Modi is not one to shirk a challenge and right from his first day in office, he has charted a definite course for the development of Gujarat. In the last seven years, he has successfully introduced and institutionalized new concepts.

It was under his leadership that the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ theme was conceived and the three Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summits in 2003, 2005 and 2007 together garnered 977 investment proposals to the tune of US$ 186 Billion (Rs 6.34 lakh crore) – the snowball effect of which is now being witnessed. What is more significant is the fact that a mechanism was set in place to monitor these projects for expeditious implementation and has yielded good results - 84% of these proposals have either been implemented or are under active implementation.

Encouraged by the proactive approach of the government and the multidimensional reforms in all sectors, global investors today are making a beeline for Gujarat which has now emerged as one of the world's most preferred investment destinations and this was proved by the resounding success of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit 2009 held on 12th and 13th January 2009.

In spite of the economic slowdown, the latest Vibrant Gujarat: Global Investors' Summit achieved even greater success than its predecessors with 8662 MoUs worth US$ 243 billion (over Rs. 12,000 Billion) being signed with the potential to create over 25 lakh jobs. The summit witnessed participation of over 600 foreign delegates from 45 countries. The who’s who of Indian industry were present as were eminent political dignitaries from various countries such as Japan (Partner Country to this Summit), UK, China, Russia, Canada, Israel, Poland, Korea, UAE, Malawi, Indonesia, Oman, Kenya, Italy, Singapore, Trinidad & Tobago, Vietnam, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the Maldives.

The event that started in 2003 has now taken an institutional shape and the word ‘Vibrant’ has become associated with Gujarat enhancing the national and international reputation of the state. This initiative has intensified and the state has been propelled into the next stage of the development process, focused and intensive growth in the socio-economic index.

Today when Modi looks back, he smilingly says, “I do not know how it all happened. It is perhaps the Almighty that made me perform, with the active support and cooperation of five and a half crore people of Gujarat.” He further adds, “When your intentions are good, you always get support from all corners.”

Modi is not a complacent man. He is aware that the economy of Gujarat is far ahead of many economies in South East Asia and his dream now is to position Gujarat as a state to be reckoned with and as one of the world's finest business hubs and hopes that Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit 2011 becomes a vehicle for this by becoming a forum for investments across the globe. The CM wants to project the next Vibrant Gujarat as “Davos in Action” which will give a new direction to the country’s investment landscape. “For instance, if Sri Lanka prefers to invest in Nepal, they can come to Gujarat to commit to one another. We will provide a platform for the whole globe in the next summit,” says Modi.

For further information please visit www.gujaratindia.com and www.vibrantgujarat.com