From Lalit K Jha

Washington:The Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January could be the first occasion to showcase to the international community the issues related to Goods and Services Tax (GST) and its implementation, a senior state official has said.

“In January Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is one occasion that basically all these issues (related to GST) could be discussed and showcased,” Bharat Lal, Resident Commissioner, Gujarat told Indian reporters here.

Leading a high-level Gujarat delegation, Lal is currently on a week-long trip to North America – the US and Canada holding road shows and meeting business leaders and officials on the next edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit from January 11 to January 13.

Scheduled to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 10, the mega event is likely to be attended by several heads of States and Cabinet ranking ministers from more than two and half dozen countries.

With the theme of ‘Connecting India to the World’, the Government of Gujarat has invited all Chief Ministers so that other states could benefit from the presence of hundreds of top business executives from across the world, who are keen on investing in India.

“This summit is not focused only on Gujarat. This is focused on all India,” he said.

Delegates from 110 to 120 countries are expected to attend the eight edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

Based on initial feedback, Lal said a number of Governors from the United States are likely to attend the event.

“It is open to every State. They can do their business there,” he said.

“We expect that various union ministers, ministries would be present,” he said.

For the first time about 10 prominent Nobel Laureate have been invited to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

“Idea is the Nobel Laureates who have done great work in innovation, science, physics, chemistry and medicine and their discoveries have led to invention, if they come to Vibrant Gujarat, they speak and conduct seminars they would be beneficial to India,” he observed.

Ahead of the January event, officials from Gujarat are travelling to 23 countries, from where they expect foreign direct investment to flow into the country.

Responding to questions, Lal said there is a “great enthusiasm” among foreign companies about India and in the last two years it has created a buzz around the world.

“India is now a preferred destination for foreign investors,” he noted based on his interaction with corporate leaders in the US and Canada.

“Generally people have very very positive thing to talk about India. People are very bullish about India. India is a happening place.

“There is a wind of change in India. There is a lot of enthusiasm. People want to invest in India. This would be visible in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit,” Lal said.

PTI