 "Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017: Govt looks to improve implementation")
There is a reason Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been calling it the ‘Davos of East’ or ‘Davos in Action’. The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS 2017), in its eighth edition, has come a long way from being just another vehicle to attract investment in the state. Since its previous edition in 2015, it is increasingly being showcased as a knowledge-sharing platform, and not merely an investment-attracting platform.
And, on its eighth edition, two new additions are being made. First, the summit would host a Nobel Laureates’ meet, which is expected to see attendance from more than 10 Nobel Prize winners from science. J N Singh, chief secretary, government of Gujarat describes it as “an infusion of intellectual component in the summit”.
“One of the focus areas has always been investment but we are also looking at this as a connecting point between the world and India, not only for Gujarat but for many other states. Also, there will be tremendous amount of exchange of ideas. We don’t want to limit ourselves to Gujarat but expand the contours,” Singh told Business Standard.
Second, for the first time the summit will see what is being termed as ‘action seminars’. According to P K Taneja, additional chief secretary (industries & mines), these action seminars will be unlike the ‘theme seminars’ from the previous editions.
“Action seminars are where participants are made to interact and brainstorm, analyse problems, deliberate and come up with implementable ideas and actionable results. We are trying to bring in action into the whole matter. Earlier the theme seminars used to be a monologue, this time they will be more interactive,” Taneja elaborated.
In VGGS 2015, memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were replaced by letters of intent for the first time, something that may see a repeat in the upcoming eighth edition in January 2017.
The success rate of MoUs has already been a point of discussion with the state government claiming that it has seen a healthy rate of 60-65 per cent. Add to that, Gujarat has also been facing competition from other states in recent times in attracting investments. For instance, Gujarat received investment intentions worth only Rs 21,309 crore during January-June 2016, while Karnataka received three times more at Rs 67,757 crore during the same period, according to data from the central government.
Consequently, this has led to increased focus towards attracting investments in projects and sectors that will see quicker implementation.
What could augment this is the state government’s recent special five-year incentive scheme wherein it is offering reimbursement of net value added tax (VAT) in the range of 70 to 90 per cent depending upon the nature of the projects in terms of ultra-mega, mega, large and micro, small and medium enterprises. However, the scheme is excluding sectors like petroleum, cement and soda ash, among others, that see either higher gestation period or face environmental issues, say state government sources.
Rather, VGGS 2017 will look to play on the sectors that have already caught the fancy of the union government. A senior bureaucrat noted that the plan is to attract investments in aerospace, petrochemicals, food processing, defence and pharmaceuticals given a more liberal foreign direct investment policy announced at the Centre this year. Other sectors that will feature in the summit include heavy engineering, electronics, automobiles, aerospace and defence, food processing and biotechnology, textiles, plastics, chemicals and petrochemicals.
On the incentives front, officials noted that incentives like interest and capital subsidies, VAT-reimbursement, freight subsidy as well as power tariff incentives have been planned. “The Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), GIFT City project (India’s first international financial service centre) and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor are the key projects that are expected to draw investments,” said an official, who also highlighted that in line with the PM’s vision, Make In Gujarat would be the focus area in the three-day summit.
In terms of ‘expanding the contours’, the summit has seen several national and international delegations visiting countries like the US, Canada and other European nations. With the new Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani taking charge right ahead of the VGGS, the state bureaucracy is now busy globetrotting, inviting corporates as well as delegations from nations across the world. Fifteen senior bureaucrats from Gujarat are touring the world, or precisely they are set to visit 23 countries.
The PM himself is likely to hold a special interactive session with investors during the summit that would be held between January 10 and 13 in Mahatma Mandir at Gandhinagar, the state capital.
Taking a leaf out of Modi’s pet national projects, VGGIS would also have seminars on ‘‘ease of doing business”, smart villages, international development finance, start-ups as well as private-public partnership in infrastructure projects.
On a lighter note, a fashion show on khadi has also been planned. Promotion of khadi is one of the focus areas of Modi and Gujarat is home to its most famous proponent, the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
Meanwhile, Gujarat government had sent formal invites to 12 countries to be a part of the VGGS, of which the US, Canada, Japan, Poland, the UK, the Netherlands and Australia have agreed to be partner countries. Canada is likely to send the largest delegation to the summit this year with around 300 delegates. Germany, France and UAE are yet to confirm.
