Vibrant Gujarat is here !

At the end of Vibrant Gujarat 2009, MoUs worth Rs 7 lakh crore ($140 billion) are expected to be signed. In this depressed environment, this is simply staggering. Gujarat has clearly marketed itself well as a destination where there is money to be made. Representatives of 30 countries and 60 transnationals are coming to the two-day event starting on Monday. There are heads of state, diplomats, political delegations, company CEOs, bankers and financial institutions flocking to Science City in Ahmedabad where the event will be held. Is it Nano which has done the trick for Gujarat? Modi admitted so. Tata’s announcement in the first week of October 2008 of its decision to move from West Bengal to Gujarat came around the same time when some of the biggest financial institutions in the US were collapsing. Three months have elapsed since and the Indian economy has shown resilience to withstand the storm. On all growth parameters, Gujarat is ahead of other states, laying stake to its claim as ‘The Growth Engine of India’ — the c atchline of Vibrant Gujarat