It’s an event much-awaited every year, and this year’s edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 kicked off in Gandhinagar with great pomp and enthusiasm.
Proceedings were flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who emphasised the immense potential and opportunities available in the state of Gujarat. The summit witnessed the participation of state heads, top CEOs of private companies, and delegates from over 130 countries, all eager to explore investment prospects in Gujarat.
PM Modi’s Vision for Vibrant Gujarat
Prime Minister Modi, in his address, highlighted that the world views India as a powerhouse of talented youth, a technology hub, and a democracy that delivers. He expressed confidence that India would soon become the third-largest economy globally. PM Modi’s pitch to attract global investors comes at a crucial time, as businesses seek to diversify their supply chains beyond China.
Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani took to the stage
Speaking at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2024, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani expressed bullishness about the India growth story, saying, “nothing can stop India from becoming a $35 trillion economy by 2047” and going on to say that “Gujarat alone will become a $3 trillion economy”.
Ambani went on to lavish praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, crediting him for India’s swift ascension as a global economic giant, and said that he is the “most successful Prime Minister in India’s history” and the “greatest global leader of our times”.
He went on to outline how Reliance Industries will contribute to the Gujarat and India growth stories. Through initiatives such as the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar, the Indian major aims to generate numerous green jobs and enable production of green products and materials. He also spoke of Jio’s rollout of 5G infrastructure, “the fastest rollout anywhere in the world”, the role of AI in driving inclusive growth by improving Healthcare, Education and Agricultural productivity in the State of Gujarat and India, and his vision of helping make Gujarat a pioneer in New
Materials and the Circular Economy. He envisions doing so by setting up India’s first, world-class Carbon Fibre facility at Hazira.
From Gujarat to the world, Ambani is all in on the prospect of the greater, global good and making India the world’s growth engine, as clearly evinced from his address at the Summit.
Key Investment Announcements at the Summit
As always, the Summit served as a platform for major industrial powerhouses to announce their investments in the state of Gujarat.
RIL head honcho Mukesh Ambani made bold moves, announcing the setting up of first, world-class carbon fibre facility at Hazira, in addition to the establishment of a green energy giga complex on 5,000 acres in Jamnagar in 2024. He went on to say that, “Reliance has invested over ₹12 lakh crore in creating world-class assets and capacities across India in the last 10 years. Of this, more than one-third has been invested in Gujarat alone.”
Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, too put a marker in the ground, announcing a staggering investment of ₹2 lakh crore in Gujarat, primarily focusing on building a green energy park that would be visible even from space. Adani estimated that this initiative would create approximately 1 lakh jobs, and asserted that out of the Rs 55,000 crore commitment made at the previous summit, Rs 50,000 crore has already been spent.
Maruti Suzuki’s President, Toshihiro Suzuki, unveiled plans to invest ₹35,000 crore in setting up a second manufacturing facility in Gujarat, with the aim of increasing annual production capacity to over 40 lakh units by 2030-31. The new plant is expected to be operational by FY2028-29.
Tata Group’s Chairman, N Chandrasekaran, disclosed plans to build a semiconductor factory at Dholera in Gujarat. DP World, a global logistics company, announced its intention to construct a container terminal in Gujarat. ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel manufacturing company, revealed its ambitious plan to establish the world’s single biggest steel manufacturing factory at Hazira by 2029.
ArcelorMittal Executive Chairman Lakshmi Mittal too pledged a significant investment in the state. The steel baron pledged to build the world’s single-biggest steel factory at Hazira in Gujarat by 2029, with a capacity to produce 24 million tonnes per annum.
Chipmakers too are making a beeline for the state, with Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra heaping praise on the vision to make India a global hub for semiconductors. The organisation’s work is already underway, with the US chipmaker commencing work
on building a $2.75 billion semiconductor testing and packaging facility in September, with Micron investing $825 million (approximately Rs 6,760 crore), while the government would subside the remaining figure.
Additionally, myriad Dutch and Singapore firms announced investments worth over $7 billion in India in the upcoming financial year. In other news, global tech titan Nvidia said that its partner firm Yotta was poised to commission an “Artificial Intelligence data centre” in GIFT City before March 2024.
Nithin Kamath lauds India’s startup ecosystem
Speaking at the Summit, Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder & CFO, Zerodha said that, “the last 10 years has been incredible”, and that India has officially established itself, with significant developments taking place in the country’s entrepreneurial scene in the past decade.
Encouraging India’s teeming youth populace to chase their entrepreneurial aspirations, he shared his own personal success story as an illustration. Kamath highlighted the opportunities that were presented to him as a 17-year-old with no education, capital, or extraordinary intelligence, which he believes were not available before. He mentioned the existence of a “startup ecosystem of India” where many others like himself thrive, and that he is not the only one who has benefited in India.
Kamath expressed his gratitude towards PM Modi for providing a conducive environment for young entrepreneurs, including himself, to flourish, saying, “I am thankful to PM Modi for establishing this ecosystem for all of us”, and noting that the major shift in India over the past ten years has been the transformation of entrepreneurship, which has evolved from a concept that was observed or heard about in movies, and something that was thought to be possible or desired, to the current state of entrepreneurship where active efforts are being made by all of us.
The examples he gave, such as a housewife tuning in to Shark Tank and a local shoe vendor selling on Flipkart, were unheard of a decade ago. Kamath believes that India has made significant progress in this regard, and he simply considered himself fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.
Green Initiatives and Partnerships
Noting the presence of delegates from over 130 countries in addition to 34 partner countries at the Summit, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel proudly announced that 50% of the Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed during the Summit were related to green initiatives. The focus on sustainability and environmental consciousness reflects the commitment of Gujarat, and by extension India, towards a greener future.
