New Delhi (09.04.2021): Gujarat's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has been steaming at 10% yearly for the past decade with the maximum growth topping at 13% in FY2019-20.

Consequently, in less than a decade, the state has more than doubled its GSDP - from $115 billion in FY 2013-14 to $243 billion in FY 2019-20.

This is by all means impressive. Considering the fact that Gujarat accounts for merely 5% of the country's population, its share of 8.5% in the country's GDP speaks volumes for the enterprising spirit of its people and for the policy approaches of the state government in Gandhinagar.

International investors have not missed these two strong traits of the state. Hence, official statistics of the Union Ministry for Industries show that the state accounted for 53% of India’s FDI between April-September 2020 ($16 billion) when the country was under lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic. On the front of the Industrial Entrepreneurship Memorandum (IEM), Gujarat recorded a growth of 333% in proposed investments in 2019 over the previous year.

This spectacular performance of the state has earned its kudos from the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency (NIPF).

On March 23, 2021, Deepak Bagla, managing director and chief executive officer of NIPF, sent off a congratulatory note to Manoj Das, additional chief secretary to Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, to record his appreciation of the state's performance in attracting FDI in FY20. "Gujarat has progressed into a developed economy by focusing on proactive governance, transparent and investor-friendly relations, robust infrastructure, and conducive policies. These factors have immensely supported the grounding of FDI in the state’, states Bagla's letter.

Gujarat’s success in attracting FDI is attributed to a number of initiatives it has taken to woo investors. For instance, it has exempted MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) from getting permission from the state government to start a business; only after three years of operations, they are required to take permission from the state authorities.

Further, Gujarat has amended the State Factories Act exempting new companies from all labor laws for a period of 1,000 days. Initiatives like a dedicated investor desk to handhold, facilitate and assist investors as well as the creation of a land bank—a fully digitized system that can be accessed from anywhere in the world—have helped the state rise in the estimation of investors.

It is said that Gujarat’s focus on promoting base metal industries has also paid dividends. At present, it has 1,616 operational metal factories with an output of ₹ 1.1 lakh crore. The state is also said to have focused on more investment in steel, iron, zinc, copper, aluminum, and lithium.

Gujarat’s success in utilizing its ports’ potential has also enabled it to race ahead of other states. At present, it has 48 small and big ports that together handle 40% (514 million tons) of India’s port cargo. Its 33 captive and 11 operational private jetties have proved advantageous. Therefore, work on three more private jetties is going apace.

Manoj  Kumar Das (IAS:1990:GJ), who also handles the state industries department, says Gujarat has received a good response from foreign investors in the field of automobiles too. “I can tell you for sure that in the near future the citizens of the US and Japan will use high-end cars made in India,” he says. He adds the signs of rapid growth in the state’s automobile sector are visible in Sanand, near Ahmedabad, where foreign companies are setting up their plants. “There are eight Japanese restaurants in this area. It is an indicator of the pace of the Japanese workers. Every six months, I find something new coming up in the area,” says Das.

Rapid growth has ensured that at 3.5%, the state's unemployment rate is the lowest among all big states in the country. CM Vijay Rupani attributes the low unemployment rate in the state to accelerated industrial development.

(By MK Shukla)