- Thursday, April 03, 2025
PM Narendra Modi Modi envisioned the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in 2003 when he was the chief minister of the state.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE transformation of the western Indian state of Gujarat is a tale of turning adversity into prosperity, with the foundation of economic growth of the state, that leads today on multiple yardsticks, laid way back in 2001 when Narendra Modi, currently India’s prime minister, first took oath as the chief minister of the state.
Reeling under the January 26, 2001, devastating earthquake in Kutch — the third largest and second most destructive earthquake in India over the last two centuries that killed around 14,000 people — and battling apathy of the then federal government and adverse socio-economic factors, Gujarat’s investment climate had faced a big question mark.
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The journey of the state’s growth can now be assessed from the fact that from being a merely $13 billion (£10.2 billion) economy in 2001, it achieved the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of $280 billion (£221 billion) in 2023.
With the aim to transform the state, Modi, as the then chief minister of the state, envisioned the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in 2003. The 10th edition of the investors’ summit is scheduled to take place from January 10-12, 2024, in state capital Gandhinagar.
Former state chief secretary PK Laheri, who was among the close group of people who worked to organise the first edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, recalled: “When we started the summit, Prime Minister Modi (then CM) thought it would be better for him to be fully involved in it.”
While 76 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed in the first edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, the number swelled to 675 MoUs in 2009 and further to 28,360 in 2019, indicating the increasing trust and commitment shown by the industry towards the state’s growth story.
The rise in investments, including by some leading global investors, through the biennial summit reflects on the rapid growth and development across all sectors in Gujarat.
The sustained surge in the number of exhibitors since the first edition of the summit in 2003 shows the state’s steady economic growth.
With the central theme of “Gateway to the Future,” the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit to be held in January offers a chance to tackle common challenges and pave the way for global sustainable development through increased international cooperation. Industry leaders believe that the economic and industrial transformation of Gujarat from 2003 to 2023 has been meteoric.
Business experts are of the view that with Modi’s focus on all-round development of Gujarat, this event will continue to be the focal point for policy makers, industry leaders and the other architects of economic transformation.
(With PTI inputs)
