Corporate bigwigs to fly down for Vibrant Summit-2011

The biennial investors' summit takes off today at Gandhinagar

At the valedictory function of the previous Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit (VGGIS) 2009, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his wish that he wanted the biennial event to be the next Davos-in-Action. Come Wednesday, January 12 and the inaugural function of Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2011 may be pretty much close to the target.

Apart from Ratan Tata and Ambani brothers-Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, host of other corporate biggies are likely to be present at the inaugural ceremony of the summit at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. Some of them include JJ Irani, director, Tata Sons, Prashant Ruia, promoter director and group chief executive of Essar Global Limited, AM Naik, CMD, L&T, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group, S Ramadorai, vice chairman, TCS, Gautam Adani, chairman, Adani Group, Kishore Biyani, chairman of Future Group and OP Bhatt, chairman, State Bank of India (SBI).

The event is also attracting government heads and officials of countries like Japan, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Also, top government officials of Indian states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh will be accompanied by industry representatives during the summit. With the Vibrant Gujarat 2011 Summit, Modi's brainchild, focusing more on knowledge sharing than investments this year.

Apart from Rwandan Prime Minister Bernard Makuza, officials like Canadian High Commissioner Stewart G Beck, Australian Consul General Steve Waters, and Dr. Bernd Forster, Deputy Consul General, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany will also represent their respective countries. What's more, Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher and Manoj Joshi are also expected to be present for the event.

Unlike the previous summit, this time Canada has also joined in with Japan as a partner country. Moreover, The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is also set to be a 'partner organisation' in the Vibrant Gujarat 2011 Summit. It is the third organisation after the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) to partner the fifth edition of the global summit to be held Jan 12-13, 2011.

According to Canadian High Commissioner Stewart G Beck, the country's participation at the summit will be aimed at increasing bilateral trade and investment ties with India. Canada has fielded a strong business delegation, which includes its top firms from the Information and communication technologies (ICT), oil and gas, infrastructure, clean technology and financial services sectors. More than 85 Canadian delegates (from the private sector) representing 70 companies are taking part in VGS.

Similarly, among Indian states, Karnataka intends to make the most of the summit by attracting investment opportunities in the state. Government of Karnataka is expected to sign MoUs worth Rs 18,900 crore with 11 key industry players including Ultratech Cement Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, Rushali Décor Limited, and Aravali Energy Pvt. Ltd to name a few. Among sectors, the government of Karnataka is looking mainly at agriculture, tourism, IT, bio technology and infrastructure.