Over 2700 MoUs worth over Rs 15 lakh crore were inked in just one day in Gujarat as part of the 5th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit on Wednesday. That is a record and has made other states gawk in wonder and envy.
Many have attributed this to Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘magic.’ Well, what exactly is this magic?
Modi has the knack and ability to cut through a maze of red tape and fast-track projects. Gujarat’s system of single-window clearance for big ticket projects in a stipulated time frame has been able to attract major industries. And these projects are cleared by the Chief Minister personally.
As Ratan Tata recalled in his speech at the summit: Gujarat government took only three days to assure him land in Sanand to shift the (Nano) plant from Singur.
While other governments like Karnataka and Chattisgarh sent out bland invites when Tata ran into trouble at Singur, Modi went a step further by identifying the land for the projects and clearing the same in three days.
One is reminded of Nara Chandrababu Naidu when he was the ‘CEO’ of Andhra Pradesh. He had also fast-tracked projects clearing them overnight through telephonic calls or fax messages. That is how he was able to snatch the International School of Business from Mumbai, upsetting Bal Thackeray.
But while Naidu attracted investments to Hyderabad, Modi is able to spread the meal across Gujarat. That is his second strength. Porbandar, Kutch, Junagarh are the new and prosperous regions of the State. A Special Investment Region (SIR) is coming up in Dholera and will house India’s first city developed on a public-private partnership model.
–Agencies