Lucknow, Mar 24 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh, once considered a laggard state, has now become India's engine of economic progress, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in Lucknow to mark eight years of the National Democratic Alliance government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, he credited "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies of service, security and good governance" for the state's progress.

Adityanath recalled that before 2017, Uttar Pradesh was categorised among India's lagging regions, or the 'BIMARU' states.

However, in the last eight years, it has emerged as the driving force of the nation's economy, leading across multiple sectors, he emphasised.

The chief minister said that before 2017, agriculture was completely neglected in Uttar Pradesh. Farmers had been struggling, and the sector was on a decline. Reforms under the "double-engine government" changed the situation significantly, he said.

The state's agricultural growth rate, which was around 5 per cent in 2016-17, has now risen to over 13.5 per cent, he said.

Adityanath pointed out that the state's economic turnaround began with the first cabinet decision of his government, which waived farmers' loans worth Rs 36,000 crore.

As a result, food grain production, which stood at 557 lakh metric tonnes in 2016-17, increased to over 668 lakh metric tonnes last year, rising nearly 20 per cent, he said. PTI KIS RUK RUK

Government economic reform drives agricultural revival and stronger state growth through loan relief and policy measures. The administration attributes the state's economic turnaround to government-led reforms, notably a large-scale farmers' loan waiver and associated policy measures, which it links to higher agricultural growth rates and increased foodgrain production compared with the pre-reform baseline.