Gujarat has created an ecosystem that assures business and investment-friendly environment – be it re-engineering of the system, creating requisite infrastructure or networking for finances, chief minister Anandiben Patel said in New Delhi today.
Speaking at the curtain-raiser for Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2015, she said the summit, which was started as an exercise to showcase Gujarat as an investment destination, has now transformed into a global networking summit. Gujarat, she said, has rapidly emerged as a global business hub.
 
Prime minister Narendra Modi will attend the inaugural session of the summit, to be held from January 11-13, 2015 in Gandhinagar. Patel said the key things identified for the summit are innovation, sustainability, youth and skill development, women empowerment and knowledge sharing.

Amitabh Kant, secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion, said the key challenge for India today is to grow at the rate of over 10 percent for the next three decades. “That is the only way we can raise a vast segment of our population above the poverty line. If India wants to take on this challenge, it needs to replicate the model of Gujarat,” he said.

He said Gujarat has the highest urbanisation level in India at 43 percent and highest exports from any state in India come from Gujarat.

“Manufacturing, which will be the key driver of India’s growth, clocks 28 percent in Gujarat against India’s average of 16 percent. 45 percent of India’s export from its SEZ comes from Gujarat. Gujarat has grown highest than any other state. It is the only state to have power, water, dynamic leadership and a bureaucracy committed to fast decision making,” Kant said.

He added that as the CEO of Delhi Mumbai industrial corridor development corporation (DMICDC) he has worked very closely with Gujarat. He said Dholera is the biggest smart city in the world being built in Gujarat, the total area of which exceeds the total area of Singapore. Lauding Patel, the then revenue minister who gave the land for building this smart city, Kant said, “If you are not in Gujarat, you are missing out on the biggest opportunity of growth and development.”