In the run-up to the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2009 (VGGIS) earlier this month, Chief Minister Narendra Modi claimed that 61 per cent of the investments promised during the VGGIS in 2003, 2005 and 2007 had come Gujarat’s way but data compiled by his own government shows otherwise — actual investment made until 2007 was less than 21 per cent of what was promised.

A state government document accessed by 'The Indian Express' says that out of the proposed total investment of Rs 633,829.9 crore during the VGGIS melas of 2003, 2005 and 2007, only Rs 130,354.36 crore materialised. This works out to 20.5 per cent, as against the 61 per cent Modi announced. But for even this rate, all of some Rs 1,030 crore worth of projects, which the document says are still at a “planning stage”, have to fructify.

The 52 page document of MoUs and investment statistics and analyses (IC/IM.CS Rev Meet/3431) was put together by the Industries Commissioner for the Chief Secretary’s review meeting on December 3, 2008.

The document also puts a question mark on the projected employment-generation prowess of the Vibrant Gujarat meets. While Modi projected 25 lakh new jobs from the over 8,500 MoUs signed during the fourth VGGIS last fortnight, the document indicates that Gujarat actually got just 12.3 per cent of the 13,23,452 jobs promised in the 760 MoUs signed during the three VGGIS from 2003.

The document also suggests that the gap between proposed and actual investments has been widening perceptibly with each VGGIS meet while the number of MoUs signed and their worth, not the volume of actually implemented investment, is used for official projection of the success of these meets.

... contd.