In this interview with Business Standard Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi talks about the investment climate in the state
How investor-friendly is your government?
The initiatives that have been taken up by the government are with the active participation of the industrial sector. Given this transparent approach, we have no doubt that our initiatives would be investor-friendly.
The board is already functioning with its secretariat at IndexTb under my chairmanship. I have also started video conferencing from my office to different talukas under SWAGAT.
Which about sops?
We do not believe that only tax rebates, tax holidays or subsidies can attract fresh investment. We will rather offer investors a conducive environment to run their business.
At the end of the day, an investor wants to make profit from his business and no state can offer a better opportunity for that than Gujarat.
In Mumbai, organised gangs and the underworld are active; in Delhi, security is a big question. But, everybody, including the media, is silent on these issues. In Gujarat, law and order is assured, security of citizens and industries is taken care of. These factors will attract industries and investors to the state.
Though Gujarat has undisrupted electricity supply, good road conditions, bandwidth connection with India's highest number of Internet service providers, the state is not doing well in IT and ITES. What will be your new strategy help reverse the trend?
Gujarat is emerging as a hub for ITES like BPO, back up offices and call centres. You must be aware that Gujarat is the state with the highest number of IPSs and has a very high teledensity -- well above the national average.
The optical fibre network is well laid in the state and Gujarat State Wide Area Network is the biggest network of its kind in Asia. This has enabled us to connect the lowest administrative block with the state's overall administration.
We already have one of the best infotech policies in place and it has been well received by the industry. However, we are in constant touch with the industry and are tailoring our initiatives in accordance with the suggestions received.
Do you not feel that the lack of skilled manpower has messed up your IT initiatives? You are now saying that biotechnology will be the focus area, but that requires excellent manpower which Gujarat does not have. How will the state cope up with this problem?
The world's best infotech company is based in the US but it is full of Indian employees. If Americans can hire Indian talent, why can not Gujarat hire people from outside the state.
I admit that the lack of quality manpower is a problem and we need to improve our higher education to achieve industrial development. The government has decided that universities and entrepreneurs will now work together to help develop skilled manpower in the state.
During the Navratri festival, we are not only going to talk about investment and industry but also about education. I understand that we need more good educational institutions in Gujarat, specially for marine education as we have 31 ports.
We are at an advanced stage of discussions with a large corporate house for opening a port management institute and a marine engineering college in Gujarat. But right now, I cannot say which company is doing it.
The Planning Commission has asked you to achieve a GDP growth of over 10 per cent, against 8 per cent for other states. How are you going to achieve this?
Though the media does not have much confidence in me or my government (not all media, but a few), the Planning Commission has the confidence that Gujarat will achieve a 10.2 per cent growth in GDP.
I am confident we will be able to achieve the growth and my government is taking several steps to achieve this. The initiatives have already started unfolding and these bear testimony to my confidence.