towards bringing big companies to the state," he added. "Our vision is to make UP a leading state in electronics production, one semi-conductor unit has come to the state and we have already sent proposal for another one. That will be an investment of 28,000 crore, approval for it is awaited from the Government of India," Sharma said. On developing the state capital region as the next AI hub, he said, "Now IBM has also come in Lucknow. It is a big company in itself and HCL is also doing expansion in Lucknow. We are also looking to make a start-up hub in Greater Noida and Lucknow and the project is in the pipeline. We have got in-principle nod for the same and the work is underway." "We all know that there are a lot of big companies in Noida and Greater Noida and it is a kind of saturation in the NCR now. Our effort now is to focus on other cities like Lucknow and Varanasi. At the moment, we are focusing on Lucknow to develop it as IT and AI hub," the minister added. The UP government has already started 'AI Pragya' programme to impart training in artificial intelligence (AI) to 10 lakh people from various fields in the state by the end of 2025 to skill them in various dimensions of this technology and its use-based aspect....