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Diversified group Welspun World on Wednesday pledged ₹40,000 crore investment to set up green hydrogen and green ammonia ecosystem in Gujarat.

The group, through its entity Welspun New Energy Ltd (WNEL), will explore the opportunities for development of green hydrogen projects and its derivatives in the state, according to a statement.

"The group is committed to support Gujarat's decarbonisation ambitions with a cumulative investment of over Rs 40,000 crore to build a vibrant green hydrogen and green ammonia ecosystem. Towards this, WNEL today entered into a strategic alliance with Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited (GPPL), promoted by APM Terminals, part of the AP Moller - Maersk Group," it said.

WNEL is among the winning bidders under the Solar Energy Corporation of India's (SECI) SIGHT tender, where it has won incentives for 20,000 MTPA of green hydrogen production.

It has also received in-principle approval from the Gujarat government for developing renewable energy projects on 20,000 acres of land. Further, WNEL is in advanced stages of development of 1,000 MW of renewable energy projects for leading manufacturing units in Gujarat.

WNEL's Executive Director and CEO Kapil Maheshwari said the collaboration is aimed to create an ecosystem for GPPL's transition towards sustainability through a mix of green ammonia and green methanol.

Further, green derivatives will also help Pipavav Port to strengthen its position globally as a green shipping line, he added.

Welspun World's Chairperson BK Goenka said the partnership with GPPL will explore avenues for reducing emissions by the shipping industry, a sector which is facing significant challenges in transitioning to green energy.

(With inputs from agencies)

India and United Arab Emirates have signed a deal to explore the establishment of grid connectivity between the two countries, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Wednesday.

Kwatra said the deal is part of a total of four memorandums of understanding signed between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi at the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, Kwatra said.

He said one of the pacts is on renewable energy, which also includes green hydrogen and solar.

"There is an inherent thought of possible grid connectivity between India and the UAE in that space," the foreign secretary told reporters as he was speaking about the agreements signed between the two countries.

He, however, did not share any more details on the grid connectivity.

A September 15, 2023 news report quoted Minister of New and Renewable Energy R K Singh as saying that the UAE is interested in having such connectivity with India which will be subsea.

The comments came after India signed a similar pact with Saudi Arabia in September 2023. Such connectivity will help India send power to as far as Europe.

Other pacts signed are in sectors such as logistics, healthcare innovations and one which involves developing food parks, Kwatra said.

When asked about the abrupt exit of UAE's president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan from the VGGS venue earlier in the day, Kwatra declined to specify the reasons for it but was quick to add that his public remarks before leaving were "warm" and the guest also appreciated the roadshow last evening.

(With inputs from agencies)

Private port operator APM Terminals Pipavav has inked two initial pacts with the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and Welspun Group for port infra development and green hydrogen ecosystem at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.

Under its collaboration with GMB, the company plans to invest ₹3,320 crore in setting up of liquid and container berths and a yard, among others.

“APM Terminals Pipavav is committed to the community, environment and to the region. By signing path breaking MOUs predominantly in the capital investment and green hydrogen space at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, we bring together all the parties required to make this a success and reiterate our commitment to the state of Gujarat," the port operator's managing director Girish Aggarwal said.

As part of the pact with GMB, the two partners will facilitate necessary permissions for the construction of liquid berth, container berth and a yard, container handling equipment, and marine infrastructure development at Pipavav Port, estimated at the cost of ₹3,320 crore.

This would create jobs and economic growth through infrastructure development, the statement said.

Regarding its partnership with Welspun, APM Terminals Pipavav said the two sides will explore opportunities for the development of green hydrogen facilities on land provided by the port.

Green hydrogen is produced from water and renewable energy. Among others, it can be a replacement for fossil fuels and also be a sustainable industrial raw material.

(With inputs from agencies)

Amid speculation that Elon Musk will visit Gujarat, a senior government official on Wednesday said the billionaire-founder of Tesla is not coming for the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, but they are welcome to invest in the state.

“The state is very keen to get Tesla if it comes to India,” managing director of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation Rahul Gupta said.

He also said the state is already home to a slew of electric vehicle manufacturers. To a specific question on whether Musk is expected to attend the three-day event inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day, a state government official replied in the negative.

“Musk is not expected. If he were to come, would he not attend the inaugural session? Will he be attending the seminars on day 2 and day 3?" the official said on the condition of anonymity.

Speculation was rife that Musk might attend the summit.

“You will appreciate that it is the prerogative of any particular company on where to invest and what to invest. So as far as Tesla is concerned, the government of Gujarat will be more than happy to facilitate them in case if they decide to come to the state," Gupta said.

He also said the state's industrial landscape and robust infrastructure were among other draws that can entice a company like Tesla.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra alluded to a meeting between Modi and Musk during the prime minister’s last visit to the US.

“There were many elements of value chain, economic and commercial investment driven opportunities that were discussed between the Prime Minister and the leaders. And Tesla leadership had extensive meetings with a focus on how exactly can Tesla partner more strongly in the period of investment and manufacturing partnership with India so that it strengthens that segment of the automobile manufacturing in India," Kwatra said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Global investors face the risk of losing out if they arrive too late in India, which is the "coolest party in town", discount brokerage Zerodha co-founder and CFO, Nikhil Kamath, said on Wednesday.

In his address at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, Kamath said in the last decade, India's entrepreneurship has evolved and the start-up ecosystem has prospered under the vision and leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“... to all the foreign investors here, India is seemingly looking like the coolest party in town. I think what you need to be aware of is if you arrive too late, you might not get in," Kamath remarked.

The big change in India in the last decade has been that entrepreneurship has moved from something that was only aspired or watched in movies to everyone "actively trying" for it.

“The last 10 years have been incredible and I'm not the only exception here in India. There are many other exceptions like me, we all hang out. We call this the start-up ecosystem of India," he said.

Earlier, Indians would immigrate to the west for better opportunities, but today, many of those who have left the country are "talking about India as the story that they fear missing out on," Kamath remarked.

“That change which has happened in the last ten years is so evident to see that it makes me feel proud. It makes me feel like I'm in the right place at the right time and that place today is India," he added.

Kamath noted that India has already "arrived" in contrast to what many people say that the country is arriving in the next 5-10 years.

(With inputs from agencies)

Shankar Trivedi, senior vice president, Enterprise Business of US company NVIDIA said that the firm will partner with leading Indian business groups to set up state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence data centres across the country.

“I am delighted to tell you that we are partnering with all of India’s leading business groups…to set up state-of-the-art AI data centre facilities and provision them here,” he said at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.

Expressing the company’s support for the Narendra Modi government’s pitch of ‘Make in India’, he said the firm is keen to partner with universities and technical institutions in Gujarat and elsewhere in India to deliver its technology to developers in the country.

Reliance Industries’ chairman Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday described Narendra Modi as India’s most successful prime minister and the greatest global leader now.

"Our beloved leader who has emerged as the greatest global leader of our times. He is Narendrabhai Modi, the most successful prime minister in India's history," Ambani told the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar in his address. Modi was seated on the same dais at VGSS as Ambani praised him.

Ambani said that when Modi speaks, the whole world listens and applauds. "My friends abroad ask me: What is the meaning of the slogan that millions of Indians chant: ‘Modi hai to Mumkin hai’?

“I tell them: ‘It means, India's prime minister makes the impossible possible with his vision, determination and execution. They agree, and they also say: 'Modi hai to mumkin hai!"

Even as Ambani went all out to praise Modi, at the same time, he flaunted his group Reliance Industries' Gujarati heritage and its over US$ 150 billion (₹12 lakh crore) investments across India in the last decade.

He also called the Gujarat Global Summit – conceived when Modi was chief minister of the state two decades back – as "the most prestigious investor summit in the world".

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