The country’s biggest global summit is being hosted between 10- 13 January 2017 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar. The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017 is a platform for ideation, knowledge exchange, innovation and fostering new partnerships. With a theme of “Connecting India to the World”, this Summit is providing a platform for leaders across the world.
The Prime Minister who holds the event close to his heart will yet again be playing the key role in the summit. Prime Minister Modi is expected to attend eight events in the four-day summit. The PM will hold a dialogue with heads of 35 international and 23 Indian companies at the global CEO roundtable on “Transforming India” at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on the inaugural day.
John Chambers, chairperson of global technology giant Cisco; Bertrand-Marc Allen, president of Boeing International; and Jean-Bernard Levy, CEO of French electricity giant EDF, have already confirmed their participation in a special meeting with the Prime Minister.
The international attention that the event has got is visible from the international participation this time. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya and Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, have confirmed their participation. Besides, confirmation has come from António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal and Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister of Serbia. Besides this, delegations from the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Sweden and France and many other countries have confirmed their presence at the event. Other international dignitaries to attend the event are PiotrGlinski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Poland, Jean-Marc Ayrault, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, France, Hiroshige Seko, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan, Anna Ekstrom, Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training, Sweden, Ministerial Delegation, Lithuania, Hiroshige Seko, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan, Ministerial Delegation from UK and USA.
The “Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show” will be a five-day event which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 January. The summit will help in the local industry and trade in making links with other countries and connections will boost business relations. In all, 1,500 representatives from 80 countries are participating in the trade show which will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 9 January. The trade show will have two parts. While on 10-11 January there will be business seminars, on 12-13 January, the exhibition will be open for visitors to understand the progress made by the industry in Gujarat.
The state government has chalked out 202 projects to be showcased to prospective investors. These projects cover over two dozen sectors where the state has the highest potential to attract investments. The projects have been identified on the basis of locational advantage for particular industries, availability of manpower and other infrastructure required for establishing an industrial unit. While Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Vadodara have been identified as potential locations for developing electronic hardware projects, Banaskantha and Patan have been shortlisted for solar power plants, and Junagadh and Kodinar for conventional power projects. The sectors for which the projects have been prepared also include aerospace and defence, automobiles and auto components, energy and power, heavy engineering and chemicals and petrochemicals.
The state government has prepared a list of well-researched 200 projects across 25 sectors with details ranging from market potential to the necessary clearances required. The project outlines also have information about the availability of manpower and other requirements for upcoming projects. Global consulting firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) has been roped in for creating project outlines. The state intends to highlight these projects to various international and national investors in Vibrant Gujarat Summit road shows and during the biennial summit scheduled to kick off from 10 January.
To ensure that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector in the state continues to grow at a rapid pace, as witnessed following the enactment of the MSME Development Act in 2006, Gujarat has further initiated a host of proactive measures, with the state government assuring full support and infrastructure for setting up MSMEs in Gujarat. In order to further drive the growth in this sector, MSMEs will be a major focus area during the 8th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.
In February last year, the Gujarat government set up dedicated facilitation desks for MSMEs at Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara with the objective of providing complete support and guidance to investors and entrepreneurs. The state’s Industrial Policy also favours setting up of MSMEs while offering a number of incentives.
From 4,131 MSME units registered in 2006-07, the number of MSMEs rose to 3,76,357 MSMEs last year. Investment in the state’s MSMEs has also seen almost a nine-fold increase between 2010-11 and 2015-16.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said: “The growth of MSMEs in Gujarat has been truly phenomenal and it is setting a benchmark for MSMEs across the country. The MSME sector of Gujarat is well on track to realise its full potential while making a significant contribution towards the ‘Make in India’ campaign, initiated by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi. The Government of Gujarat has succeeded in setting up MSME facilitation desk at various locations and it will further strive to provide the necessary support for the progress of micro, small and medium enterprises in the state.”
Encouraged by the growth of MSMEs, the Government of Gujarat has identified seven specific areas for attracting more investments to the sector. These include forest and environment, energy, food and health, revenue and urban development, transport, finance and industries.
During the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC),will organise an International Conclave on the “MSME Convention” which will bring together a group of MSME clusters present in Gujarat and India, policy makers, government officials and experts from various MSME sectors across India. The event will provide a platform for MSMEs to have deliberations on opportunities and challenges in present scenario, identify joint venture opportunities for business expansion, identify business partners and suggest a way forward for inclusive growth over a long term horizon.
A Nobel Prize Series Exhibition — wherein Nobel-winning scientists will interact with students, scientists, industry leaders and policy makers — is being seen as one of the high points of the summit that has, so far, been projected as a platform for meeting of business minds.
The five-week exhibition will be opened by the PM on 10 January at Science City in Ahmedabad. Among the scientists attending are Indian-origin Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2009 with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath.
