New Delhi: Business tycoons and global statesmen have converged in Gandhinagar today to participate in the 7th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit, a flagship programme of Gujarat government.
Apart from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry, several ministers from Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada and over 50 CEOs of top Indian as well as international companies will participate in the summit that will conclude on January 13. Eight countries, including the US, Canada and Japan have for the first time become partner nations for the summit.
During the event, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said Reliance will invest Rs 100,000 crore in Gujarat across businesses in the next 12-18 months.
The investments will be in expanding petrochemical production capacity as well as in launch the much-awaited 4G broadband services while contributing to Make in India and Digital India initiatives.
Ambani said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clarion call for boosting domestic manufacturing and job creation through Make in India campaign and Digital India initiative "have energised India and its enterprises".
He said as part of the investment programme, RIL will partner and enable thousands of small businesses and Gujarati entrepreneurs to create virtuous cycle of prosperity.
"India is marching forward with a clear vision to emerge as global power even when as most of the world is struggling with low growth.
"India can chart a path under our Prime Minister in the next few years to really become the fastest growing economy in the world. A goal that is possible to achieve," he said.
“We are proud to be a Gujarati company. We have invested in Gujarat time and again to convert a business vision into reality,” he said.
RIL is investing in raising polyester capacity by some 60 per cent in aggregate across four locations, a new 1.5 million tonnes refinery off-gas based petrochemical cracker and downstream units in Jamnagar, enhancing refining profitability via petcoke (petroleum coke) gasification and reducing feedstock costs for petrochem by importing cheap US ethane.
Ambani said he has attended all Vibrant Gujarat Summits and called Modi "a world leader the India is very proud of".
Gujarat, he said, leads the country in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target.
"Reliance has been an inseparable part of Gujarat's success story. Over the last three decades we have invested again and again to convert a business vision into a reality," he said, calling upon fellow industrialists to follow the firm's example.
Stating that Reliance was determined to give back to Gujarat more and more, he said, "All of us will have to work in the spirit of partnership".
In his speech, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, said, “We are the first human generation which can eliminate extreme poverty and India should be the leader in eliminating poverty."
"India's economy is expected to grow at 6.6 per cent this year. India has potential to be a leader in solar energy production, and the solar sector could be India's key contribution towards fighting climate change," Mr Kim said.
Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision of elevating India's position in the world, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said, "We'll invest Rs 20,000 crore in the expansion of cement and other plants in Gujarat."
Started as a brainchild of Narendra Modi in 2003, the biennial event has been steadily rising in stature with every edition. The seventh edition of the three-day Summit, is set to get grander in terms of the sheer number of participants and the guests involved.
