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Nandini Oza
Nandini Oza

VIBRANT GUJARAT

India to soon become world's most digitised economy: PM Modi

PTI1_10_2017_000255a Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017 in Gandhinagar on Tuesday | PTI

With top leaders and businessmen from over 100 countries in attendance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, seized the opportunity to market India as an investment destination.

Using his brainchild, the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, as a platform, Modi enlisted how his government had initiated reforms in the field of economy and said that the reforms had started showing results.

The eight edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, a biennial event since 2003, was inaugurated in the presence of representatives from 12 partner countries and businessmen of the likes of Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra, Gautam Adani and Tulsi Tanti among others.

The focus was India and Gujarat was relegated to the sidelines. However, the organisers have been saying that the summits have gone much beyond investments, MoUs in Gujarat and instead were providing opportunity to other states to showcase the facilities available with them.

Modi, having moved to the centre from Gujarat two and a half years ago, marketed India in the way he is known for. He, however, did shower praise on Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani and his team for organising an event of this magnitude. In his initial speech, he also praised Gujarati entrepreneurship spirit. He said that from India, Gujarat had the highest number of people working and living abroad. “They have created a mini Gujarat,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that India would contribute 175 giga watt of renewable energy and contribute its part towards a cleaner environment. Inviting investments, he said that sky was the limit and the work is for humanity. “Our policies are progressive,” he claimed.

Reminding the world that his government was elected primarily to provide clean governance, he said that they were aiming to bring about a paradigm shift in governance.

Demography, democracy and demand were the strengths of India, Modi said and added that the last two years had seen that it was possible to deliver quick results in a democratic set up.

He also wooed the investors by saying that India would soon be becoming world's most digitised economy. Modi also listed several reports in which India had climbed up the ladder in various parameters. The reports that he cited were released by different bodies from across the world. We were moving close to best practices, he claimed.

Make in India, according to him, had become the biggest brand. “When I go abroad and speak Make in India 10 times, people from abroad would speak it 50 times,” he claimed. According to Modi, Make In India had made the country an investment destination.

Giving jobs to youth below 35 years and providing roof to all was one of the main agendas of his government, he said.

The brand Modi got a boost when Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman from the USA, said that when Modi had visited his country, some people had felt that he (Modi) should take up the leadership of their country.

Ratan Tata, chairman of TATA Sons, who had said years ago that “you were stupid if you were not in Gujarat”, said on Tuesday again that “you were indeed stupid if you were not in Gujarat”.

Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries said that 100 per cent Gujarat would be covered under the Jio Network by Diwali 2017.

Gautam Adani of the Adani Group committed Rs 49,000 crore investment in coming five years and said that it would create 1,25,000 jobs.

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