Vibrant Gujarat 2011 lures investors

With the who's who of India's corporate world in attendance in Gandhinagar, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi told the Vibrant Gujarat Summit that the 21st century belonged not just to India, but also the larger Asia and Africa. Modi kicked off the state's 5th biennial two-day global summit on January 12, confident of pulling investment commitments larger than the $243 billion attracted by the previous edition.

In the current edition, the summit has attracted some 20,000 participants from 19 Indian states and 60 countries. Japan and Canada are the partner countries. Here's a look at the event...

On the first day of the show, the Gujarat government said it has got investment commitments totalling nearly Rs 15 lakh crore reflecting the state's pristine position as a corporate destination.

Narendra Modi and participating member, wave during Vibrant Gujarat 2011.

Speaking on the occasion, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Amabni said the success of Reliance Industries is in spirit of being a Gujarati enterprise. He said his late father Dhirubhai Ambani always insisted that Reliance always sustain spirit of being a Gujarati company. Mukesh said the Reliance-Gujarat relationship is a bond of emotions and it is a relationship that is organic in nature. He said, Gujarat is emotional part of Reliance's success story.

Narendra Modi in a conversation with Mukesh Ambani.

Gujarat is shining like a lamp of gold and the credit goes to the visionary, effective and passionate leadership provided by Narendra Modi. We have a leader here with vision and determination to translate this vision into reality," Mukesh Ambani said.

He said Modi's efforts for growth and development in the state has been responsible for alleviating poverty. "Given Gujarat's commitment towards the quality of life and prosperity of the people, I have no doubt that Gujarat will be the first state to vanish poverty in India," he added. (Photo: AFP)

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani greeting the Gujarat Chief Minister during the inaugural function of Vibrant Gujarat global summit. (Photo: AFP)

Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata greeting Narandra Modi on the first day of the event. (Photo: AFP)

Heaping praises on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for not only driving industrial growth but also boosting rural development, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata said his Group will partner the state in providing transportation into the hinterlands. "The leadership of Narendra Modi has proved that Gujarat is not only seeing industrial growth but is also witnessing rural development," Tata said at the 5th Global Summit of Vibrant Gujarat in Gandhinagar.

The Tata group has signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to provide rural transportation, he added. This will be in addition to the ongoing rural initiatives such as skills development activities, sanitation and water projects where the group is already a partner. "Today the group has a total investment in the excess of Rs 30,000 crore (in Gujarat) and employs 50,000 people directly and several more indirectly. I am here to say that the investments will continue as we move forward," Tata said.

At the Vibrant Gujarat summit, the audience got to sample a new side to the bitter battle between the Ambani brothers when industrialist Anil Ambani greeted his elder brother Mukhesh Ambani. "Respected my elder brother Shri Mukesh Ambani," he said looking at his sibling seated in the front row of the audience. A round of thunderous applause followed.

The sons of renowned late industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani were engaged in a bitter battle since 2004 over dividing the Reliance empire, which was capped by the dispute over sharing and pricing of natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin. After the Supreme Court judgement in the gas dispute, there had been at least no open war between the two.

On the other hand, Anil Ambani also promised to invest Rs 50,000 crore in Gujarat in the next 5-7 years on various projects as the firm looks to tap opportunities in the state. "We are committing to invest Rs 50,000 crore in the state of Gujarat in gas-based and coal-based power projects in the next 5-7 years",he said. The investments would be in the cement sector in areas like Kutch, Porbandar and Junagadh. Anil Ambani completed his speech with a slogan: ”Golden Gujarat, Green Gujarat and above all as a Gujarati I would say, a Garvi Gujarat”.

Anil Ambani (L), Chairman of Reliance Anil Dhrubhai Ambani Group, speaks with Saurabh Pate (R) Gujarat state Energy Minister during Vibrant Gujarat 2011. (Photo: AFP)

ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar said Gujarat is seen as the country's growth engine. "Today when the world looks at India to drive world's growth, India looks at Gujarat to drive India's growth...the state has the potential and the ability to drive this growth," she added.

AM Naik, chairman of Larsen and Tourbo speaks during the event. (Photo: AFP)

Adi Godrej, chairman of Godrej Group speaks during Vibrant Gujarat 2011. Adi Godrej gave full marks to Modi for his government's sustainable and inclusive policies. (Photo: AFP)

Narendra Modi and Japanese Ambassador to India Hideaki Domichi interact during Vibrant Gujarat 2011 Fifth Global Summit at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar some 30 km from Ahmedabad on January 12, 2010. (Photo: AFP)

Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Rwanda, Bernard Makuza poses during Vibrant Gujarat 2011 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. (Photo: AFP)

The first few minutes of the inaugural session of Vibrant Gujarat 2011 on Wednesday set the tone for events to unfold as investment promises worth $50 billion were announced within 50 minutes flat. (Photo: AFP)

In his speech, Narendra Modi said Gujarat is a land of entrepreneurs and enterprise. That was the reason why this year the state was sharing its platform of Vibrant Gujarat with other states for better knowledge and technology.

"The 20th century was all about exploitation in Asia, in Africa," he said at the packed Mahatma Mandir exposition centre, named after the father of the nation and an icon of Gujarati pride. Modi said this century also belonged to the power of youth, knowledge, democracy and justice system. "Forty-seven percent of our population is below the age of 20. I have a dream of providing them unlimited opportunities."

Actress Preity Zinta adding glam quotient to the show.

The two-day biennial event has attracted participants from 30 MNCs and 16 countries. During the event, India will see its industry pledge investments in Gujarat that may add up to $450 billion, or one-third of the country's GDP. The theme of this year's event is to make Gujarat a "Global Business Hub.”

Investors in a jovial mood during the summit. (Photo: AFP)

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi arriving at Vibrant Gujarat 2011 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, some 30 km from Ahmedabad on January 12, 2010. The summit is aimed to facilitate and promote business opportunities for the participating countries in Gujarat, in India, and across the world. (Photo: AFP)

The tone for the main event was set with a line-up of events when the five-day International Kite Festival was flagged off on the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad.

With Japan and Canada as country partners and multi-national and Indian corporate heads marking their attendance, the summit will have 18 focused areas. They include chemicals and petrochemicals, engineering and automobiles, environment technology, financial services, agro and food processing, gems and jewellery, healthcare, knowledge, mines and minerals, ports and shipbuilding and related industries, tourism and urban development.