Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurated the 9th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019 on Friday. The summit was attended by some of the biggest industrialists, who pledged to initiate and promote greater investment in the Indian state of Gujarat
Conceptualized in 2003 by the current Indian Prime Minister and then-Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, the 9th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019 was inaugurated on Friday. With the Summit, the Indian Prime Minister seeks to promote and develop Gujarat as a prime investment location in India. The summit was attended by some of the biggest industrialists, investors and executives. Influential firms like Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Adani Group, Aditya Birla Group, Russian oil and gas explorer Rosneft and Suzuki Motor Corporation were all present at the Summit. Apart from this, leaders from Uzbekistan, Rwanda, Denmark, Czech Republic and Malta, and more than thirty thousand delegates from India and abroad took part in Friday’s event.
During his address at the Summit, the Indian Prime Minister asserted, “India is now ready for business. In the last four years, we have jumped 65 places of global ranking of ease of doing business. I have asked my team to work harder to ensure India is on the top 50 next years”. He further highlighted that the current GDP growth rate of 7.3% in the last four years has been the highest since liberalisation of Indian economy in 1991, while the rate of inflation has been the lowest at 4.6%.
Referring to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the Indian Prime Minister informed that India now came under the list of “most open countries”. Adding, “More than 90% approvals have been put on automatic route. Such measures have propelled our economy into a high growth path. In the last four years, we have received FDI worth $263 billion — this is 45 per cent of the FDI received over the last 18 years.” Apart from international investment, PM Narendra Modi also asserted the value of domestic investment through increased Public Private Partnership over the last few years. He said that the new rail routes, gauge conversion, and electrification of tracks had resulted in “debottlenecking execution of major projects”.
The Prime Minister also outlined the creation of a “smart” India with nationwide digitisation under his government. He said, “We are insisting on IT-based transactions in procurement and purchases of the government. Digital payments, including direct transfer of government benefits, is now under full implementation. We are among the largest ecosystems in the world for startups, and a number of them have come up in the field of technology. I can therefore safely say that doing business with us is a great opportunity.”
Several Indian industrialists present at the summit assured substantial investment in the Indian state of Gujarat. While the Aditya Birla Group Chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla asserted that the Indian multinational conglomerate, operating in over thirty nations, will make a ₹15,000 crore investment across various sectors, the Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman and Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani has promised a ₹3 trillion investment in Gujarat. The Adani Group, on the other hand, plans on investing more than ₹50 crores in the state over the next five years.
Toshihiro Suzuki, CEO of Suzuki Motors, has promised the best of technology for India along with sustainable mobility solutions. He further ensured the promotion of the ‘Make in India’.
