Vibrant Gujarat Article

Charkhe Se Chandrayaan Tak


  • Vibrant Gujarat Summit was conceptualized in 2003 to re-establish Gujarat as a preferred investment destination within India. Today, the Summit has evolved into a platform for brainstorming on agendas of global socio-economic development, in addition to being a facilitator for knowledge sharing and forging effective partnerships. The 9th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit, themed at “Shaping A New India” was inaugurated by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi featured a forum for discussion on Global, National and State-level agendas with a sharp focus on all round economic development for a ‘New India’.

  • MSMEs are the lowest layer of the enterprise system in any country. Being the ‘bottom of the pyramid’, their potential growth and importance is without a doubt critical to the Nation. The need for tapping this potential, therefore, is not only a business case, but a wider issue in the overall development agenda of countries, including India. MSMEs in Gujarat are not stand alone, they are significantly influenced by trends in the global and national economy relating to business performance, and developments in technology and trade.

  • To showcase the vibrance of Indian MSME sector, Ministry of MSME participated in a grand way at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019 with a dedicated MSME Pavilion in Hall No 14A. A hexagonal shaped live lounge called “MSME-Live” was set up, that showcased all the MSME’s activities on a real time basis in the MSME pavilion. The theme of te MSME pavilion in Vibrant Gujarat 2019 was “Charkha Se Chandrayaan Tak” which showcased the humble Charkha from KVIC, that instils pride and joy for its deep symbolic importance in India’s freedom struggle, to the cutting edge technology of Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan MSME-Technology Centre, that has made India one of the few countries to do so. In overview, the MSME pavilion showcased IT initiatives viz, Sambandh, Samadhan, PMEGP, MSME B2B global Mart on four LED touchscreen display. NSIC exhibited its state of art 3D printers, application of sensors and supervisory control and data acquisition for smart home and smart cities, CNC simulation, augmented reality and virtual reality. Coir Board contributed by bringing in its latest invention of Power Loon for making Coir Geo-Textiles.

  • The MSME theme pavilion also showcased various initiatives and achievements of Ministry, which are benefiting MSME Sector in the field of Technology up-gradation and Innovation. Various new products designed under Ministry’s new initiative were on display for entrepreneurs like Solar Charkha, coir Mattress Machine, Anugraha Coir Loom, etc.
  • In addition to ‘MSME Live’ Lounge, there were separate theme pavilions of Khadi, Coir and MSME Technology Centers, popularly known as Tool Rooms. A wide variety of khadi and Village Industries products were on display with a special focus on youth. MSME Technology centers also showcased their excellence by displaying components/machines developed by them across sectors from aviation to agriculture.
  • Through this initiative, Ministry of MSME also gave an opportunity to more than 200 MSME units to exhibit their products before the national and International audience and to expand their business.
  • “India is now ready for business. In the last four years, we have jumped 65 places of global ranking of ease of doing business. I have asked my team to work harder to ensure India is on the top 50 next years”, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while inviting global business leaders and companies to come and invest in India at the the 9th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit held at Mahatma Mandir Exhibition cum Convention Centre in Gandhinagar from Jan18 to Jan20,2019. Witnessing the participation of Five Heads of States who graced the occasion were the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev along with the Prime Ministers of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen; Czech Republic, Andrej Babis & Malta, Dr Joseph Muscat, the event turned out to be huge success with so many leaders showing that international cooperation is no longer limited to national capitals but is also extended to state capitals. First edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit was held in 2003 under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, to give a spur to the investments in Gujarat. Since then it has played the role of a catalyst leading to several other such summits annually in states across the country.
  • In current context, the Summit has evolved into a platform for brainstorming on agendas of global socio-economic development, in addition to being a facilitator for knowledge sharing and forging effective partnerships. The 8th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, held in January 2017, witnessed participation from 25,000+ delegates from 100+ countries, including 4 Heads of States, Nobel Laureates, Captains of global industry and Thought Leaders. The 9th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit, themed at “Shaping A New India” was inaugurated by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi featured a forum for discussion on Global, National and State-level agendas with a sharp focus on all round economic development for a ‘New India’.
  • In addition to the flagship events organized as part of Vibrant Gujarat, the 9th edition of the Summit also witnessed the launch of a completely new set of forums aimed at diversifying the nature of knowledge sharing at the Summit, and intensifying the level of networking between participants The significant addition in this year's edition of the global trade show was business through buyer-sellers meet. For the first time it had a reverse buyer-seller meet and vendor development sections.
  • Investment Promotion Summit
  • 'Vibrant Gujarat' is a biennial Summit organised by the Government of Gujarat,. The event is aimed at attracting investments in the State by bringing together domestic as well as overseas business leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, and policy and opinion makers. The first such Meet was held in 2003, and the fifth in the series was organised in the year 2011, with the 9th edition organised in 2019.
  • What is MSME-specific About Gujarat?
  • Gujarat was born on 1st May 1960, after the division of the erstwhile state of Bombay. Form a population of 20 million and a GDP of $1.6 Billion in 1960, Gujarat has grown leaps and bounds to register a population of over 60 million, and an exponentially bigger GDP of $151 Billion today. Gujarat was chosen for the inaugural volume of Global Business Summit for the following special reasons:
    1. Gujarat aspires to become a beacon of comprehensive social and economic development
    2. Gujarat has a highly diversified industrial structure, with over 800 large industries and about 4,00,000 micro, small and medium enterprises, demanding innovative public policy initiatives.
    3. Vibrant Gujarat (January 2019) hosts a large audience of investors for whom this report is expected to be of immense value.
    4. Gujarat has significant achievements relating to industrialisation and MSME development which are not properly documented. Such documentation is vital for enhancing their visibility and sustainability.
  • Biennial Investors Summit- Key offerings

  • The key objectives of the 3 day event may be summarised as:

  • • Strengthen the foundation for Gujarat to become economically and socially the most developed state in India by 2030, at par with the best in the developed world.
    • Leveraging Gujarat’s manufacturing leadership in the country and it’s economic strength, to connect the global investor with India and the state
    • Attract the brightest minds from across the world to ideate, showcase innovation and best practices, and discuss their application to the state and the nation
    • Empower India to compete with the best global economies and Provide a platform for global business networking
  • Global Trade Show 2019
  • The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit also unfold the global Trade Show of the same name. The show was held at the Summits largest Exhibition Venue spread over 2,00,000 sq. mts. Over 25 industrial and business sectors were showcased under one umbrella in one of the largest trade shows in the world. The networking and knowledge sharing platform with immense business potential proved to be veritable gateway to million opportunities. There were 15 partner country pavilions and Indian states pavilions and pavilions featuring central government's flagships programs like 'Make In India', Digital India', Start-Up India', ITES, Sagarmala, Ayushyaman Bharat and Indradhanush.
  • The trade shows at VGGIS focussed on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector with a special MSME zone.
  • Besides, the global trade show also featured a fashion show based on 'Farm to Fabric' theme.
  • Gujarat MSME overview
  • Gujarat ranks 1 st in integrated overall performance of MSMEs at National Level, as per ISED Small Enterprise Observatory (As per Gujarat MSME Report 2013)
  • Gujarat received 2 nd highest share of over 16.2% in the total number of entrepreneurs memorandum filed the MSMEs across India as of 2013-14
  • The MSMEs entrepreneur memorandums received by Gujarat has grown by 193% - from about 20,000 in 2009-10 to over 58,600 in 2013-14
  • Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bharuch, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and Valsad are the major Multi-Product MSMEs clusters in the state
  • MSME- Engines of Growth and Entrepreneurship
  • MSMEs are the lowest layer of the enterprise system in any country. Being the ‘bottom of the pyramid’, their potential is substantial. The need for tapping this potential, therefore, is not only a business case, but a wider issue in the overall development agenda of countries, including India, and at the subnational level. MSMEs in Gujarat are not stand alone. They are significantly influenced by trends in the global and national economy relating to business performance, and developments in technology and trade. Moreover, MSMEs, being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India, development programmes in the state need to work within the overall framework and policies at the national level. A discussion on the development agenda of the State should therefore, take all these aspects into consideration.
  • MSME Kaleidoscope in vibrant Gujarat

  • For the first time, MSME live counter, conceptualised by senior MSME officials was set up in hexagonal shaped MSME pavilion themed “Charkha Se Chandrayan Tak” in the MSME sector. IT initiatives viz, Sambandh, Samadhan, PMEGP, MSME B2B global Mart were on display on four colossal LEDs . the MSME Pavilion at Vibrant Gujarat 2019 wherein the constituents of the Ministry of MSME displayed live display of their innovative technologies and offering for the Entrepreneurs, Youth, MSMEs. The technologies displayed by NSIC in the theme area includes design and 3D printing, Application of sensors and supervisory control and data acquisition for smart home and smart cities, CNC simulation, augmented reality and virtual reality.
  • The theme pavilion showcased various initiatives and achievements of Ministry, which are benefiting MSME Sector in the field of Technology up-gradation and Innovation. Various new products designed under Ministry’s new initiative were on display for entrepreneurs. The theme pavilion showcased various initiatives and achievements of Ministry, which are benefiting MSME Sector in the field of Technology up-gradation and Innovation. Various new products designed under Ministry’s new initiative are on display for entrepreneurs like Hast Kargha, Solar Charkha, coir Mattress Machine, Anugraha Kargha in live lounge.
  • The theme pavilion also highlighted Ministry’s achievements through Tool Rooms in terms of Design and Development in key sectors. The strategic parts and components developed by various Tool Rooms of Ministry were on display. These include components for Aviation and Aerospace sector, Defence sector, Sports goods, Plastic components, Hand tools and other innovative MSME products.

  • SME Development Strategies: The Essentials
  • Major events during the three-day meet include a Round-table interaction with the heads of global funds, ‘Africa Day’, MSME convention, Roundtable for Opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education & Research. In addition, Exhibition on Futuristic Technologies and Space Exploration, Seminar on Port Led Development & Strategies to establish India as the Trans-shipment Hub of Asia and On Make in India to showcase the Success Stories of Make in India & key interventions by the Government have been organized.

  • Close to 21,000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed in the Micro Small and Medium (MSME) sectors during the two days of Vibrant Gujarat 2019

  • Some of the major MoUs signed include one between Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and GESIA IT Association, one between Taiwan Computer Association and Federation of IT Associations of Gujarat (FITAG), another between Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council and Department of Industries and Mines of state government, as well as a tripartite agreement between Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Indian Institute of Chemical Tech (IICT), and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB).

  • During the three days, around 1,000 business-to-business (B2B) meetings were held in 2019 as against 350 such meetings in 2018. About 600 meetings were also held between businesses and government organisations dealing with GIDC, environment, port, renewable energy, and so on.
  • Rs 6,800 cr MoUs in oil & gas sector: Sixteen MoUs, proposing investment of Rs6,800 cr in oil & gas sector, were signed at VGS. Officials said that Adani Gas signed MoU of Rs1,500 cr to expand its gas business. Vedanta signed MoU to invest Rs1,100 cr for exploration and other works. Vopak signed MoU to invest Rs1,200 crore, and state-owned Gujarat Gas Rs855 crore.
    Chamber of commerce and MSME associations from as many as 40 different nations and 30 from across the nation will take part in the convention. Representatives of associations from Taiwan, Bangladesh, Japan, Pakistan and many more countries will talk about their success stories, about how they achieved global clients by operating from small geographical areas. Experts from different institutions will participate in the convention and they will address queries from participants, along with motivating them to access the market.
  • One of the noteworthy highlights of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2019 was a special message by the Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu via video-conferencing who said, “Gujarat symbolises the powerful connection between our two people. Together we're building limitless possibilities for the future.”
  • Changing Business Ecosystems
  • The Vibrant Gujarat initiative of the Government of Gujarat has a built-in mechanism to promote scientific advocacy within the Government. Against the background of the rapid changes in the global economy, to which India and Gujarat are getting increasingly integrated, the challenges to SME competitiveness have gone up. However, a prerequisite for enhanced competitiveness, is an environment of competition itself. The legal and institutional framework prevailing in the Country and in Gujarat are decisive in providing these preconditions. One laudable achievement of Gujarat is its integrated approach to investment promotion as a key to rapid growth. It requires greater efforts towards developing and branding of clusters, rewarding innovative entrepreneurs, and development of infrastructure, especially, ports, airports, logistic services and industrial estates. Moreover, the state needs to strengthen its economic infrastructure, such as, quality testing facilities, incubators, enabling firms conversant with IPR and export procedures/regulations, entrepreneurship development, and design technology. Such an integrated approach helps the State to go beyond the constraints of narrow departmentalism, a malaise faced by many other States of the Country. Gujarat’s MSME growth, even while appreciating the focused efforts of the Government, is more of a spill over of overall growth. But in order to help the MSME sector to enjoy the benefits of such growth in a more meaningful way, legal and institutional reforms are vital. For instance, there is the imperative for a Competition Law for the MSME sector, as also a special Fund for its development. But these cannot be realised by the efforts of the State itself. In a federal system, this leads us to the realm of action and advocacy going hand in glove with each other.