Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference for the Kutch and Saurashtra regions in Rajkot, marking a major milestone in Gujarat’s regional development and investment outreach. Addressing a large gathering of industry leaders, investors, diplomats, and stakeholders from India and abroad, the Prime Minister described Vibrant Gujarat as not merely a summit, but a living journey of modern India in the 21st century.
Recalling his long association with the Vibrant Gujarat vision since its inception, the Prime Minister said the initiative began as an effort to showcase Gujarat’s potential to the world and has now evolved into a global platform for growth, partnership, and trust. Over the past two decades and ten editions, Vibrant Gujarat has emerged as a global benchmark, bringing together corporate groups, MSMEs, start-ups, cooperatives, multilateral institutions, and international financial organizations under one umbrella.
Shri Modi emphasized that the Regional Summit format reflects a new phase of Vibrant Gujarat, focusing on unlocking the untapped strengths of different regions. He noted that Gujarat’s regions have distinct capabilities—coastal advantages, tribal belts, strong industrial clusters, and rich agricultural traditions—and the Regional Conferences aim to convert these regional strengths into performance and prosperity.
Highlighting India’s broader economic trajectory, the Prime Minister stated that the country is firmly on track to become the world’s third-largest economy. He underlined that India is currently the fastest-growing major economy, with controlled inflation, record agricultural output, leadership in milk and generic medicine production, and global dominance in vaccine manufacturing. He credited this progress to the mantra of “Reform, Perform, and Transform,” noting achievements such as India becoming the world’s largest consumer of mobile data, a global leader in digital payments through UPI, the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, and a top-three nation in solar power generation and start-up ecosystems.
Shri Modi stressed that global confidence in India is rising, with institutions such as the IMF, S&P, and Fitch recognizing the country’s macroeconomic stability, policy continuity, and fiscal credibility. He said India offers investors an era of certainty amid global uncertainty, supported by political stability, long-term policy vision, and a rapidly expanding neo-middle class. “This is the right time,” he reiterated, urging investors to seize opportunities in Saurashtra and Kutch.
Reflecting on the transformation of these regions, the Prime Minister recalled the hardships once faced by Kutch and Saurashtra due to earthquakes, droughts, water scarcity, and unreliable electricity. He said that through perseverance and hard work, the people of these regions have rewritten their destiny, turning them into anchor regions of India’s growth and major drivers of the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission.
He highlighted the industrial strength of the region, noting that Rajkot alone hosts over 2.5 lakh MSMEs, manufacturing products ranging from machine tools and auto components to aerospace and defense parts. He cited Alang as the world’s largest ship-breaking yard, Morbi as a global hub for tiles, and Dholera as an emerging center of advanced manufacturing, including India’s first semiconductor fabrication facility.
On green growth, Shri Modi said Kutch and Saurashtra are emerging as major hubs for renewable energy, green hydrogen, and energy storage. He highlighted the development of a 30 GW renewable energy park in Kutch—the world’s largest hybrid energy park—along with green hydrogen projects and large-scale battery energy storage systems to ensure grid stability.
The Prime Minister also underscored Gujarat’s port-led development, skill-ready workforce, world-class education ecosystem, and rich tourism potential, ranging from heritage sites like Lothal to destinations such as Gir, Rann of Kutch, Somnath, Dwarka, and Blue Flag beaches.
Concluding his address, Shri Modi assured investors that India’s reform journey will continue with greater momentum, citing next-generation reforms in GST, taxation, labor laws, insurance, nuclear energy, and data-driven innovation. He affirmed that every rupee invested in Saurashtra and Kutch will yield strong returns and contribute to Gujarat’s growth and India’s journey toward becoming a developed nation by 2047.
The event was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, senior industry leaders, foreign dignitaries, and policymakers, reflecting the growing global confidence in Gujarat’s development model and India’s economic future.
