- Monday, February 24, 2025
Amit Shah also said that the Vibrant Gujarat model has been replicated and accepted by various states across India.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN home minister Amit Shah on Friday (12) appealed to industrialists in the western Indian and his home state of Gujarat to expand the frontier of their businesses in the northern part of the country, and Kashmir in particular.
Speaking at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, on the third and final day, Shah said, “I would like to tell Gujarati industrialists, in case they want to expand towards the north, then please invest in Kashmir. By doing so, please support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative in mainstreaming Kashmir.”
Manoj Sinha, lieutenant governor of Kashmir, a Union Territory (UT) or centrally administered region now, was in the audience. He also made a similar appeal to investors to visit and participate in the UT’s growth.
Read: Vibrant Gujarat summit: Adani Group to invest £19b in Gujarat over 5 years
“The condition of Jammu and Kashmir has changed a lot in the past four years. The New Industrial Scheme which the government of India has made for investment in J&K, so I would like to say that today the highest incentive is being generated from here (because of this scheme). Poverty is also less in J&K,” Sinha, who said he has signed as many as seven memorandums of understanding for investment in Jammu and Kashmir, added.
Read: Vibrant Gujarat summit: Here are top 10 investment pledges
The Narendra Modi government has focused on bringing in big-ticket investments in the region that has seen decades of militancy, ever since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status.
Shah, the second most powerful man in India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party after prime minister Modi, contended that the Vibrant Gujarat model has been replicated and accepted by various states across the country.
“Many states have followed Gujarat’s industrial model,” he said.
“India has become the best place to invest at a global level. And in India, the best destination to invest is our Gujarat,” he said.
“Gujarat is the gateway to Viksit Bharat (a developed India by 2047). It is our duty to keep the trust intact.”
The Vibrant Gujarat summit was started by Modi in 2003, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. Shah was a top minister of the state then.
“The way Modi ji has made Gujarat a policy-driven state, and Bhupendra bhai (Patel) has taken it forward, I believe investors from across the globe will like to invest in India,” Shah remarked.
The minister also asserted that India’s space sector has the potential to expand. Citing a survey, he said the country’s space sector industry is poised to rise from $9 billion (£7 billion) now to $40 billion (£31 billion) before 2040.
The 10th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 was inaugurated on Wednesday (10) by Modi. The theme of this year’s three-day summit is ‘Gateway to the Future’ and includes the participation of 34 partner countries and 16 partner organizations.
Several Indian political and business leaders attended the summit besides some heads of state, including the president of the United Arab Emirates who served as the chief guest.
