Gandhinagar, 11 January 2013

He is a central government official, but he spoke from his heart at the inaugural function of the Vibrant Gujarat summit 2013. He admired Gujarat, he admired the Chief Minister and said that in the coming years, there will be a completely new Gujarat. He said a new Singapore will be created in the heart of Gujarat.

He is Amitabh Kant, CEO of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). And here is what he said, extremely important in connection with the future of Gujarat:

“The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor passes through the six most dynamic states of India, but in Gujarat we find a very different energy, a different vibrancy, a different positivity to get things delivered. This project will link Delhi – the political capital with Mumbai and it will transport goods which presently take 14 days within 12 hours. This is a revolutionary change that will be taking place. But when this happens, it creates unique and exciting opportunities, and Gujarat was the first state to realize its potential and tap it by enacting a completely new SIR act, under which it is creating new cities. The key challenge for India is to grow at rates of 8-9% per year on a constant basis for three decades or more to lift this vast segment of population above the poverty line. And the challenges for the manufacturing sector is to grow at rates of 15-16% constantly year after year for the next three decades. I think this challenge has been grasped by Gujarat, and it has taken a lead.”

“It is creating jobs, it is driving manufacturing and it is driving urbanization. Because by 2030, as many as 350 million people will get into the urbanization process, and every minute 30 Indians are moving from rural areas to urban areas, and therefore you need new urbanization. In Dholera we are creating a city by partnering with the Government of Gujarat under the dynamic leadership of Narendra Modi. A city which will be 903 sq km in size. You will realize the dimension when I say that Singapore is just 670 sq km. This is the only state which has managed, through a process of community participation and town planning, to pull/acquire land totalling an area of 540 sq km. This is unparalleled and unbelievable in many ways. And we are creating a smart city of the future, with BRT, LRT, MRT, transportation, recycling of water, recycling of waste, real time governance and control. This is an opportunity for India which has been behaving like a frog reluctant to leap forward whereas Gujarat has truly grasped the opportunity. I see a very different dynamism, energy, vibrancy, and a unique decisiveness when I deal with civil servants in Gujarat, and that is why Gujarat has taken the lead in the DMC. I complement the Chief Minister, the civil servants, the politicians for this very visionary, decisive leadership, and I am sure what you will see in the coming years, is a completely new Gujarat, a completely new Singapore created in the heart of Gujarat.”