Vibrant document admits chronic single-digit growth
Rajiv Shah | TNN
Gandhinagar: Another top Gujarat government document, forming part of the kit prepared for distribution ahead of the 6th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, to be held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on January 11-13, 2013, has admitted that the state’s annual rate of growth over the last six years was in single digits.
Against the backdrop of huge claims of the Modi government, including in some Vibrant documents, that the annualized rate of growth is “more than 10 per cent”, the document, ‘Doing Business in Gujarat’, specifically says, “Gujarat has a compounded annual growth rate of 8.5% over the last six years;” and in just one year, 2009-10, the growth rate was 10.23%.
The document, meant to showcase Gujarat, further says that the per capita Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has grown at a compounded “annual rate of 7.4% over the last 6 years”, though in one year 2009-10, it says, the per capita GSDP went up by 9.38%.
The kit, in which the document finds place, carries brochures, presentations and other downloadable material to attract investment, with huge photographs of chief minister Narendra Modi “welcoming” the invitees to “vibrant Gujarat global business hub.” Ready for distribution ahead of the elections to the Gujarat state assembly, the kit on Friday found its place in different government departments in hundreds.
The brochure announces that Japan and Canada will be partner countries at the summit, while partner organizations are Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) as national partner, Pricewaterhouse Coopers as knowledge partner, K and D Communication as exhibition partner, APCO Worldwide as relationship partner, and Jet Airways and Emirates as airline partners. The kit’s documents showcase rapid urbanization as the reason for fostering consumer base. It says, Gujarat’s contribution to India’s GDP is 7.5%; Gujarat’s contribution to Indian industrialization is 17%, Gujarat’s share in India’s market capitalization is 30%, and Gujarat’s share in India’s workforce is 9.5%.
Giving profiles of 10 different sectors, where investment is to be attracted, the document, interestingly, carries a big world map suggesting Gujarat has a “strategic location” and is “well-connected to the major cities of the world both by air and sea routes”.
Calling Gujarat as the “growth engine of India”, the documents particularly seek to sell the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), especially Dholera special investment region (SIR), suggesting how it will have the first privately-run industrial mega park, and an international airport in the neighbourhood that will be linked with a metro train from Ahmedabad. It offers a 500 million litres per day (MLD) of desalination plant to take care of the SIR’s water needs; an international convention centre; a public transport system through light rail traffic (LTR); and a solar park in the coastal regulatory zone (CRZ). At the same time, it offers the timescale of other SIRs coming up at a dozen other places.
