Gandhinagar: Corporates from India and abroad pledged to invest an astonishing Rs 25 lakh crore and signed 21,000 MoUs at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, matching the hype associated with this biennial event conceived by Narendra Modi in 2003 as the then Chief Minister of the state.
This is more than double the investment amount committed during the last edition of the Summit in 2013 at Rs 12 lakh crore (with 17,000 MoUs) and is over ten-times the investment committments announced at the recently held West Bengal Global Business Summit.
Announcing these eye-popping figures, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel said these MoUs include as many as 1,225 'strategic partnerships', but did not give specific details of the individial companies that have committed these investments.
The companies that have disclosed their investment committments include Reliance Industries, Adani Group, Aditya Birla Group, Suzlon and Videocon, as also foreign players like Rio Tinto, Suzuki and CLP Holdings. The proposals also include creation of lakhs of jobs.
Addressing the valedictory session of the 7th Vibrant Gujarat Summit, Patel said that the presence of Prime Minister of India "created a hype across the world" about the event.
Speaking on Monday on the second day of the three-day Summit, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that investments would significantly pick up in the coming days into India, as the new government has succeeded in stopping the reverse flow of capital that was seen in the last 3-4 years.
He also promised quick decisions and a stable tax regime, echoing the views expressed by Modi on Sunday when he said the aim is to make India easiest place to do business.
"The entire world has put their faith on us and now it's the sole responsibility of government of Gujarat and the 6.5 crore people of Gujarat to cooperate with the global industries.
"... in the previous six Summits, Prime Minister of India did no take part, but I am fortunate that this time Prime Minister of India graced the summit with his presence and created a hype across the world," she added.
Making an emotional pitch, Patel said, ""Now its our turn to take the test... This is not just a biennial summit, this is such a river which keeps flowing continuously."
She took over as Gujarat Chief Minister after Modi became Prime Minister in May last year after leading BJP to a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections.