Investment pledges, praises galore at Modi's 'Vibrant Gujarat' summit

The who's who of industry lavished praise on Narendra Modi and promised him more investment at the ‘Vibrant Gujarat' summit that began on Friday. The Chief Minister of Gujarat uses the biennial event to showcase his marketing savvy and drive investment in his state. Around 50,000 delegates from India and 1,800 from overseas are participating in the summit that is spread over two days.

This is, however, not the first such event that has seen thousands of crores pledged for Gujarat. Initiated by Mr Modi in 2003 to attract investment after the violence and an earthquake in 2001, the Vibrant Gujarat summit is attended by thousands of corporate officials who pledge huge investments every time. But so far, only a fraction has seen the light of day.

Of the Rs. 67.8 lakh crore in investment proposed at the 2009 event, just 8.5 per cent had been spent as of November 2011, according to state government data.

At the end of the day, Mr Modi tweeted, "Vibrant Gujarat 2013 is not only about investments, but about bringing positivity and global and local inclusiveness in our economic processes."

Mr Modi further tweeted: Earlier, Gujarat was the gateway to the Globe from India. Now it is becoming the Global gateway to India. Delighted & overwhelmed with the presence of so many eminent dignitaries & delegates at Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2013.

At the event, Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, said he was proud of his Gujarat roots and that "in Narendra Bhai, we have a leader with a grand vision".

“I am proud to say that RIL is a Gujarati, Indian and a global company. Gujarat has been a pioneer state in infrastructure giving it an innate advantage. We began from Gujarat and we come back here again and again to invest. We have committed over Rs 1 lakh crore, in next three years we will invest this back in Gujarat expanding Jamnagar and Hazira. We will create next generation mobile broadband infrastructure, second to none in the world providing employment to lakhs of Gujaratis. I am pleased to announce Pundit Deendayal University. It will require an investment of over Rs 500 crore which will be done in collaboration between RIL and Gujarat government,” the elder Ambani brother said.

Ratan Tata, erstwhile chairman of Tata Sons, said Gujarat would continue to attract investment because of its unwillingness to be the second best. And that the Tata group had committed to investing another Rs. 34,000 crore in the state. Mr Modi had lured Tata Motors to the state in 2008 after the company's plans to build a factory for its low-cost Nano car were thwarted by farmer protests in West Bengal.

"(I) hope the world sees Gujarat as an outstanding example of what can be done," Mr Tata said at the summit.

Maruti Suzuki chairman R.C. Bhargava said Gujarat would now be the car-maker's "second home", and that it was a "better state than anywhere else in the country for Maruti to grow". India's largest automaker has signed a memorandum of understanding for a new plant in the state, and will start work before March 2013, he said. The plant will manufacture cars from Gujarat by 2015.

The paeans continued and the pledges. The Essar Group, which is investment of more than $20 billion (Rs. 1,09,481 crore) in the state so far, said it would invest another Rs. 14,000 crore in the ports sector, of which Rs 4,000 crore will be for bulk water supply. The move that was expected to create 15,000 jobs, Shashi Ruia, chairman of Essar Group said.

“Mr Modi has proved that good economics can co-exist with good politics. Gujarat has buckled the effects of the slowdown and recession in other parts of the country,” Mr Ruia said.

Meanwhile, the Adani group said it would create 5,000 jobs through additional investments.

“The leadership of one man has made all the difference - Shri Narendra Bhai Modi. Over the past decade, Gujarat's GDP has grown at an average of at least 2 per cent point faster that India's. It accounts for 25 per cent of India's exports, and 26 per cent of overall industrial investment. No leader of any state has had such a massive impact on modern India,” said Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani group.

The Jubilant group plans to invest Rs. 1,300-1,500 crore in the next few years. It had committed to developing a special economic zone in Baruch six years ago and has invested Rs. 2,000 crore in the state so far, said Hari Bhartia, co-founder of the Jubilant Bhartia group.

K. Venkataramanan, CEO and managing director of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) too attended the summit. The engineering and construction major has invested Rs. 8,000 crore in the state and employs 5,000 at its Hazira unit.

According to Adi Godrej, chairman of the Godrej group, Gujarat has made a remarkable progress.

“We see almost every state embarking on an investors' summit now - a pro-active approach established with a walk the talk approach of the government here. There are many areas, may I say almost every sphere where Gujarat has made remarkable progress. And I'm not even talking of doing business in Gujarat where my own group's experience has been excellent. What strikes me today is the leadership displayed in energy, agriculture, technology and innovation,” Mr Godrej said.

The best -- and the most unique -- approbation came from Anand Mahindra, the chairman and managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra.

"There are very frequent comparisons between Gujarat and China. But I think a day will come when we won't talk of the China model in Gujarat but the Gujarat model in China.”

He went on to share his thoughts about the reasons behind the success of the business community in Gujarat.

“Everybody knows that the Gujarat business community has achieved astonishing progress, both in India and abroad. And as I was travelling here this morning, I was wondering why that is so? And I just thought I'd share my hypothesis. Two factors, I think, for that success - the first one is that Gujaratis are incredibly entrepreneurial. And they think big. There is something about the food in Gujarat that makes Gujaratis not just entrepreneurial but they are remarkably free of the fear of failure. And to me, this freedom from the fear of failure is at the root of entrepreneurship and innovation. The second characteristic, I think, is the Gujaratis' ability to make immediate and enduring relationship. For rest of the world I'm Anand or Mr Mahindra, but here, in the very sentence they form a bond with me - I'm Anand bhai,” Mr Mahindra said.

Chanda Kochchar, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank (seen here) said that ‘Gujarat welcomes growth, welcomes progress and welcomes investment'. “Gujarat is not just the fastest growing state in the country but by that token actually it becomes one of the fastest growing regions in the world. And we are today sitting in one of the fastest growing regions in the world,” she added.

Meanwhile, private sector lender HDFC Bank said it would open 250 branches in the next three years in the state because, its managing director Aditya Puri said, it "believes Gujarat will continue to grow at the same levels

Ron Sommers, President, US-India Business Council, too heaped praises.

“Progress in Gujarat is stunning. Not many other economies can boast of double digit growth like Gujarat. Certainty, predictability and infrastructure ensure projects are implemented,” Mr Sommers said.