Narendra Modi & Investments in Gujarat

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has been trying to wriggle out of what he believes is the Godhra straightjacket for nearly a decade. But try as he might, his links with the 2002 riots that killed hundreds of people after a coach of the Sabarmati Express train was burnt in the city of Godhra reappears like a nervous tic intermittently. Last week happened to be the latest such instance. 

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a government watchdog, has again demanded that the US government urge its Indian counterpart to ensure that efforts to bring a case against Modi for his complicity in the 2002 Gujarat riots "are allowed to proceed in accordance with the law". 

It was six summers ago that the US revoked Modi's visa on grounds of religious intolerance. In its 2011 report, the watchdog has again urged US authorities to develop a lookout list of foreigners "who are inadmissible to the United States on this basis of violations of religious freedom". 

But while Modi remains persona non grata in the US since 2005, a phalanx of businessmen from America has been descending on his home state. Gujarat has turned into an investment magnet for US businesses, much like their counterparts in India, which view him with rose-tinted glasses. "Of US-India Business Council's 400 member-companies, as many as 200 of them are present in some shape or form in Gujarat," says Ron Somers, president of the influential American trade group. 

The US also dominated the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Meet in January, sending 26 delegations made up of 156 representatives. US companies signed MoUs for investments worth Rs 13, 574 crore during the meet in sectors as diverse as pharmaceuticals and tourism, according to the Industrial Extension Bureau, a government-run body that looks to promote investments in the state. Modi deserves the credit, say US entrepreneurs, because he has almost single-handedly made it easy to do business in Gujarat. 

"A CEO-stale of management seems to have energised the bureaucracy. Once the green-light is given on a project, officers are fully empowered to implement the project," says Somers. It is not clear what Modi thinks of the divisive views about him by Americans or whether he wishes to visit the US. He declined to comment for this story. American CEOs say Gujarat is the place to be for businesses. 

Besides removing red tape and improving infrastructure, one big reason is the state's successful stab at weeding out corruption. Here too, credit is due to the chief minister. Modi's alleged autocratic functioning has helped the efficient hand overtake the greased palm, say people familiar with his government

Companies do not have to pay bribes for approvals because the CM is watching, they say, adding that he has taken the IAS lobby to task on petty corruption. Gujarat, says a senior bureaucrat, has an administrative model where targets are met and action is taken against complaints. "Success is breeding success


DENIP Consultants thanks Economic times of India for sharing such an article with India.


Source: Economic Times of India


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Dewang K Mehta
DENIP Consultants Pvt. Ltd