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 | | From: | habshi | | Subject: | New green revolution in Gujarat | | Date: | Sun, 23 Jan 2005 11:58:40 GMT |
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 | Moron Pakistanis , do you now see the benefits of Hindu songs
and dances . $10b in new investment in one year for one state !.
Give Islam back to the Saudis and come back to the pagan beliefs of
your Hindu ancestors as shown in Bollywood .
organiser.org
Statescan
Thanks to Modi: A green revolution in water-starved state
By Saroj Sharma
There is festivity in the air this week in Gujarat with spirits
soaring in much the same way as the kites which in millions are
festooning the blue skies with. And the Narendra Modi government is
keeping its fingers crossed that its Uttarayan-linked, ‘Vibrant
Gujarat’ summit, held in Ahmedabad on January 12 and 13, will rake in
investments surpassing the Rs 66,000 crore ($15b) worth of MOUs
(Memorandum of Understanding) which the state government inked with
investors at the first investor summit held in Gujarat last year.
Speaking to Organiser days before the second ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ summit,
Chief Minister Narendra Modi expressed optimism over the success of
the summit. “Our USP is that we have actually replaced the red tape
with a red carpet for those willing to pump in investments into the
state. Apart from that too, the state has many plus points. With a
2,200 gas grid coming up in Gujarat of which 1,600 km has already been
laid, Gujarat will be the first state with a gas-based economy which
should be a major attraction for potential investors.” Explaining the
rationale behind linking popular festivals of state like Uttarayan and
Navaratri to investment summits over the last couple of years, Shri
Modi said, “Like other Western countries that popularise themselves
through popular festivals like the Beer Festival in Germany or the
Tomato Festival in Latin America, we decided to sell our state to the
Western audience by promoting the Navaratri as the longest dance
festival in the world. Nowhere in the world do lakhs of young boys and
girls spend nine consecutive nights dancing in till the wee hours
of the night without any restraint and some years down the line, I
expect that fun-loving people all over the world will tick mark the
Navaratri festival on their calendar in advance.”
Fun and frolic aside, the festivals in Gujarat have also become
synonymous with serious business for the state government recently.
Last year alone, the government raked in proposed investments to the
tune of a whopping Rs 66,000 crore of which almost 85 per cent, or Rs
56,000 crore are in various stages of implementation. “There is a
natural vibrancy in Gujarat along with a locational advantage which we
are planning to capitalise on,” explained Shri Modi. “For instance,
with a 1,600-km-coastline, we are planning to convert Gujarat into a
SEZ (special economic zone) capital of the country with as many as
seven SEZs in the state. My dream is to make each SEZ into a little
Singapore,” he added.
Inherent advantages that Gujarat enjoys are, however, not the only
assets that the Gujarat Chief Minister is planning to capitalise on in
his quest to convert his state into the most industrialised one in the
country. It goes to the go-getter nature of Shri Modi who is busy
converting Gujarat’s weaknesses into strengths as well. In a state
that is acutely water-starved, Gujarat has earmarked a sum of Rs 1,600
crore over the next year for drip irrigation schemes to popularise
this unique method of optimal utilisation of minimum quantities of
water to cultivate crops. Modi’s ambitious Rs 6,000-crore Sujalam
Safalam water management project is also underway at break neck speed
to meet the Gujarat CM’s deadline of completion by year-end. “Though
doubts were raised about where we would generate funds from for this
project, we have budgeted a portion of the fund requirement from the
state coffers and have also managed to secure a loan from NABARD,”
revealed Shri Modi.
Once the water management and drip irrigation projects are set in
motion, Shri Modi hopes that Gujarat would become the second state in
the country, after Punjab, to herald a green revolution. “But while
Punjab was able to usher in the green revolution because of plenty of
water, we will be able to bring in a green revolution with minimal and
optimal utilisation of water,” he said.
That there are tangible signs of development in Gujarat today is
evident for all to see. Not only is Gujarat the largest generator of
employment in the past two years consecutively based on statistics
compiled by the Centre and labour reports, but Gujarat also ranks
number one in sale of two-wheelers in rural India. Both Hero Honda and
Bajaj have sold the largest number of two-wheelers in the country in
the villages of Gujarat—an indicator of the growing affluence of the
rural populace in this state. “We hope that very soon we’ll be the
number one state in investment sweepstakes too,” said Shri Modi to
Organiser. To achieve this, the state is focusing on a large number of
new investment sectors in this year’s ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ summit. Apart
from the conventional sectors like energy, gas and petroleum,
agro-industries and tourism, the state government has added urban
development, financial services, emerging technologies, engineering
and automobiles to this list besides including gems and jewellery and
textiles. Given the scenario, it would not be surprising if Gujarat
once again regains its position as the most preferred investment
destination in India.
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