Gandhinagar, Jan 11 (IANS) Sharing the stage with people who together control trillions of dollars and give direction to world economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday scaled his idea of Vibrant Gujarat to that of 'Vibrant India'.
He called upon countries and corporates to invest in India's growth story and sold his 'Make in India' campaign to the world business community.
As the proceedings began Sunday at Gandhinagar's Mahatma Mandir complex, Modi had UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, the prime ministers of Bhutan and Macedonia, ministers from Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, Singapore and other countries, corporate czars and top CEOs by his side.
"This event is perhaps the biggest gathering on earth where a budding entrepreneur has the opportunity to see the president of the World Bank. Where a young farmer, dreaming to set up a food processing unit, can listen to the views of the UN secretary general on issues like food security," a visibly happy Modi said.
xxx
The number of private jets bringing in top industrialists, global CEOs, leaders and diplomats at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport and the blaring sirens of police vehicles escorting VIPs to the summit venue were an indicator of the how seriously everyone, Modi included, took the investment summit.
This year, the summit has the US, Britain, Japan, Canada, Holland, Australia, Singapore and South Africa as partner countries. Leading trade bodies like the United State India Business Council (USIBC), which has brought its biggest-ever delegation of over 130 top business honchos, and others are part of the event.
The scaled up summit saw Prime Minister Modi hosting and inaugurating the event here.
Top Indian industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Kumarmangalam Birla, Anil Ambani, Gautam Adani and ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochhar rubbed shoulders with global CEOs, including Ajay Banga of Mastercard.
"We are placing our bets on India," said Banga, who once studied at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad.
"In the next one decade, India can lead in ending poverty. Till India is part of our efforts (in removing poverty), the World Bank cannot succeed," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said he was inspired by Modi's slogan 'Sabka saath, Sabka vikas'. "We should all adopt it," he said in a lighter vein.
xxx
Modi last hosted the summit in 2013 as chief minister of Gujarat.
From modest beginnings in 2003, the investment summit saw 17,719 MoUs (memorandums of understanding) being signed in 2013 when Modi still headed the state. This time, the figure is likely to cross 21,000.
"The investment commitments could be over Rs.15 lakh crore," one Gujarat official told IANS.
xxx
Modi met around 50 CEOs at the event. This time the agenda was not only about investing in Gujarat but in India.
BTS 10th Anniversary: South Korea's capital decorated in purple color, K-pop stars celebrated BTS anniversary like this
BTS 10 Anniversary: Who does not know the famous music band BTS of South Korea? BTS band has a worldwide craze. People are crazy about not only the songs of the BTS band but also the dance and style
Russia-Ukraine War Updates: the US to give military aid of Rs 6,000 crore to Ukraine; Russia bans 398 US lawmakers
50 days have passed since the Ukrainian war. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has approved military aid of $ 800 million (about Rs 6,089 crore) for Ukraine. This aid being given to deal with the
AAP top in Delhi, finds India Today-Cicero poll
New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) With three days left for the Delhi assembly elections, the TG-CICERO opinion poll projected the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) getting the highest number of seats (between 38- 46
Ruckus on Salman Khurshid's book: Congress leader compares Hindutva to ISIS; BJP's allegation - this is happening at the behest of Sonia-Rahul
There has been an uproar over Congress leader Salman Khurshid's book 'Sunrise over Ayodhya'. Khurshid has compared Hindutva with terrorist organizations ISIS and Boko Haram in this book. This book of
Congress President Election: Today is the last day of nomination for the post of Congress President; These leaders including Digvijay Singh in the race
It is the last day of nomination for the post of National President of Congress. All potential candidates will file their papers today. So far Digvijay Singh and Shashi Tharoor are seen in the fray,
Hyderabad's Muslim Groups launch 'Eradication of Evils' Drive
Hyderabad, Feb 2 (IANS) Muslim leaders and organisations from various schools of thought came together on a common platform to launch a campaign here to eradicate evils from the society.The
Solar Impulse 2 leaves Ahmedabad for Varanasi
Ahmedabad, March 18 (IANS) The Solar Impulse (Si2) aircraft, powered solely by the sun's energy, took off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Wednesday morning for
China again threatened to attack Taiwan, said- 'Foreign leaders are playing with fire'
China Military Drill: China has once again threatened to attack Taiwan on Wednesday. At the same time, foreign leaders negotiating with the self-governing island have been warned that they are
Uniform Civil Code: Tribes of Uttarakhand may be out of UCC, the government is yet to decide on this
The tribes of Uttarakhand can remain separate from the Uniform Civil Code. There are seven major tribes in the state, whose customs and rules are different. However, the government has yet to decide
Chinese threat increased in the northeast; Dragon built highway near Arunachal Pradesh, work completed 228 days ago
China, which claimed to withdraw its army after violent clashes in the Galvan Valley last year, has now intensified the movement near the border of Arunachal Pradesh. Indeed, China has completed