A decade after planting its flag in Lucknow, HCL Technologies marked its 10th anniversary with a commitment that goes well beyond lines of code — and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was there on Tuesday, 6 October 2026 to underscore exactly what that means for the state.

CM Yogi attended the anniversary celebration and performed the lokarpaṇ (inauguration) of the Emerging Tech Skilling Centre set up by HCL Tech in Lucknow. The event also saw beneficiaries linked to various HCL Foundation initiatives felicitated with cheques and certificates — a tangible measure of impact rather than a ceremonial flourish.

What the Emerging Tech Skilling Centre means for UP

The new centre is positioned to train workers in next-generation technologies, expanding the pipeline of skilled talent in a state that has been actively courting IT investment. Uttar Pradesh has in recent years pushed hard to shed its image as a purely agrarian economy, and the presence of a major technology company anchoring a dedicated skilling facility in its capital carries real symbolic and practical weight.

CM Yogi noted in his post that HCL Tech has not merely grown its business footprint in the state — it has played a meaningful role in sashaktikaran (empowerment) of rural women and self-help groups, making them self-reliant. That dual track — corporate expansion alongside grassroots social investment — is precisely the model Uttar Pradesh has been trying to attract from large corporates.

HCL Foundation's rural women and SHG initiatives

The felicitation of HCL Foundation beneficiaries at the event spotlighted the company's community-facing work. Self-help groups (SHGs) have long been a vehicle for rural women's economic participation across India, and corporate partnerships that channel resources directly to these groups — through training, market linkages, or financial support — are a multiplier the government cannot replicate at scale alone.

The distribution of cheques and certificates at a high-visibility state event gives these beneficiaries formal recognition, and signals to other corporates that such work earns political goodwill in Uttar Pradesh.

Ten years of HCL in Lucknow

A 10-year anniversary is a meaningful milestone for any corporate presence in a state capital. It suggests that HCL's Lucknow operations have survived multiple political cycles, investment climate shifts, and the disruptions of the pandemic era — a quiet vote of confidence in the city as a viable technology hub. CM Yogi extended his hardik badhai (heartfelt congratulations) to the HCL Group for the occasion.

With a dedicated skilling centre now operational, the question for Lucknow is whether this becomes a repeatable template — one that other technology firms feel compelled to match as Uttar Pradesh positions itself as a serious destination for India's digital economy.