Reliance Would Invest Rs 1 Lakh Cr In Digital, Retail, Oil & Gas And Other Existing Projects While Adani Plans To Set Up A Solar Park In Guj For Rs 25,000 Cr; Mukesh Ambani Says Modi’s “Make In India And Digital India Programmes” Have Energised India India
Gandhinagar : Business leaders lined up huge investment commitments and signed MoUs across sectors on the first day of three-day Vibrant Gujarat Summit here.
Big corporates — including Ambanis, Adanis and Birlas as also Suzuki and Rio Tinto from abroad — committed to investing over Rs 1.6 lakh crore and creating more than 50,000 jobs, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to make India the ‘easiest’ place to do business with a stable policy and tax regime.
Taking the lead, billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani said Reliance Industries would invest Rs 1 lakh crore over the next 12-18 months across businesses.
Adani group signed an MoU for setting up a solar park in Gujarat in partnership with US-based SunEdison at an investment of USD four billion (about Rs 25,000 crore), while creating 20,000 jobs. Adani group also signed an agreement with Australian energy major Woodside.
Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla also announced Rs 20,000 crore investment in the state in cement and other businesses. Among foreign companies, Australian mining giant Rio Tinto’s CEO Sam Walsh said the group would add 30,000 jobs in diamond cutting industry in Gujarat, adding that entire Australia is looking forward to the state as a promising business destination.
Japanese auto major Suzuki’s Chairman Osamu Suzuki said its new car manufacturing unit in Gujarat, being set up at an investment of Rs 4,000 crore, will be ready by 2017.
Diversified Kalyani Group also said it will invest Rs 600 crore for upgradation and overhaul of Armoured Fighting Vehicles unit at Dholera, Gujarat, while Welspun Renewables announced an investment of Rs 8,300 crore to set up about 1,000 MW solar and wind capacities in the state.
Ambani, the world’s richest energy billionaire, speaking at the 7th Vibrant Gujarat Summit here, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call for boosting domestic manufacturing and job creation through Make in India campaign and Digital India initiative “have energised India and its enterprises”.
Investments by RIL will be in expanding petrochemical production capacity as well as in launch the much-awaited 4G broadband services while contributing to Make in India and Digital India initiatives.
Ambani said as part of the investment programme, RIL will partner and enable thousands of small businesses and Gujarati entrepreneurs to create virtuous cycle of prosperity.
“India can chart a path under our Prime Minister in the next few years to really become the fastest growing economy in the world. A goal that is possible to achieve,” he said.
RIL is investing in raising polyester capacity by some 60 per cent in aggregate across four locations, a new 1.5 million tonnes refinery off-gas based petrochemical cracker and downstream units in Jamnagar, enhancing refining profitability via petcoke (petroleum coke) gasification and reducing feedstock costs for petrochem by importing cheap US ethane.
Making public his “personal bias” for investing in Gujarat, Kumarmangalam Birla today said the diversified Aditya Birla Group will invest Rs 20,000 crore over a period of time in the state to ramp up capacities across various existing facilities.
“We will be continuing to grow our businesses here. On the anvil are brownfield expansions at our cement plant in Sevagram, the VSF plants in Vilayat and Bharuch, and along with that, expansion in metal plants (among others) here.
Birla said it was not tax sops but delivery of high quality infrastructure which has got the group latched on to the state.
Speaking at the same event, MasterCard President and Global Chief Executive Ajay Banga said investors are hoping for a similar show from Modi (as he had shown as Gujarat Chief Minister) at national level.
Banga, who is also Chairman of USIBC, said the NDA government has
“gotten off to a very, very good start” but pointed out some concerns among investors.
“They are waiting for clarity, they want transparency in policy decisions, consistency and predictability,” he said.
He said progress on key issues like land reforms, labour reforms, property ownership reforms, GST rollout and Government moves on retrospective taxation will be keenly followed now on.
