TIL Desk/Business/Lucknow/ A high-level team led by Kanubhai Desai, Minister for Finance, Energy & Petrochemicals, Government of Gujarat, held a roadshow in Lucknow on Friday (December 17, 2021) as part of the forthcoming 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) 2022 in January. The Summit is scheduled from January 10 to 12, 2022. The Minister was accompanied by Mamta Verma, Principal Secretary, Energy & Petrochemicals Department and other senior state officials from the Government of Gujarat.
Addressing a packed hall of dignitaries, the Minister said the country has registered remarkable socio-economic development under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi and evolved into a dynamic country with a strong standing across the world.
ShriKanubhai Desai cited the initiatives undertaken by the Centre that would have a far-reaching impact on India’s future. They include the Prime Minister’s GatiShatki Master Plan, Production- Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, transparent and predictable tax system, reducing compliance burden, Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living and Make in India.
The VGGS was conceptualized in 2003 under the visionary leadership of Narendra Modi (the then Chief Minister of Gujarat). Ever since, the Summit has emerged as a global forum for business networking, knowledge-sharing and strategic partnerships for inclusive socio-economic development.
Kanubhai Desai said the Hon’ble PM would inaugurate the Summit on January 10, at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in the august presence of dignitaries from India and abroad, ministers from the Government of India, global and Indian business heads and thought leaders.
In 2020, the Hon’ble PM gave the clarion call for “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” to leverage India’s strengths, skills and capabilities for galvanizing the country to become self-reliant. The Minister pointed out that the theme of the 10th VGGS 2022 is ‘From Aatmanirbhar Gujarat to Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
In its 75th year of Independence in 2022, as India celebrates the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Gujarat is committed to realizing the Hon’ble PM’s vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Gujarat’s focus on building robust industrial infrastructure, including roads, ports, airports, power and gas, has helped the State stay on the top of the chart in the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) for 3 years-2018, 2019 and 2021.
Kanubhai Desai asserted that Gujarat is a policy-driven state. To create an enabling environment, the State Government has launched policies and schemes incentivizing investors for future growth, including the Industrial Policy 2020, Integrated Logistics & Logistics Park Policy, Electric Vehicle Policy, Solar Energy Policy and Tourism and Textiles policy 2021.
Commenting further, Kanubhai Desai, said, “Since Uttar Pradesh also has diverse industries like textile, agro, renewable energy, aerospace, heavy engineering and automobile etc. and some of the leading industrialists have established their manufacturing units in the state; I would take this opportunity to invite the industrial leaders across all the sectors to invest and expand their business in our state and avail the benefits and incentives being offered by the Government of Gujarat.”
He further elaborated, “As we all know, Uttar Pradesh is one of the largest producers of food grains and other crops and home to a number of agro-processing and agri-business based industries. I would like to highlight that Gujarat is also reviving its Agro Business Policy to encourage and support the industrialists in the sector. The policy provides benefits and incentives to both the existing as well as new entrepreneurs in this field in terms of loan assistance, project cost subsidy and interest subsidy. The policy also supports MSME units through freight subsidy, in both air and sea transportation.”
The Minister further reiterated, “Gujarat is also rapidly gaining ground in the renewable energy sector and will soon become a global hub. In line with Hon’ble Prime Minister’s target announcement at COP 26 in Glasgow (Glasgow Climate Change Conference) that India will meet 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030 and increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030, the upcoming world’s largest hybrid solar and wind renewable energy park in Kutch, Gujarat will consolidate its position as India’s renewable capital with the addition of 30GW by 2025.”
The PM will inaugurate the Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show (VGGTS) on January 9 and the VGGS 2022 on January 10. The three-day VGGS will conclude on January 12 and the Trade Show on January 13. Minister of Finance & Energy, Kanubhai Desai also had one-on-meetings with business and industry leaders, including Mr. Chandan Singh Sengar, President, Life Science Chemicals, Mr. Tanmay Tiwari, Director, Datum Advanced Composites, Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, IIT Kanpur, Mr. Prasan Lohia, Director, Merino Industries Ltd., Mr. Sachin Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, PTC Industries, Mr. C. P. Gupta, Managing Director, Ambika Steels Ltd., among others.
Minister for Industrial Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Satish Mahana, also participated in the roadshow and addressed the audience. The roadshow received an enthusiastic response, indicative of the stakeholders exploring new possibilities of investments in Gujarat in diverse sectors.
