The high-profile fifth edition of the biennial “Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit” got off to a rollicking start here on Wednesday with 2,766 Memoranda of Understanding signed on the first day itself promising an investment of over Rs. 15 lakh crore in various projects in the State. Launched by the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, in the presence of a large number of top business magnates and representatives of various countries as well as from different States in the country, the Investor's Summit is expected to notch up record investments far exceeding the expectations of the State authorities by the time the event concludes on Thursday evening.
In the last edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit held in January 2009, MoUs promising investments of over Rs. 12 lakh crore were signed.
The Principal Secretary of the Industries Department, M. Sahu, briefing mediapersons on the MoUs signed on Wednesday, said about 20 per cent of the investments would be in the power sector, 12 per cent in the financial sector, nine per cent in mines and minerals and eight per cent in the Special Investment Regions (SIRs), besides other assorted sectors.
Impressive investment
According to Mr. Sahu, 48 MoUs had been signed in the power sector accounting for investment promises of Rs. 3.05 lakh crore, 13 MoUs for investments of over Rs. 1.22 lakh crore in the SIRs, 41 MoUs in the mineral-based sector worth Rs. 1.34 lakh crore, and 16 in the banks and financial sector worth Rs. 1.72 lakh crore.
In addition, he said, 16 MoUs were signed in the oil and gas sector entailing an investment of Rs. 40,679 crore, while the Petrochemicals and Petroleum Investment Region accounted for 153 MoUs worth Rs. 73,546 crore and 308 MoUs signed in the engineering and ceramic sector with investment promises of over Rs. 75,546 crore. The lowest investment was in the paper sector with 24 MoUs for Rs. 2,649 crore.
Mr. Sahu sought to make it clear that the government had initiated a paradigm shift in this year's summit on creating a bigger knowledge-sharing platform.” As against 13 MoUs signed in the 2009 summit, we have already signed 30 while three more would be initialled tomorrow [Thursday],” he added.
Mr. Sahu pointed out that in the knowledge-sharing meet held on Monday in the run-up to the summit, which was attended by representatives of 25 foreign universities, 36 educational institutions in the State and four from other States and four from other parts of the country 79 MoUs were signed while many industries had also signed MoUs with educational institutions for synergic work, taking the total to over 120 MoUs.
Centres of excellence
He said that besides the MoUs for technological cooperation, 12 MoUs were signed by the State government or other institutions in the State with various corporate bodies for setting up centres of excellences. These included MoUs with Solvay of Belgium for setting up a centre of excellence in green chemistry, with Duravit of Germany for ceramics and with the University of California signed by the Ahmedabad-based Centre for Planning and Technology University for infrastructure development. Mr. Sahu claimed that about 400 MoUs were signed for “knowledge-sharing or capacity-building.”
