Gujarat government to collaborate with IIM-A for development

"We propose to have a core committee in collaboration with IIM-A, including its officials, IIM-A alumni, government officials, and representative from the industry," Principal Secretary (Industry) Maheshwar Sahu said, while speaking at the IIM-A conclave here.

"The government has identified six areas where synergy can be there such as coastal and port-related development, medical services, urban development and multi-modal transport, finance, tourism and education services, between IIM-A and government," Sahu said.

The aim is to have six working groups which could suggest the way forward for development in these sectors, he said.

On development opportunities in the state, Sahu said in the next decade, planned development will take place on 2.50 lakh hectares of land.

The area spreads across 13 Special Investment Regions (SIRs) proposed in the state, of which Dohelar-SIR alone has 80,000 hectares.

The Gujarat government has projected to attract around USD 54 billion of investment along the 38 per cent of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) stretch passing through the state, out of the total projected investment of USD 90 billion along the corridor in country.

The Gujarat government through its biennial flagship programme Vibrant Gujarat Summit (VGS) so far has inked MoUs with the industry pledging an investment of USD 367 billion across various sectors, in last four editions of the summit held here.

Giving project details, Sahu said: "Out of the 1,600 large projects, nearly 850 are on stream now which is 43.62 per cent, and in next five years we expect it to touch 60-65 per cent, which is far higher than the national average of project implementation of 20-25 per cent."

According to him, 70 per cent of the projects account for infrastructure development and manufacturing sectors.

"Nearly 1,800 projects in SME segment were signed, of which 76.16 per cent are under implementation," he said.