US cos tell Modi to lift prohibition

source: TNNGandhinagar:

A high-level delegation of American multinationals has asked Chief Minister Narendra Modi to lift prohibition in the interest of business development in Gujarat.
A presentation by top consultancy firm KPMG before Modi, made on behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM) on Wednesday, mentioned this is one of the “key concerns” for improving American investment prospects.

KPMG has also served as a key consultant of the Gujarat government for Vibrant Gujarat investors’ summits every alternative year since 2003.
During the interaction with Modi, at least two members of the delegation also asked the CM to move towards lifting prohibition. They believed it would improve American business prospects in Gujarat and generate high revenues for the state government.

MNC representatives at the meeting were led by Tejpreet Singh Chopra, president and CEO, General Electrics (GE) India, who is also the AMCHAM chairman. Representatives from Boeing International, Quaker Chemical, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, Marriott Hotel, Brown Forman Worldwide, Crown Worldwide Movers, Cognizant Technology Solutions, DuPont, Exxon Mobil, Monsanto, PricewaterhouseCoop ers, Coca-Cola and Intel.

GE showed keen interest in setting up a nuclear power plant in Gujarat. The Coca-Cola representative informed Modi about the company’s decision to double the capacity of its Goblaj plant with an additional investment of Rs 100 crore.

Monsanto, a key factor in the sharp rise in Bt Cotton output in Gujarat, as also DuPont, showed interest in value addition in farm produce. “They wanted to enter into developing biotechnology devices, drought proofing and weed control,” a senior official said.

Modi, on his part, invited MNCs to invest in environmentally safe technologies, health and education in Gujarat. Though he has been denied a US visa, he wanted American presence in Gujarat to further go up.

Amidst protests from some quarters, the Gujarat government partially relaxed the prohibition policy for economic zones (SEZs), national and international conventions and business and academic meets in 2006. Anybody living in an SEZ is entitled to get a `liquor card’ for a duration of three years on payment of Rs 500. There is a provision of granting a `group permit’ for major events.

Gujarat top investment destination in 2008-09

Gujarat government’s efforts to attract huge investment in the state through Vibrant Gujarat Summits seem to be paying off, as the state has emerged as the top investment destination during the year 2008-09. If a study conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) is anything to go by, the state has pipped all the state in the country with highest planned capital expenditure (capex) during the year.

In its report on ‘Investment Prospects in Indian Economy in 2008-09′, Assocham reveals that country’s total planned investment was around Rs10,43,292 crore during April 2008 to March 2009 period. Out of this total investment, around 20% was proposed in Gujarat. “Gujarat has notched the top slot with investment proposals worth Rs2,07,660 crore. The planned investment in western region comprising Gujarat, Daman & Diu, Maharashtra and Goa was Rs3,05,057 crore as against Rs2,29,740 crore in the southern region.The share of northern region was around Rs2,15,315 crore,” said DS Rawat, chamber’s secretary general. In western region, Maharashtra, Daman & Diu and Goa attracted proposed investment of Rs96,051 crore, Rs1,000 crore and Rs345 crore respectively in 2008- 09.

States in the western region have introduced investor friendly policies and they also have strategic locations with good connectivity to both national and international markets. This has led to higher investment proposals, says the report. The western part of India is emerging as major hubs for IT, manufacturing, financial services and education sectors, especially in cities such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune and Surat. However, in eastern region, corporate India’s planned investments has remained limited to Rs.168,023 crore, while in case of the central India, the figure is Rs.95,012 crore.

Once Again Gujarat Excels

Gujarat tops the list in providing Vocational Training & Employment in all of India

o Gujarat’s Employment Exchanges provided the maximum no. of jobs in India
o At the All India level, Gujarat ranks No.1 in providing jobs
o Gujarat is the first state to organize Regular Recruitment Fairs for
Unemployed Persons
o Gujarat established India’s first Placement Advisory Bureaus and set up
Construction Skill
Training centres in ITI’s
o ITI’s Placement Advisory Bureaus have won acclaim by the World Bank and
the Govt. of India
o Gujarat has forged a partnership with 40 renowned business houses and
industry partners to
deliver Specialized Industry Specific Training with an eye to the future in ITI’s

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/www.narendramodi.in/gujarat-no-1-in-employment-training

GUJARAT IN THE NEWS!!

1. According to the August 8 report of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, the richest city in India is now Surat, ahead of Bangalore and Madras, with an average annual household income of Rs0.45 million (over $11,000 per year).

2. 80 per cent of all diamonds sold anywhere in the world are polished in Surat’s 10,000 diamond units

3. The only non-Jews in the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem diamond bourse are Gujjus.

4. Between 2004-5 and 2007-8 Surat’s middle class doubled in size and its poor reduced by a third.

5. The fifth richest city in India is now Ahmedabad, ahead of Bombay and Delhi, and miles ahead of Calcutta.

6. The percentage of man-days lost in Gujarat due to labor unrest is 0.42 percent, the lowest in India

7. Of Gujarat’s 18,048 villages, 17,940 have electricity.

8. Under Chief Minister Modi, the face of industrial Gujarat is changing.

9. The world’s largest oil refinery is coming up in Jamnagar. Owned by Reliance, it already refines 660,000 barrels of oil a day and will double that this year.

10. Thirty per cent of India’s cotton is grown in Gujarat, 40 per cent of India’s art-silk is manufactured in Surat, employing 0.7 Million people.

11. The world’s third largest denim manufacturer is Ahmedabad’s Arvind Mills.

12. A KPMG report says 40 per cent of India’s pharmacy industry is based in Gujarat with companies like Torrent, Zydus Cadila, Alembic, Dishman and SunPharma.

13… The state of Gujarat’s GDP has been growing at 12 per cent a year for the last 12 years, as fast as China’s.

14. India’s wealthiest man, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance, is Gujarati. Forbes says he is the world’s fifth richest man, worth $43 billion. Azim Premji of Wipro is Gujarati. He is the world’s 21st richest man, worth $17 billion.

15. Ten of the 25 richest Indians are Gujarati.

16. Some of the best business communities in India — Parsis, Jains, Memons, Banias, Khojas and Bohras – speak Gujarati.

17. The two great leaders of the subcontinent, the Mahatma and the Quaid, were both Gujaratis from trading communities.
One a Bania, the other a Khoja.

18. Gujaratis number 55 million, five per cent of India’s population living on six per cent of surface area, but hold 30 per cent of all Indian stock.

19. Gujaratis account for 16 per cent of all Indian exports and 17 per cent of GDP.

20. Finally, more than 90% of the people related with Indian Stock market are Gujaratis?

Proud to be Gujarati & Proud to be Indian.