Modi’s hardsell in Gujarat hints at key changes
From all available reports, this year's Vibrant Gujarat Summit is set to be the biggest and most successful edition ever since the biennial event kick-started in 2003. A significant measure of this lies in the fact that on the first day itself of the three-day event, which concludes on Tuesday, about two lakh crore rupees in investments had been pledged — half of which came from the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group.
Other Indian industry titans, such as the Adanis, the Ruias, the Godrejs and the other Ambani brother too made hefty investment promises, while many foreign business delegations expressed interest in sharing the Gujarat commercial pie. This, of course, is standard fare at the Vibrant Gujarat meet which, over this past decade, has become an inspiring example of just how much State Governments can do on their own to bring about economic growth and development, instead of just complaining about inadequate fund allocation from the Centre. But this year, the State summit transcended its own framework as it took on a national proportion.
The presence of the Prime Minister, who delivered the keynote address with an all-India perspective, was an important indicator of this, although his critics used that as an opportunity to sneer about how the three-time former Chief Minister of Gujarat was yet to get over his State hangover. Such derisive remarks notwithstanding, Prime Minister Narendra Modi effectively used the Vibrant Gujarat platform to offer a quick review of his Government's reform efforts and generally talk up investor sentiment for the country.
He assured the audience that he and his Government were committed to building a policy environment that was “predictable, transparent and fair”, and also highlighted the focus on improving India’s ease of doing business. Additionally, he also listed some of the key areas wherein his administration was seeking more investment, such as infrastructure development, domestic manufacturing, digital highways and clean energy. Finally, he responded to his detractors who have been complaining that his initiatives and promises were all hype and had little substance. The master strategist and communicator that he is, Mr Modi explained that the hype was necessary to keep his Government on its toes and also have the common man motivated to become individual agents of change.
The other indicator of how Vibrant Gujarat is now exuding a pan-India feel was the presence of a large contingent of world leaders. While the summit was always about attracting as much foreign attention as domestic, the attendance of foreign heads of Government, and not just business delegations from abroad, speaks volumes. This year, the Prime Ministers of Bhutan and Macedonia were present, alongside the US Secretary of State, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the World Bank president and ministerial delegations from more than a dozen countries, including Israel.