January 11, 2013
AHMEDABAD: The investment potential of the country's businesses will be bared in Gujarat on Friday when CEOs and entrepreneurs reveal future projects at a business summit organized in Gujarat by chief minister Narendra Modi come to be known as industry-friendly.
January 11, 2013
AHMEDABAD: The investment potential of the country's businesses will be bared in Gujarat on Friday when CEOs and entrepreneurs reveal future projects at a business summit organized in Gujarat by chief minister Narendra Modi come to be known as industry-friendly.
The Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2013,now in its sixth edition, is arguably the biggest industry show where country's top 10 CEOs sit in the front row ahead of the ministers on the dais
The Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2013,now in its sixth edition, is arguably the biggest industry show where country's top 10 CEOs sit in the front row ahead of the ministers on the dais. This year, most CEOs will reappear, but will purse-strings be loosened in a sluggish 2013, the way they did in a resurgent 2011, will remain a guess until the summit concludes on Sunday.
Ratan Tata, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra, Godrej group chairman Adi Godrej, Reliance ADA Group chairman Anil Ambani, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and Essar Group's Shashi Ruia have confirmed their presence.
Unlike his predecessor Ratan Tata who attended the 2011 inaugural function, Cyrus Mistry will attend the valedictory event on Saturday. In the fifth summit, businesses pledged $450 billion or an amount more than Malaysia's GDP. There are no ready takers for the figures which most say are hyped. The official data says, going by numbers only 20% of the projects signed during the successive summits since 2003 have been dropped, but critics say, the actual figure could barely make it to double digits.
The Narendra Modi government is trying its best to downplay expectations "Don't get into this chakravyuh (labyrinth) of figures. The summit is to facilitate industrial investments in the state and create jobs for the youth," says Maheshwar Sahu, principal secretary, at Gujarat's industries department. The Modi government swept to the power for a third term and Sahu says there is no pressure to mopup commitments worth billions of dollars.
This time, Modi is keen to broker partnerships between companies and states and even countries. Every second country on the planet will be represented through 1,800 foreign delegates at Mahatma Mandir, the one-lakh square feet venue in capital Gandhinagar.
It was in a Vibrant Gujarat summit that Ratan Tata said "one would be stupid to not have invested in Gujarat". The comment was more of a pat on Modi's back that led other CEOs raise the "Modi for PM" chorus in subsequent summits. Certificates of adulation from industry stalwarts have pushed Vibrant
Gujarat to the pedestal prompting an imitation by many states. Now, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal have started holding similar business congregations. Maharashtra too has announced plans to hold an Udyog Diwas. The exercise started a decade ago by Modi to divert focus away from the infamous Gujarat riots that claimed 2,200 lives is slowly felt by governments as an effective way for prosperity and job-creation. Modi, of course, takes the credit for showing the way.
His opponents, though silenced after the recent elections slam the summits. "The event is more about making noise and there is nothing factually right about the MoUs that are being signed. It is impossible to get investments of such mammoth nature get realized," says leader of Gujarat Congress Arjun Modhwadia who goes on to allege that the state will yet again accommodate corporates at the cost of government resources and public coffers.
But for many corporates, the state remains a preferred destination. "All companies need favorable investor-friendly policies, good infrastructure, and quality manpower. Gujarat is the place where you can find all of this in one location," says a social media post by Jim Iyoob, senior VP, Global Development, Etech Global Services, a BPO operating two facilities in Gandhinagar and Baroda with over 500 employees.
Courtesy: ET
