The journey of Global Gujarat has begun

The inaugural Vibrant Gujarat summit of 2003 was like an aircraft travelling a distance on the runway. In the next biannual summit Gujarat sort of took off and in 2007 the state was airborne.
The summit of 2009 has pushed Gujarat into a different plane. It's an orbital jump. A commitment to invest $240 billion or about Rs 12 lakh crore is phenomenal. Mind you, it is a shade less than the Gross Domestic Product of India (a little more than $1 trillion). The purpose of any journey is to travel the distance. You can say the journey of "global Gujarat" has just begun. The 8000-odd MoUs signed will give the state the required height to travel any distance. The opportunity is there to gain any speed one wants. Tail wind is favourable and should propel the state faster.
Sure, there will be air pockets and resultant turbulence. But the captain is skilled and knowledgeable and has the ability to manoeuvre the aircraft out of the trouble. The whole point is that it is a long journey; the state and its people have to be prepared for the long haul as the journey is never complete if you haven't travelled the distance. There has been some criticism in the past of the gap between the intent expressed by the entrepreneurs and the actual investment made. But let us realise that conversion percentage is rising and the trend is likely to continue. In fact, I have reasons to believe that it will rise sharply now on.
Industrialists from India and abroad have committed billions of dollars amid global economic meltdown. This gives us a lot of optimism. But that is not the only reason. Expecting the proposed investment to take place in a year will be foolhardy. Some projects take two years to go on steam, while some take five years. If we take an average of three to four years, we can expect $60 billion to $80 billion to be infused into the state's economy annually over the next three to four years. Besides, the impact of the MoUs signed in 2007 will be seen in 2010-11. We will see the cumulative impact in 2011-12.
Mind you, these investments are largely into private sector and are in addition to the planned investment into public sector. Together they will create more than 25 lakh jobs.
While the common people think that the ball is in Chief Minister Narendra Modi's court, I feel it is actually in the court of the industrialists who have signed the MoUs. What makes me gung ho about the whole affair is the publicity that the latest edition of Vibrant Gujarat received in India and abroad. Newspapers from the US, the UK, Japan and many other countries reported the investment feast, especially because it was taking place in the backdrop of recession.
The Narendra Modi government has done its part, that of giving the entrepreneurs a platform to assess the state and then make a commitment. Hence the commitment has come after they have made their assessment. Stakeholders from across the world will question these industrialists if they do not fulfil their commitment. It is their credibility, not that of the state government, that is at stake now.
It is their turn to walk the talk and I see no reason why they will not do so. On his part, I am sure that the Modi administration has a well laid out plan of action to ensure higher conversion of MoUs. I expect him to put in place a management information system to keep him apprised of the progress every quarter if not every month.
If you want to go global, which Gujarat rightly aspires to, then quality is the password. Something remarkable that has happened this time around is the emphasis that small and medium enterprises and quality control in this sector has received. The state government has enabled the SMEs to enter into tieups for import of technology that will enable them to attain zero defect products. I am not sure if this target could be met, but even if our SMEs can bring down their defect level to 2-3 per cent, it will spell nothing less than a miracle for the state's economy.
Not just other states of India, but the entire world will come to them to source their components. Defect is a cost on the producer, but it translates into a bigger cost for the procurer as his production is stalled and installed capacity goes unutilised. I hope the SMEs make the most of the opportunity thrown open for them. Their success will make them a dependable supplier and Gujarat can emerge as the outsourcing hub for the world. Social sector, too, got its due this time.
Industrialists were far more conscious this time than they were in the past. Many projects are already in the works and you will see the results very soon.
The investment in social sector has truly laid the foundation for the all-round development of Gujarat. In fact, quite a lot has happened in the last two-three years but data are yet to be captured and hence they do not get reflected. By 2011-12 you won't hear Gujarat fares poorly in the social sector, especially education and healthcare.
On personal front, I feel very proud of Gujarat. It was so very satisfying to hear a prime minister, ministers, people's representatives, industrialists and civil society heap praise on the progress that the state has made and the environment that it offers to the entrepreneurs. They have sort of become the brand ambassadors of Gujarat.
It is now for us to determine the distance that we want to cover. Our aircraft has attained the height of 35,000 feet. We can determine the speed, too.
*THE BREAK-UP THE BIG PICTURE *
MoUs signed: 8,558 Investment committed: Rs 12 lakh crore ($240 billion)
Jobs generated: 25 lakh
*PERSPECTIVE *
The economy of India is the sixth largest economy in the world with a GDP of $1.089 trillion (nominal terms) or $3 trillion when measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. The investment committed at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit is almost one fourth of the national GDP! *SECTORS
Urban Development *
Inflow: Rs 102,600 crore Jobs: 158,000 MoUs: 257
*Petrochemicals *
Inflow: Rs 57,000 crore Jobs: 14,000 MoUs: 51
*Automobiles *
Inflow: Rs 40,000 Jobs: 120,000 MoUs: 92
*Food-Agroindustry *
Inflow: Rs 35,000 Jobs: 307,800 MoUs: 190
*Social infrastructure *
Inflow: Rs 16,500 Jobs: 427,000 MoUs: 111
*Textile-apparel *
Inflow: Rs 8,240 Jobs: 125,000 MoUs: 58
*Small-medium enterprises *
Inflow: Rs 7,180 Jobs: 285,000 MoUs: 7,204
*Biotech-Pharma *
Inflow: Rs 5,100 Jobs: 158,000 MoUs: 190**