Ahmedabad: Energy consumption in industrial sector in Gujarat has not decreased, but instead it has been higher compared to previous year which shows that economic activities in Gujarat are regular. Energy consumption was lower last month due to Diwali and rains. Consumption of electricity is important barometer to indicate economic activities.

State energy minister Saurabh Patel said today while addressing The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) function today here.

Patel in his address said the agricultural output in Gujarat will be much better in winter and also in summer due to full level of water in reservoirs. He said early harvest post summer, before monsoon rain will also be possible due to availability of Narmada water. Next two years will be exceedingly well, he added pointing out that three and half time more water could be stored in Sardar Sarovar dam reservoir post 110 meter level.

Patel said, consumption in state will increase post January 2020.

He said construction activity was also an indicator to show the state of economy and barring Surat, in rest of the parts of Gujarat, the demand of space was steady and prices were stable.

Patel attributed auto sector slow down to number of factors including increased production capacity, export not achievable as per plans and drought in last two years.

Revealing the details of some projects and policies that are in pipeline at this stage, Patel said the government has identified 60,000 hectare land in Kutch to set up the biggest hybrid park to generate renewable energy. He said the approval of Defense ministry is expected in next 8-10 days. The park will have scope to generate 30,000 MW renewable energy for which companies are also identified.

He said the government receives daily 800-900 applications for roof-top solar scheme. To further boost solar power generation, the government is mulling a policy in which provision will be made that any company, residential society, individuals will be able t sign pact with GUVNL and set up solar power generating facility to supply upto 4 MW to GUVNL to get assured income with fixed tariff for next 25 years. Power generated will be supplied to 66 KVA sub station or 11 KV feeder. There shall be provision for escro account Effective price will be 20% more than the last bid.

He said, the youths nowadays are inclining to jobs that don’t involve physical hard-work, and therefore service sector needs to be lifted up in the State. One of the arenas where there’s lot of potential is healthcare sector. With increase in the number of total medical seats and newer seats being added every year, there’s huge scope in this sector.

He said, the way farms are being divided generation-by-generation, and becoming further smaller, the government in future will need to come with a policy.

Patel said the total outstanding payment to power companies stands at Rs. 89,000 crore nationally, but Gujarat makes payment before the time in 7 days period only. He said, though Gujarat government run power companies do huge cross subsidization in order to serve agricultural sector, the prices are at par with the private companies that are active in urban areas and and have no cross subsidization burden.

‘We don’t have earning sons that earn from industrial and residential sector consumers. We don’t have Ahmedabad, Surat … even Mumbai and Delhi’s power needs are addressed by private companies. Our 35% share go to agriculture sector. In last 10 years, we have not proposed increase in tariff even a single time. If at all it increases, that’s due to fuel cost fluctuation as coal to generate power in Gujarat come far away from Chhattisgarh.

Speaking about strengths of Gujarat, Patel said, the state is policy drive. The state was first to have a port policy and a private port. The state enjoys 40% share in cargo handling. 90% LNG cargo arrives at Gujarat ports. Each district is linked to gas grid. 12,000 out of total 18,000 villages of Gujarat are connected to water grid.

Patel said that Gujarat is the only state that has reported double-digit growth for more than a decade, and attributed it to consistent policies, excellent infrastructure, and government’s fiscal discipline.

“Gujarat has been India’s growth engine, but there is a lot of competition from other states now, and we will have to do better to remain ahead. We are working on further improving Ease of Doing Business. Approvals related to NA and several other processes are now entirely online. We are coming out with a bill which will allow Small Scale Industries (SSIs) to start work without approvals from government agencies and secure the approvals within three years. Several other measures are also in the offing,” the minister said.

Patel further said that the state government is also focusing on the services sector, agriculture, and start-ups to spur economic growth and to double Gujarat’s GDP.

FICCI commits to play catalyst role in doubling Gujarat GDP in next 5 years

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) function said it is keen to play the role of a catalyst in doubling Gujarat’s GDP in the next five years. The commitment was made by Deepak Mehta, Chair, FICCI Gujarat State Council, at a programme to mark the Council’s Annual Day.

“We believe that Gujarat has the potential to double its GDP by 2025. FICCI is keen to play the role of a catalyst to make this a reality. We believe Gujarat can be to India, what Guangdong province is to China,” Mr. Mehta said at the FICCI Gujarat State Council Annual Day programme.

State Energy Minister Saurabh Patel, industry representatives from across the state, and around 200 members of FICCI took part in the programme.

Sunil Parekh, Co-chair, FICCI Gujarat State Council, said that solid policy work, good infrastructure, and the famed Gujarati entrepreneurship spirit are the reasons behind Gujarat being the number one industrialised state in the country.

“It is possible to take Gujarat’s GDP from Rs17 lakh crores at present to Rs34-35 lakh crores, but the competition is very tough, and Gujarat will have to continue to evolve and transform to do so,” Mr Parekh said.

Parekh noted that Gujarat was the number one state in Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Rankings when they were first introduced, but the state now ranks sixth.

“Five other states have replicated what we did as number one, and done better. States are competing very aggressively to attract investments, and we cannot afford to be taking it easy,” he cautioned.

Parekh identified low value addition, high ICOR (Incremental Capital Output Ratio), low Intellectual Property and Patent filing, and job creation as some of the areas where Gujarat will have to improve, and also said that the focus should be on looking at agriculture in a modern way, and on enhancing the competitiveness of industries.

Speaking at the session on ‘Doubling Gujarat’s GDP by 2025’, Nirav Shah, Partner, PwC India, said that manufacturing has been Gujarat’s strength, and it will have to play the lion’s share if the state has to double its GDP in five years.

“The state has the potential to house and develop specific sectors but upgradation in the value chain is a must. Many sectors such as dairy chemical, jewellery, textiles, etc. are growing, and need export competitiveness interventions such as reduction in transaction cost, cutting-edge R&D, large integration with global networks and development of quality and testing infrastructure,” he said.

Former IIMA director Prof Pradip Khandwalla also addressed the session, which was followed by an insightful panel discussion on the topic. Deepak Mehta, Chair-FICCI Gujarat State Council and CMD Deepak Nitrite, moderated the session. Kartikeya Sarabhai, founder and director of Centre for Environment Education, Rajiv Vastupal, MD, Rajiv Petrochemicals, Ashish Soparkar, MD, Meghmani Organics, Mahendra Patel, CMD,

Mahendra Patel of Mamta Machinery, and Jaimin Shah, CEO & MD, Dev IT, took part in the panel discussion, and gave suggestions on achieving the aim to double Gujarat’s GDP by 2025. While Patel suggested circular economy (based on recycling chain), Shah stressed on more collaboration between domestic brick and mortar companies and IT sector in order to identify the problems of industry and bring solutions through AI and IT.

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