Vibrant Gujarat: Gujarat competes with China, may get 1/3rd of India's GDP in 2 days

[rcscwc]

Gujarat: Combining sense & sensibility

Gujarat no longer competes with the rest of India but with China instead. The rate of growth of the state GDP from 2002 till date has been, on average 12.80 %. That's as good as China's and way above the Indian average of 7.7% or even Gujarat's own past performance of 3.52% per annum in real terms from 1997 to 2002, as per data from the Central Statistical Organization.

Read more: Gujarat: Combining sense & sensibility - The Times of India Gujarat: Combining sense & sensibility - The Times of India

A recent World Bank study on Gujarat's highways reveals that its superlative performance can be benchmarked by global standards. It lists several institutional and organizational factors that set it apart from other Indian states.

Cato Institute, the high priest of political liberalism, has done a detailed study on port-based development, which says that in 2007, Gujarat's ports handled 176.6 mt of cargo, making it India's biggest handler of traffic.
World Bank data reveals that, as a proportion of India's output, Gujarat accounts for 39% of industrial output, 25% of its textile production, 40% of pharmaceutical products, 67% of petrochemical production, and 20% of exports.

V-governance or vibrant governance could be added to the global public policy lexicon as Gujarat shows that it has overtaken the rest of India on roads, agriculture, ports, pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals. In other words, it is actually disintermediating, cutting India out of deal-making and hardsell and directly engaging with the world on several economic dimensions.

Gujarat's economic progress has been a quiet yet puissant tale. A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to lead a global investment delegation to the state. Two facts hit one right between the eyes. One, the average Gujarati is eager to do dhanda and we were, in fact, met by sarpanches often in trendy, torn designer jeans with maps and data, enthusiastic to attract investment. Two, the quality of roads even in small towns like Dahej, beat even the legendary US I-94 hands down.

But not everything is perfect. Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy shows that Gujarat has dropped, on average, about 26% of its signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) over the past seven years. However, it has managed to garner promised investment running into several billion dollars. It would be difficult for any government anywhere to convert every MoU into actual investments and so to believe that the entire Rs 18 lakh crore promised investment would come in, is at best aspiration, and at worst, hype.

The state's per capita electricity consumption is almost twice India's average of 704.2 kWh (2007-08). An impressive 99.7% of its villages have electricity (compared to the national average of 84.4%), according to the Central Electricity Authority. The Jyotigram power project is an intelligent rationing of power that bifurcates electricity supply with parallel lines and feeders for agricultural and non-agricultural use. The state has also invested about Rs1,000 crore in a parallel power grid and laid 56,000 km of high transmission lines and 22,000 km of low transmission lines.

What else? Ahmedabad's BRTS, the ambitious rapid transport system that's being developed by the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board, is being replicated in other states. Last year's UN Public Service Award went to Gujarat for improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in public service, perhaps on the grounds that there is no 'Adarsh' to sully its image — so far. And the state has perhaps the smallest cabinet in all of India — just 15 ministers, which may indicate that there is good governance in practice rather than merely in theory.

It all sounds exemplary but there is one important area where Gujarat has some serious catching up to do - its human development indicators. The government is trying hard to increase literacy, reduce the school drop-out rate and enhance its people's sense of wellness in accordance with the UN well-being index, but it has a long way to go.

Even so, the economic turnaround makes us wonder — what does Gujarat have that other states don't? Strong leadership and institutions that ensure good governance perhaps? Now, it needs to develop more of a social conscience and get to work on its human development index.



Read more: Gujarat: Combining sense & sensibility - The Times of India Gujarat: Combining sense & sensibility - The Times of India

TOI is not exactly friendly with Modi.

 

[JBH22]

Hehe hope everyone sees kitna acha hain Narendra Modi governance, too bad if he doesn't make to the top job because of low tactics of politicians

 

[natarajan]

We people dont bother about economy or equality but want party which does all things like major scams,free bies,media biased,secular(bashing one religion to appease another like congress)

 

[thakur_ritesh]

USBIC (US India Business Council) recently rated gujarat and karnataka as two of the most investor friendly states in india.

in 2007 (or there abouts) on his visit to china, the chinese government was full of appreciation for narendar modi on the way he was going about the economics of the state.

gujarat has an investment commitments of over 2t usd to be spread over a period of time and the vibrant gujarat 2011 is still to happen which will only add to the volume.

gujarat is considered one of the least corrupt states in india, with the fastest investment clearances, with the best delivered rehabilitation packages which also happen to be the most prompt and the villages there get electricity for no less than 20-22 hours each day in the peak season, a luxury considered in most urban indian centers.

i think give modi another 10 years post the present tenure in gujarat as the cm and gujarat not only in investments in flows but also in physical infrastructure will be an altogether different "world" and india as a country would be at a completely different level.

modi should stay in gujarat and do well for that state and make it a model state to be followed for the rest, in the center if the nda wants to make a come back i think they now have an ace up their sleeves in the form of nitish kumar, who if cant be equated with abv would still not fall very far off either. image makes a lot of difference and nitish has all that it takes in making to the top job.

 

[Yusuf]

Wonder if my dad made a mistake of moving out from Gujarat 40 years ago? Nah well I think the pastures probably were greener down south. One thing I face in my biz is gujarat is a tough market to crack. All that matters is price and not quality. In mu biz Chinese products rule in Gujarat for being cheap and not quality from Taiwan :-(

But yes Gujarat is way up the economic ladder in the country. A good business minded community aided with good policies from the state government means huge progress. Was in Ahmedabad recently. A lot of changes there.

Modi won't have to bother about how he will get voted to come back to power. He will win the next elections as well.

It's only the ghost of 2002 which stops him from coming to the national stage.

 

[warriorextreme]

i root for more industries in gujrat and more jobs that come with it...i am sick of crowd in mumbai..
go gujrat go

 

[Bangalorean]

If only prohibition was not imposed in Gujarat - it would have been worth moving to

 

[neo29]

Modi though being accused of being a radical, has done a good job for Gujarat. Gujarat has progressed a lot under him. Infact Gujarat overtook Maharashtra as a best investment destination couple of years back.

 

[S.A.T.A]

The Method Man

The Method Man

Narendra Modi is not a tall man, but he exudes self assurance and authority. There is something of the High Priest of Mohenjo-Daro about him, presiding at the altar of Capitalist Gujarat under the gaze of an adoring laity. Modi has been chief minister of Gujarat for just over nine years, in itself an enviable stretch. The billboards in Ahmedabad trumpet the January 12-13 Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

There is more of Modi the man in view than of his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party. "This government is absolutely apolitical," says Modi. "When I make a decision there is no political consideration."

Indeed, Modi runs Gujarat like a benignly tyrannical CEO. "My government is P2G2," he says. "Propeople, proactive good governance." The firm's top and bottom lines are satisfyingly in the black.

This month's investment jamboree, organised every two years, is the fifth since 2003, and it promises to bring in a fresh torrent of industries and jobs. The last one in 2009 swept aside meltdown gloom with $240 billion in commitments. "After four successful Summits the investments are in autopilot mode," Modi says.

These money-fests exemplify Modi's single-minded focus on policy and implementation. "I spent a month or a month-and-a-half supervising micro-details for the first two Summits," he says. "This one is a couple of weeks away and I don't even know who is attending." That is a bit disingenuous, though. Modi has personally led a series of roadshows heralding this Summit, complete with panels of business leaders, video presentations, and slick promotional bumf.

The interview takes place in the chief minister's enclave in Gandhinagar, guarded by gimlet-eyed security. The surroundings are quiet and sylvan. There are no crowds of hangers-on, no fawning supplicants. There are large paper roses in the ante-room, but the air is redolent with the smell of rosewater. To critics who say he runs Gujarat like a one-man show, Modi is quick to emphasise 'Team Gujarat'. "In a democratic system a leader's biggest contribution should be to institutionalise every idea," he says.

"Gujarat's success is because we have institutionalised everything." After we have done talking, Modi, ever the media-savvy politician, spends close to half an hour posing obligingly for the photographer. It is a Thursday afternoon, but affairs of state seem to wait beyond the walls of the sunlit compound.

"In a globalised world with no borders, two or three things count," Modi says. "First, stability. Second, a policy-driven state. Third, what outcome are you delivering? If you have all three, becoming a global destination [for investment] is not difficult." He says every Gujarat policy is published online for public comment and debate. "Doodh ka doodh aur pani ka pani ho jata hai," says Modi - the whey and the curds get separated.

"Then people feel it is their policy. Policy itself becomes a major driver of speed. My experience is that if you take decisions case by case, you lay the ground for corruption. But if you take decisions on the basis of policy, then you minimise the grey areas."

Technology, too, helps minimise and even eliminate corruption, he says. Every year, Modi organises a Chintan Shibir, an "introspection camp". Along with his entire cabinet, all his party legislators, and every bureaucrat and senior police official, he spends three days discussing, debating - and learning.

"I don't believe for a moment that Gujarat has all the answers," he says. "We learn from others and borrow best practices." One year he invited an official from Kerala who had run an interesting project. Another year, "we invited the Chief Secretary of Nagaland because they had done things we wanted to hear about". To criticism that he brooks no dissent, Modi says even a very junior official "can stand up and criticise his superiors"¦I sit at the back, in the audience. I'm just a participant. I learn a lot."

But is Gujarat truly a meritocracy? Can a bright young administrator rise quickly to the top? "You can't operate outside the rules," Modi says, "but neither do you need a huge, extraordinary talent to run the government. You need sweat, you need commitment. You need youthful thinking, out of the box thinking."

Towards that end, in 2009 Modi launched the "CM Fellowship" programme (www.gujaratcmfellowship.org). Young people from all over India are encouraged to apply. There is no age limit, or an educational minimum, or even the need to be a Gujarati speaker. The CM Fellows are selected after a six-month shortlisting and interview process, and have to commit to spending a year working in a government department or a district. They get stipends and accommodation.

The first batch kicked off in July 2010. "We have about 20 such boys," says Modi. "They are all technologically sound." Modi's aides say he leads a spartan lifestyle, although he willingly turned himself out in different clothes for BT's pictures, with a valet cradling an armload of mufflers in different colours.

He only occasionally meets his mother, who also lives in Gandhinagar with his younger brother. "I come from an ordinary background," Modi says. "We did not know anything about elections or politics. I never thought I would sit in this chair. I have never dreamt of becoming something. I have dreamt about doing a lot of things."

Modi, who turned 60 last September, describes two other processes he has set in stone. Every Tuesday "is for MLAs and MPs", he says. He and all his ministers do not stir out of their offices all day. Any legislator, state or central, can walk in alone or with a delegation for a conversation. "No meetings are set by my entire team. Often I am in my office until close to midnight and meet upwards of fifty people for detailed chats on Tuesdays."

Every Wednesday is Cabinet day. At 10 a.m. the Gujarat Cabinet meets minus Modi for a "zero hour". Problems and issues are thrashed out, and when Modi joins the meeting an hour later he is presented with points and recommendations.

Does he do performance appraisals for his ministers? "There is no need," he says a trifle indignantly. "We are together. My Cabinet is the smallest in India, only 15 people. I meet them every day, I know what they are up to. We are a team."

 

[chex3009]

Gujarat's Progress under Narendra Modi

http://www.supportgujarat.org/GujaratProgressSummary.pdf

 

[chex3009]

The world is at Gujarat's doorstep

AHMEDABAD: The first Vibrant Gujarat summit held in 2003 was mocked at by cynics, even as reluctant businessmen made investment promises worth over Rs 60,000 crore. By 2009, with investment promises worth $ 240 billion, the summit had established itself as one of the top business meets in the world.

Actual investment which came in during the meltdown in the last two years may have been just a trickle. But the fifth edition of the two-day biennial summit starting on Wednesday at the newly-built Rs 100-crore Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar promises to surpass previous milestones - not just in terms of MoUs but also in scale.

Besides two partner countries - Japan and Canada - representation from about 70 nations and 19 states will add value to the event, which is dubbed by chief minister Narendra Modi 'Davos In Action'. It is here over the next two days that deals worth billions will be frozen.

Rwandan Prime Minister Bernard Makuza, a Canadian minister accompanied by half-a-dozen MPs' team, a 100-strong business delegation from Japan and another 70-strong business delegation from Canada will crowd the opening event.

Among leading Indian businessmen, Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Anand Mahindra and Adi Godrej - to name just a few - will attend the event along with other top honchos of multinationals from Australia, US, UK, China, Brazil, and several countries from the Africa, Middle-East and Far-East. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, who is the brand ambassador of Gujarat's tourism, will add a dash of glamour to the summit.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/The-world-is-at-Gujarats-doorstep/articleshow/7265104.cms#ixzz1Amz7iKNg

 

[chex3009]

Wonder if my dad made a mistake of moving out from Gujarat 40 years ago? Nah well I think the pastures probably were greener down south. One thing I face in my biz is gujarat is a tough market to crack. All that matters is price and not quality. In mu biz Chinese products rule in Gujarat for being cheap and not quality from Taiwan :-(

You are wrong there mate, the average gujarati is very well versed with the quality, brand-conciousness has grown by leaps and bounds. Quality is the prime focus of any small ot medium business enterprise here in gujarat, And as i see gujarat growing from my own eyes, its a peculiar pattern that Narendra Modi is following, he not only gives attention to cities like Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara, But paying equal attention for cities like Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and majority of rural areas, thats where gujarat is different. While in any other state you see there and some very major cities or even metro-politans but nothing besides it, while here in gujarat, the state as a whole is progressing.

I wouldn't be surprised if by 10-15 years Gujarat will be miles ahead of India in terms of economy, infrastructure, entrepreneurship, manufacturing etc.

But ultimately that would benefit our country, and hopefull some states can learn from Gujarat and Takes India on the fast track of development.

 

[Gujjar_boy]

We need Nearender Modi as our PM , just look how he changed the face of gujrat...and imagine what he can do to if beacme PM of India..!

 

[rcscwc]

Wonder if my dad made a mistake of moving out from Gujarat 40 years ago? Nah well I think the pastures probably were greener down south. One thing I face in my biz is gujarat is a tough market to crack. All that matters is price and not quality. In mu biz Chinese products rule in Gujarat for being cheap and not quality from Taiwan :-(

But yes Gujarat is way up the economic ladder in the country. A good business minded community aided with good policies from the state government means huge progress. Was in Ahmedabad recently. A lot of changes there.

Modi won't have to bother about how he will get voted to come back to power. He will win the next elections as well.

It's only the ghost of 2002 which stops him from coming to the national stage.

Forty year is a long time back mate. But as per Ratan tata you are mad if you are not in Gujarat. Madder, if you you move out to a dump like W. Bengal.

 

[arya]

man with vision

i would like to see him as next pm then i can say we can stand with proud

tell me how our current pm can lead a nation in this age

why china , pakistan showing eyes well f modi will be pm then storry will be diffrent

but i know modi can never be pm in india because of dirty poltics

good keep going modi

 

[warriorextreme]

i dont think BJP will choose him as PM if they come to power..
but he can always show his metal by making gujrat most developed state in all terms..and i am sure he will do this one day..
GIFT city,DHOLERA SIR will change gujrat completely.

 

[smartindian]

AHMEDABAD: Over the next two days, India will see its industry pledge investments in one state that may add up to $450 billion, or one-third of the country's GDP . Top names from Corporate India will announce projects they plan to start in Gujarat at the two-day Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit beginning Wednesday.

When the CEOs rise, one after the other, to commit investments at the fifth edition of the summit, a few hundred crores will look like small change and only those in multiples of thousands of crores will generate an applause.

"Seldom have incoming dollars been so shocking," remarked a B-school faculty when Indian companies committed 12.44 lakh crore in January 2009, the peak of global recession. The economics professor with Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad was not surprised at doubts over the actual number of projects getting off the ground, but said, "Even if 10% of these investments materialise, it is still a big number".

Since the first summit in 2003, the state has bagged investments worth $370 billion. Critics have been dismissive of these figures and term the agreements or memoranda of understanding a hype created by one man who aspires for the nation's top post.

100% rise in investments expected

Chief Minister Narendra Modi came up with the idea of an investment summit to divert attention from the 2002 communal carnage that claimed 2,000 lives in Gujarat. The first summit attracted proposals worth Rs 66,068 crore. The figures kept multiplying since then: Rs 1 lakh crore in 2005, Rs 4.6 lakh crore in 2007 and Rs 12.44 lakh crore in 2009. This time, there may be a 100% rise and the host, the chief minister, has once again tried to take the focus away — this time from investments to knowledge-sharing.

"We want to highlight investment opportunities in the country as a whole, not just Gujarat. If you don't want to invest in Gujarat, you can think of Orissa, or may be Karnataka, but stay in India," says Modi, who was described as prime minister material by industrialists such as Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal and ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani .

The public statements coming from the industry captains further endeared Modi to businesses who agree with the state's USPs such as investment climate, proactive government machinery, good roads, uninterrupted power supply and a 1,600-km coastline, the longest in the country.

The Vibrant Gujarat model, now being replicated by states such as Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, thus helped in Modi's image makeover — from a Hindutva hardliner to a state CEO. This year, the industry chieftains will return — the Ambani brothers, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Rata, Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd Vice-Chairman & Managing Director Anand Mahindra , Larsen & Toubro Chairman & Managing Director AM Naik, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, ICICI Bank Managing Director & CEO Chanda Kochhar, Britannia Industries Managing Director Vinita Bali, former ICICI Bank MD & CEO KV Kamath, and Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal. Adding glam quotient would be Bollywood actors Preity Zinta, Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal and Manoj Joshi.

The big-ticket investments during the current summit would be by Reliance Industries , Adani Group and Essar.
It was the same platform from where Ratan Tata famously said, "You are stupid if you are not in Gujarat" , and subsequently, in 2008, relocated the Nano project to Sanand near Ahmedabad from trouble-torn Singur in West Bengal.

The Rs 2,000-crore project has acted more as an image booster for the state among business houses than bringing any real economic gains. If Tata's gesture was not enough, Modi quickly roped in Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan as the state's brand ambassador to hardsell Gir lions and Kutch's salt desert.

Modi's attempt to breathe life into Gujarat's non-existent tourism is working and tourists are gradually coming in, but his claims on investments continue to be questioned. Opposition leader Shaktisinh Gohil of the Congress has claimed that a mere 5% of investments proposed in 2009 summit have materialsed so far. Lavasa developer Hindustan Construction Company signed a Rs 40,000-crore MoU for a water city near Dholera in 2009.

"The company is yet to visit the site. Similarly, Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia promised to set up a Rs 30,000-crore Nano City , but has not proceeded anywhere," he claims. Gohil has even demanded a joint legislative committee to probe into the alleged irregularities behind the gala event and alleges the state's energy sector in the state has become an epicentre of corruption. "There is no progress on any of the 31 MoUs signed in the 2009 summit that promised to invest Rs 2,11,895 crore," he says.

The state government routinely defends the allegations on inflated investments saying these are long-term projects and may take between three and six years to come up. To further silence the critics, the state has set up a website with updates on the status of each project. Of the Rs 12 lakh crore committed in 2009, 43.27% investment has already come to the state, while of the Rs 4 lakh crore promised in 2007, 68.7% has been invested, officials tell ET.

Independent observers, who refused to be drawn into the inflated investment charges, say the event has facilitated land-grabbing by corporate houses. An academician specialising in infrastructure says, "The state needs to be transparent in such transactions considering land-grabbing by industrialists is a major area of concern." He believes that ongoing agitations by locals against large projects such as Nirma (in Bhavnagar) and Adani (in Mundra) could play spoilsport.

But the state government says investment plans coming through Vibrant Gujarat are streamlined. The projects are monitored at every juncture and help is provided to the promoter, a claim that was accepted by a plastic pipe maker who recalls receiving phone calls from the state government every month and says government agencies are prompt in clearing hurdles. "A transparent policy along with good infrastructure has drawn investors to the state," adds Minister of State for Industry Saurabh Patel.

Karnataka Principal Secretary VP Baligar oversees a similar event in his state and asserts that the southern state was the first to devise such a model in 2000. "When you sign an MoU at such a forum, you make a public commitment. Owing to the format, the state keeps such proposed projects on fasttrack," he says.

The 2010 summit in Karnataka drew close to Rs 4 lakh crore in investments. A marketing expert too says the summit has evolved into a 'special channel' to enable industries enter Gujarat. The projects signed during the event are viewed as having the blessing of the leader of the state, a special privilege that few industrialists would want to miss, he says requesting anonymity.

Indeed there are few who would like to miss the corporate congregation. "All flights to Ahmedabad from the evening of January 11 to January 12 and the night of January 13 to January 14 are packed," says Sanjeev Chhajer of Cox and Kings, a travel operator.

With all roads leading to Mahatma Mandir, the event venue in the capital Gandhinagar, the state machinery has ensured that Gujarat looks very a much part of the globe. The hullabaloo of vendors is missing as the entire state police force gets on road.

With participants from close to 100 countries expected to be present at the inauguration on January 12, those in the hospitality industry are working round-the-clock to accommodate them.
And for those who may not make it, information is available on BlackBerrys and iPhones.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ndias-gdp-in-two-days/articleshow/7264389.cms

 

[smartindian]

Vibrant Gujarat 2011: State may get 1/3rd of India's GDP in two days

AHMEDABAD: Over the next two days, India will see its industry pledge investments in one state that may add up to $450 billion, or one-third of the country's GDP . Top names from Corporate India will announce projects they plan to start in Gujarat at the two-day Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit beginning Wednesday.

When the CEOs rise, one after the other, to commit investments at the fifth edition of the summit, a few hundred crores will look like small change and only those in multiples of thousands of crores will generate an applause.

"Seldom have incoming dollars been so shocking," remarked a B-school faculty when Indian companies committed 12.44 lakh crore in January 2009, the peak of global recession. The economics professor with Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad was not surprised at doubts over the actual number of projects getting off the ground, but said, "Even if 10% of these investments materialise, it is still a big number".

Since the first summit in 2003, the state has bagged investments worth $370 billion. Critics have been dismissive of these figures and term the agreements or memoranda of understanding a hype created by one man who aspires for the nation's top post.

100% rise in investments expected

Chief Minister Narendra Modi came up with the idea of an investment summit to divert attention from the 2002 communal carnage that claimed 2,000 lives in Gujarat. The first summit attracted proposals worth Rs 66,068 crore. The figures kept multiplying since then: Rs 1 lakh crore in 2005, Rs 4.6 lakh crore in 2007 and Rs 12.44 lakh crore in 2009. This time, there may be a 100% rise and the host, the chief minister, has once again tried to take the focus away — this time from investments to knowledge-sharing.

"We want to highlight investment opportunities in the country as a whole, not just Gujarat. If you don't want to invest in Gujarat, you can think of Orissa, or may be Karnataka, but stay in India," says Modi, who was described as prime minister material by industrialists such as Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal and ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani .

The public statements coming from the industry captains further endeared Modi to businesses who agree with the state's USPs such as investment climate, proactive government machinery, good roads, uninterrupted power supply and a 1,600-km coastline, the longest in the country.

The Vibrant Gujarat model, now being replicated by states such as Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, thus helped in Modi's image makeover — from a Hindutva hardliner to a state CEO. This year, the industry chieftains will return — the Ambani brothers, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Rata, Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd Vice-Chairman & Managing Director Anand Mahindra , Larsen & Toubro Chairman & Managing Director AM Naik, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, ICICI Bank Managing Director & CEO Chanda Kochhar, Britannia Industries Managing Director Vinita Bali, former ICICI Bank MD & CEO KV Kamath, and Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal. Adding glam quotient would be Bollywood actors Preity Zinta, Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal and Manoj Joshi.

The big-ticket investments during the current summit would be by Reliance Industries , Adani Group and Essar.
It was the same platform from where Ratan Tata famously said, "You are stupid if you are not in Gujarat" , and subsequently, in 2008, relocated the Nano project to Sanand near Ahmedabad from trouble-torn Singur in West Bengal.

The Rs 2,000-crore project has acted more as an image booster for the state among business houses than bringing any real economic gains. If Tata's gesture was not enough, Modi quickly roped in Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan as the state's brand ambassador to hardsell Gir lions and Kutch's salt desert.

Modi's attempt to breathe life into Gujarat's non-existent tourism is working and tourists are gradually coming in, but his claims on investments continue to be questioned. Opposition leader Shaktisinh Gohil of the Congress has claimed that a mere 5% of investments proposed in 2009 summit have materialsed so far. Lavasa developer Hindustan Construction Company signed a Rs 40,000-crore MoU for a water city near Dholera in 2009.

"The company is yet to visit the site. Similarly, Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia promised to set up a Rs 30,000-crore Nano City , but has not proceeded anywhere," he claims. Gohil has even demanded a joint legislative committee to probe into the alleged irregularities behind the gala event and alleges the state's energy sector in the state has become an epicentre of corruption. "There is no progress on any of the 31 MoUs signed in the 2009 summit that promised to invest Rs 2,11,895 crore," he says.

The state government routinely defends the allegations on inflated investments saying these are long-term projects and may take between three and six years to come up. To further silence the critics, the state has set up a website with updates on the status of each project. Of the Rs 12 lakh crore committed in 2009, 43.27% investment has already come to the state, while of the Rs 4 lakh crore promised in 2007, 68.7% has been invested, officials tell ET.

Independent observers, who refused to be drawn into the inflated investment charges, say the event has facilitated land-grabbing by corporate houses. An academician specialising in infrastructure says, "The state needs to be transparent in such transactions considering land-grabbing by industrialists is a major area of concern." He believes that ongoing agitations by locals against large projects such as Nirma (in Bhavnagar) and Adani (in Mundra) could play spoilsport.

But the state government says investment plans coming through Vibrant Gujarat are streamlined. The projects are monitored at every juncture and help is provided to the promoter, a claim that was accepted by a plastic pipe maker who recalls receiving phone calls from the state government every month and says government agencies are prompt in clearing hurdles. "A transparent policy along with good infrastructure has drawn investors to the state," adds Minister of State for Industry Saurabh Patel.

Karnataka Principal Secretary VP Baligar oversees a similar event in his state and asserts that the southern state was the first to devise such a model in 2000. "When you sign an MoU at such a forum, you make a public commitment. Owing to the format, the state keeps such proposed projects on fasttrack," he says.

The 2010 summit in Karnataka drew close to Rs 4 lakh crore in investments. A marketing expert too says the summit has evolved into a 'special channel' to enable industries enter Gujarat. The projects signed during the event are viewed as having the blessing of the leader of the state, a special privilege that few industrialists would want to miss, he says requesting anonymity.

Indeed there are few who would like to miss the corporate congregation. "All flights to Ahmedabad from the evening of January 11 to January 12 and the night of January 13 to January 14 are packed," says Sanjeev Chhajer of Cox and Kings, a travel operator.

With all roads leading to Mahatma Mandir, the event venue in the capital Gandhinagar, the state machinery has ensured that Gujarat looks very a much part of the globe. The hullabaloo of vendors is missing as the entire state police force gets on road.

With participants from close to 100 countries expected to be present at the inauguration on January 12, those in the hospitality industry are working round-the-clock to accommodate them.
And for those who may not make it, information is available on BlackBerrys and iPhones.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ndias-gdp-in-two-days/articleshow/7264389.cms

 

[smartindian]

Gujarat's Contribution to India

* 17% of Fixed Capital Investment
* 16% of Industrial output
* 22% of India's exports
* 16% of Value of Output
* 12% of Net Manufacturing Value
* 10% of Factories
* 98% of Soda Ash production
* 80% of Diamond Export
* 78% of Salt production
* 62% of Petrochemical production
* 53% of Crude Oil (Onshore)
* 51% of Chemical products
* 37% of Groundnut production
* 35% of Cargo Handling
* 31% of Cotton production
* 30% of Natural Gas (Onshore)
* 10% of Mineral production
* 25% of Textile production
* 35% of Pharmaceutical products
* Longest shoreline — 1,670 kilometres (1,040 mi)

 

[Yusuf]

Forty year is a long time back mate. But as per Ratan tata you are mad if you are not in Gujarat. Madder, if you you move out to a dump like W. Bengal.

Well yeah it's long back and biz was good down south. The advantage with Gujarat is that it had a lot of hubs and not just limited to one or two. Big places like Ahmedabad to smaller ones like jamnagar. Even places like valsad is a good industrial centre. New places like mundra have added to it.

compared to Gujarat which has so many hubs, karnataka is Bangalore and Bangalore is Karnataka. That has blocked the states overall development.
Compare modi to our CM in Karnataka who does only natak. He tried to do a modi but ended no where. His entire ministry is corrupt. Everyone wants to make hay and Karnataka is going down the drain. Being a trader we come into touch with many govt departments esp sales tax and they tell us there is a lot of pressure on them for collection. Just yesterday they tolled a ring road. My cousin had to go through a lot of pain to set up a factory here. So it's not that easy still over here in Karnataka.