World leaders praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his strategies for the development of India.
The World Bank on Sunday said India could grow at 6.4% in 2015 and accelerate growth further the next year. The World Bank sees India's case as “a bright spot in an otherwise mediocre global economic outlook,” the multilateral lending agency's president Jim Yong Kim said at the summit.
Jim said that Modi has focused on programmes to promote “broadsharing of benefits”. Jim said: “The government's special allocation of a fund for entrepreneurs from among the Scheduled Castes, and its focus on fixing bottlenecks so that money earmarked for the Scheduled Tribes reaches them, are both ethically just and economically sound responses.” Jim said that there are many reasons for optimism among investors, entrepreneurs and CEOs in Gujarat and in the country as a whole. He said Modi and his government are quickly putting in place the building blocks for rapid growth, streamlining the national regulatory structure, using public funds more efficiently, and promoting social inclusion.
Bhutan seeks investment in clean, green energy
Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay stole the limelight and enthralled the audience with his speech at the summit. Tobgay began his speech by saying that he was on an economic pilgrimage to bring investments to his country which is otherwise a small economy. “Bhutan is a small economy sandwiched between two large economic powers - India and China,” he said, drawing instant applause and laughter in the jampacked main convention centre at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. “Our gross domestic product is $1.7 billion. I know that many of these delegates present here are individually worth more than our GDP. In fact, some are worth far more than our GDP,'' Tobgay said. The Bhutanese PM said his country was a green and sustainable economy with 72% forest cover and over half of the country coming under national parks.While inviting companies to invest in his country, Tobgay, however, put some conditions.
Modi's development slogan fit for all of us: Kerry
The US secretary of state, John Kerry eulogized Modi's home state Gujarat and also said that initiatives like `Make in India' would be win-win propositions for the whole planet. Kerry made the remarks while speaking at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. Kerry lauded Modi's “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas“ (Together with All, Development for All) slogan. “It needs to be adopted by all of us,” Kerry said.
As for Gujarat, Kerry said that the state had become “synonymous with change, possibilities and energy.” He said: “I know because of his dedication in the course of his leadership in Gujarat the people of India have given him a special mandate.” On the Indo-US commercial links, Kerry said that the annual trade in goods and services between the US and India had grown nearly five-fold since 2000. Bilateral FDI now stands at nearly USD 30 billion. “I want to ensure that our economic relationship grows stronger in every respect,” Kerry said.
UN boss praises PM's sustainable energy plans
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon while speaking at the inaugural session of the VGS, called on India to play a greater role in finding sustainable energy solutions for the world's development-related problems in this “historic year of 2015.” “I congratulate Gujarat for harnessing solar energy for sustainable development. These are some of the initiatives India can take forward for the welfare of humanity,” the UN secretary general said. He also welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives to increase use of renewable energy sources (wind and solar) and build smart cities that will use sustainable energy solutions.
