Industrial policy goes ahead with projected growth rate of 14 per cent and a hazy roadmap

The new industrial policy of the state announced barely a week ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit-09 (VGGIS), by the Minister of State for Industry, Saurabh Patel, is high on promises and low on specifics.

The policy brief has Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying on the cover that it does not “promise (the investor) the moon”.

In a bid to make the state achieve its aspiration of becoming a “beacon of comprehensive social and economic development”, the policy lays down the government’s goals of attracting quality investments, increasing employment opportunities and making ‘Made in Gujarat’ a respected global brand.

The policy, coming in the midst of the global meltdown, says that the state hopes to achieve an annual industrial growth of 14 per cent for the next five years.

According to the new policy, the primary goal of enhancing investments will be achieved largely through creation of special investment regions (SIR), public private partnerships (PPPs) and mega projects having an investment of more than Rs 1,000 crore.

While creation of SIRs is being given top priority – the government is even proposing a specific Act for convergence of industrial, social and urban infrastructure – the Gujarat Government has held the Central government’s Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) scheme as the core of the SIRs and IRs. Forty per cent of the Japanese-funded DMIC will pass through Gujarat. As per the policy, “the DMIC with its SIRs and IRs will be fully leveraged for development of the state”.

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