7 things to know about Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2024 taking off this week

The 10th edition of the three-day Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) is all set to be held at the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre in Gandhinagar from January 10 to12.

The VGGS, which is a biennial event, is organised by the Gujarat government as a platform for inviting investments and creating business opportunities. It will be held after five years this time in the offline format.

Coming two decades after the event began, the 10th summit will also be the first to be held after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gujarat government will host it in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and iNDEXTb.

Here are some of the key things to know about the VGGS this year.

1. Gateway to the Future

That is the theme of this year’s VGGS. As the theme suggests, the focus will be on sustainable development, green hydrogen, semiconductors, space technology manufacturing, electric mobility, renewable energy, and Industry 4.0, which essentially implies the integration of intelligent digital technologies, such as AI, Big Data, and robotics, into manufacturing and industrial processes.

Also, as part of VGGS, a seminar themed on net zero carbon emission will be held in Gandhinagar on January 12.

2. New things at GIFT City

The Gujarat Industrial Finance Tec-City (GIFT) City in Gandhinagar has always been a star attraction of the VGGS. However, this year, GIFT City has two new features to offer investors.

First, the government in the dry state has already issued a gazette notification for an exemption for GIFT City from the alcohol ban.

Second, this will be the first VGGS since the unified regulator, the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), was set up in April 2020.

There are also talks about developing the social infrastructure at GIFT City, including installing a “GIFT Eye” — like the London Eye on the banks of the Thames in London — on the Sabarmati waterfront.

3. DREAM City

Another smart city project that has been garnering a lot of attention is the Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City in Surat.

On December 17, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) building as part of DREAM City, which is touted to be the world’s largest office building.

Located at Khajod village near Surat, the SDB building, with 67 lakh sq ft of floor space, houses around 4,500 diamond trading offices, while the entire complex comprises nine 15-storey towers.

It will definitely be a new attraction at the VGGS this time.

4. Dholera Greenfield smart city

A seminar at VGGS will specifically focus on the Dholera Greenfield smart city on January 10. The seminar, titled “Dholera: A Greenfield Smart City for Smart Businesses”, will be attended by more than 500 policymakers, potential investors, and business entities.

There will be a panel discussion on “Greenfield Smart Cities: Future of Urbanization”, focusing on environment-friendly and intelligent cities. That will be followed by a thematic session on “Dholera: India’s First Semicon City in Making”. It will explore the opportunities in Dholera, which is envisioned to become the global hub for the ESDM (Electronics System Design and Manufacturing) sector.

5. Elon Musk

Will Gujarat get a Tesla manufacturing plant? Media reports suggest negotiations are in the final leg and an announcement may be done during the VGGS.

According to media reports, none other than Tesla CEO Elon Musk will make the announcement.

Reports also suggest that the Tesla manufacturing plant may be located in Sanand, Becharaji, or Dholera. The proximity to ports is being cited as an advantage for these sites in Gujarat. Sanand is quite close to the Kandla-Mundra port in Gujarat.

However, there has been no official word on this yet.

6. Partners at VGGS

At least 28 countries have already confirmed their partnership for VGGS. These include Australia, Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Singapore, Tanzania, Thailand, UAE, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, Ghana, and Vietnam.

A partner country, which comes with a ministerial delegation to VGGS, enjoys certain benefits to promote industrial potential and opportunities back home at the summit.

Among the notable guests to be at VGGS this year are President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates and President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique.

7. A trip to Dhordo

In a marked change from previous years, when VGGS would be concentrated only in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, this time pre-summit events have been held in various districts of Gujarat.

For instance, pre-VGGS summits have been held in Anand, Bharuch, Kutch, Morbi, and Rajkot. Also, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel recently said foreign guests coming to the VGGS will visit the white desert at Rann of Kutch, which “has become a global tourism attraction”.

Patel said this while inaugurating a light-and-sound show at the Rann Utsav in Dhordo village on the Indo-Pakistan border. Hence, this may be an extra treat for the guests at VGGS.