At home turf, PM Narendra Modi makes reforms pitch to woo global business leaders
The eighth edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit that kicked off on Tuesday saw global business leaders extol Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his ‘Make In India’ drive and digital push, some of whom even saw him emerge as an international leader.
The business blitzkrieg is expected to witness over Rs 30 lakh crore worth MoUs of investment intentions to be inked. On Tuesday, it was only Adani group chairman Gautam Adani, who announced Rs 49,000 crore investment over the next five years in ports, edible oil and other infrastructure projects.
While inaugurating the summit, Modi banked on these campaigns to hard-sell India as the most profitable destination and assured corruption-free governance while addressing a 5,000-strong audience and political and business delegations from around 100 countries. The number of partner countries for the summit has increased from eight in 2015 to 12 this time.
Modi’s feverish pitch for investment comes at a time when demonetization has left several sectors bleeding and downward growth projection in coming quarters. While he drew applause several times during his speech, the biggest compliment came from Peter Huntsman, president and CEO of US-based Huntsman Corporation.
Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani said that he plans to connect all schools, colleges, traders and hospitals in the state with 4G internet. “Till 2014-15, only 35% of people in Gujarat had access to 3G internet. By Diwali 2017, 100% people would be covered.” David Farr, CEO, Emerson Electricals, announced additional investment of $200 million over the next three years to expand their India business.
“Modi visited our country last June. But there are many, many in our country who wish that you (Modi) would stay and take over leadership of our country. It would have been biggest Indian export to US,” he said to thunderous clapping.
Modi strongly harped on the Make In India campaign which he said has achieved global recognition and acceptance, so much so that he does not need to explain it to the business community now.
