On the concluding day of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, chief ministers walk the extra mile to project their states as best investment destination.
In Parliament, the two principal political parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, may not see eye-to-eye on issues of foreign investment, but these inhibitions seemed to disappear on the last day of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) here.
As the tenth PBD concluded, chief ministers of both the Congress and BJP states tried their best to project their states as the ‘best’ destination for overseas Indians’ money.
From speeches listing their achievements to open-door seminars, states’ walked the extra mile to make their presence felt. On Monday’s session saw the presence of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda, Kerala chief minister Oomen Chandy and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot. The session, moderated by the Overseas Indian Affairs minister, Vayalar Ravi, was skipped by Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Haryana and Bihar were represented by senior government officials.
Chandy, who spoke first, said the Kerala government was ready to help overseas investors willing to invest money in information technology, tourism, healthcare, knowledge, retail and infrastructural development. A large part of his speech focused on the state’s initiatives in protecting the rights of unskilled and semi-skilled workers who had worked in the Gulf.
However, of all the chief ministers, the Gujarat chief minister received the maximum cheers and applause. With his twenty-minute speech, which was mixed with sarcasm and humour, Modi tried to score both his business and political goals.
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“I don’t have iron reserves, but I am the highest producer of steel. I don’t have diamond mines, but 90 per cent of the world’s diamonds are processed in Gujarat. Rather than asking what you can give me, I am telling you what we can give you,” Modi said. “My government turns difficulties into opportunities. When Nano was being driven out of West Bengal, we turned it into an opportunity for our state. Within a decade, five million cars will be manufactured in Gujarat,” he added.
Modi, however, didn’t miss any opportunity to attack the Centre. Claiming that the Centre is giving step-motherly treatment to Gujarat, Modi said his state’s demands were mostly ignored by the Centre. “Rajasthan chief minister has said he has the blessings of the Central government and the Prime Minister. But Gujarat is not fortunate enough. We don’t get anything. We have to do everything on our own,” he said.
Munda said Jharkhand needed investments in quality and specialised healthcare and diagnostic units, hospitals, medical colleges and para-medical institutions. He said the state government wanted to involve more private partners in these sectors and that the state had already identified 800 acres of land for a ‘Knowledge City’ that will host all such institutions, including biotechnology and pharmaceutical parks.
“I assure you that the state will extend all necessary help for making Jharkhand a first choice for your valued investments — along with facilities for using worldclass and efficient green technology,” he told the gathering of overseas Indians.
Plans to develop skills: Ravi
For projecting India as a global supplier of skilled and trained work force and to leverage India’s demographic dividend over the coming decades, the minister of overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi said his ministry had prepared a scheme for skill development.
The project, called ‘Swarnpravas Yojana’, will train 10 million youth over the next two Five-Year Plans. Ravi also announced that the regional PBD for 2012 will be held in Dubai for the Gulf region.
The event came to a close on Monday with 15 overseas Indians, being awarded the Pravasi Samman Awards by President President Pratibha Devisingh Patil.
This year’s PBD saw the participation of over 1,900 delegates from 60 countries.
“Overseas Indians, who number over 27 million, are symbols of India in their adopted countries. They have done extremely well in their chosen fields and have done us proud,” Patil said.