By IANS,
Bangalore : Firebrand Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi turned into a smart marketing executive to hard-sell his state in India’s tech hub and lure investments from IT-savvy Karnataka.
Invited to inaugurate Asia’s premier tech event BangaloreIT.biz by the first Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled government in the southern state, Modi took the opportunity to tell about 1,000 delegates from India and abroad that Gujarat was a land of opportunities, beckoning global investors to set shop and take advantage of its enterprising business community.
“You may be aware Gujaratis are an enterprising business community. About 30 percent of India’s market capitalisation is owned or operated by Gujaratis. While Singapore, London, New York and Tokyo are the financial nerve centres of the world, there is nothing comparable in India. Hence, we have decided to set up a Gujarat international financial tech-city (GIFT) near the Ahmedabad international airport,” Modi said in his inaugural address.
Riding high on the back of bagging the prestigious Nano project of Tatas recently, Modi said the deal had surprised even the most optimistic Indians that Guajrat could do it within a few weeks after the company pulled the project out of Singur in West Bengal over land-acquisition issue.
Touting Gujarat had emerged as the prime investment destination in the sub-continent, overtaking a dominant Maharashtra, Modi said his state was considered as the growth engine of India with an average state GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate of 10 percent over the past decade.
“Gujarat is known for its stable and business-friendly policies and a pro-active administration. We are committed to make Gujarat not only an ideal investment destination in the world, but also a coveted place to live and do business. We are working towards being India’s hub of e-commerce supported by sound financial management, robust infrastructure, state-of-the-art communication, skilled manpower and our traditional entrepreneurial spirit,” Modi said in chaste English.
Leading a high-level delegation of top officials, captains of industry and budding entrepreneurs from his ‘prosperous’ state, the three-time BJP chief minister took the opportunity to showcase ‘It’s Advantage Gujarat’ agenda in the run-up to the fourth ‘Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ summit, slated to be held January 12-13, 2009 in Ahmedabad.
“We were able to attract a whopping $150-billion worth investment commitments in the 2007 summit. It is in the backdrop of this success, we are organising the summit in mid-January to explore investment opportunities and interact with our policy-makers and industry leaders, besides networking with investors from the world over,” Modi affirmed.
Having impressed and wooed the head honchos of the IT sector, Modi lost no time in repeating the marketing exercise at a business meet with top industry leaders at a five-star hotel later in the day.
“If you decide to make Gujarat your next investment destination, I assure you of business friendly environment and real-time responses,” Modi told about 100 industry leaders, flagging the success story of bagging the Nano project in quick time.