Vibrant Gujarat 2005

The Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit 2005 was organized at the Gujarat Science City in Ahmedabad. The event was showcased under 6 domes having more than 200 stalls representing various sectors.

The event got off to a scintillating start with the Hon'ble Vice President of India, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, inaugurating the summit. More than 6,000 people attended the inaugural ceremony including industry stalwarts like Mukesh Ambani of Reliance, Gautam Adani of the Adani Group, Shashi Ruia of Essar, Nigel Shaw of British Gas, dignitaries from foreign missions, industry representatives, executives from multinationals, NRIs and many others. As a reflection of faith in the state and its potential to become the prime global destination for investment in the times to come, MOUs for setting up projects worth Rs.870 billion were signed on the first day itself.

The summit was planned to coincide with the International Kite Festival that Gujarat is famous for.. Thus it got doubly exciting for on one hand while the kite fever fluttered millions of spirits in the bright sky; the Vibrant Gujarat Summit had the same effect in creating euphoric tides in the entrepreneurial spirits of those who came to participate in the summit. Sectoral theme pavilions showcasing the strength of Gujarat mesmerized visitors with their factoids and attention to detail . Major industries, Government corporations and institutions participated in each sector.

Thrust areas for this investment summit were Information Technology, Biotech, Agro Industries, Energy, Gas, Petroleum, Non-conventional Energy, Port & Port-led Industries, Financial Services, Textiles and Apparels, Gems & Jewelery and Tourism.

One to one meetings were made possible between business executives and senior officers from the government and industry representatives of UNIDO and FICCI. 37 potential investors visited the iNDEXTb booth and held discussions on their project proposals on a one to one basis with the senior officials of the Bureau.

Focus sectors on the first day were, Information Technology, Biotechnology, Agro, Energy, Gas, Petroleum and Non-conventional Sources of Energy. Seminars and meetings were held in three halls at the Science City. Potential investors and industrialists had one-to-one meetings with senior officials of the state government and ministers of the cabinet. Corporate giants that inked business MOUs on the first day included Reliance, Essar, Videocon, L&T, Arvind Mills, Shell Hazira, Torrent, Adani Group, General Motors and Welspun.

The concluding day maintained the same degree of enthusiasm as that of the first day as several MOUs were signed in areas of Agriculture, Engineering, Tourism, Urban Development, Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Port & Port-led development, Textiles and Gems & Jewellery.

The summit culminated with an impressive tally of investment commitments worth Rs. 1,061 billion in the form of 226 MOUs.

MOUs signed during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit 2005:

Gujarat's industrial majors in Torrent, Essar, Welspun and Adani have further pledged investments of Rs. 12,000 crore in gas-based and lignite-based Power projects, assuring future self-sufficiency for Gujarat in the -power sector.

The concluding ceremony was graced by the Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Shri Kamal Nath. Over all, the event evoked an excellent response amongst the industrialists of Gujarat in particular besides those from other Indian states and foreign countries.