In Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, Chief Minister Shri Vijay Rupani, laid out his vision for the future of the Gujarat till 2022. The exclusive event highlighted Gujarat’s abilityto provide a higher quality of life to its citizens and to those who have migrated into it for work or higher education. The event showcased Gujarat’s investment potential with its well-developed physical and social infrastructure, political stability, holistic educational and medical facilities, opportunities for employment and robust connectivity.
Making the keynote address the Hon’ble Chief Minister focused on the hard infrastructure of the state as well as the social aspects and the people’s welfare. He said, “Today, Gujarat has one of the highest investment potentials in the country and is one of the top 3 recipients of Foreign Direct Investments for the year 2016-17.Gujarat’s growth curve has been on a steep rise. The state’s GSDP has grown from 1.2 lakh crores in 2001-02 to 11 lakh crores in 2016-17, and will rise 4 folds to 40 lakh crores, by 2030.”
Elaborating on the ‘transformational model’ designed to make the state the Gujarat of tomorrow, the Chief Minister said, “Gujarat’s Sprint to 2022 is made for the investor in you. Our geographically balanced model of development comprises of Special Investment Regions such as Dholera, MandalBecharaji and PCPIR and
Smart Industrial Cities like GIFT.Projects like the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor and the Dedicated Freight Corridor will ease pressure on passenger tracks and facilitate transfers of goods enormously.”
“I'm pleased to announce that by 2022, a new international airport will also be operational in Dholera SIR.The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, GIFT, is one of the top emerging business hubs in the world. Already home to the reputable Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, the number of business units in GIFT will double from 200 to 400 by the year 2022. The total operation area will also increase 2.5 times from the existing 20 lakh sq. ft,” he said.
Besides the mega-projects that have grabbed attention of the business community and governments across the globe, India’s first bullet train will ply through Gujarat in 2022.
The objective of Gujarat’s Sprint to 2022 is to take a holistic approach towards development in the state – taking industrial, social economic, infrastructural, environmental and technological aspects of growth into account.
ShriRupani spoke about the need for inclusion of technology in education and said that by 2022, as many as 43,000 schools in Gujarat will be ICT and WiFi enabled. He added that the number of Centres of Excellence in the state would go up to 40 by 2022.
He added that there is a renewed focus on youth empowerment, engagement and enhancing employment generation in the state. “Gujarat is continually strengthening its position as the top employment hub of the country, by turning the youth of today from being "Job Seekers" to "Job Creators".In 2018, Gujarat was ranked the Best State For Start-Ups In India by DIPP. By the year 2022, we will have incubated over 2000 new start-ups in the state, a steep rise from 764 start-ups, today. Renowned academic institutions like the IIT, IIM, NID and CEPT are collaborating with the state government to provide plug and play facilities for new business owners.”
He further added that all these developments would take place keeping in mind the sanctity of the environment – particularly on energy and water conservation. Apart
from being a Power Surplus state, Gujarat is on course to become a Drinking Water Surplus state as well.
ShriRupani said that the government will also ensure that the government offers affordable and world-class medical facilities to the people through the Ayushman Bharat programme. He added that a focused approach will be taken to promoting medical tourism and positioning Gujarat as a destination for affordable treatment with world class facilities.
Deputy CM Nitinbhai Patel spoke of Gujarat’s healthcare infrastructure and said, “Government hospitals cater to 75 per cent of the population in Gujarat and we plan to add 1200 bed wings in the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital for the people of Gujarat. We have been here for 22 years because of the trust that the people of Gujarat have in us and we hope to keep the trust by fulfilling our promises.”
Sharing his thoughts on the Gujarat’s Sprint to 2022 Vision, Chief Secretary said “Sprint 2022 will help Gujarat skip a generation of development to become a global business powerhouse. It is a platform and an opportunity for current and future investors to help transform socioeconomic infrastructure, healthcare, education and connectivity. And, accelerate in our race to achieve our goals by the year 2022.”
The session was attended by some of the most influential speakers, each that represents authority and knowledge in their fields – namely, Shri MK Das, IAS, Principal Secretary Industries and Mines Department, GoG; MrPankaj Patel, CMD, ZydusCadila; Mr Kenichi Ayukawa, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd; MrKeshavVerma, IAS, Chairman, Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd; MsKiranSethi, Founder & Director, Riverside School; MrKulinLalbhai, Executive Director, Arvind Ltd; MrKatsuo Matsumoto, Chief Representative, JICA India and MrArun Kumar, Chairman and CEO, KPMG.