Modi woos investors for pan-India investments

Ahmedabad: Preparations have been completed for the Global Investors' Summit that kicks off in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on Wednesday.
While Gujarat expects the lion's share of investment, for the first time, as many as 19 states will also have stalls to woo investors.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi played the part of almost a CEO, looking for investment across the country rather than just his state.

"Other states too will come, organise seminars and attract investment in their own states. I'll be as happy if people invest elsewhere in the country as much in Gujarat," said Modi.

Over 1,000 delegates from 45 countries will participate in the 2-day summit this year. In the 2009 edition, over 8,000 MoUs worth Rs 12 lakh crore were signed.

But the government's data shows that only about one fourth of all promised investment has actually translated into project implementation.

"Just to point out that we've made some achievements, the government is giving either hyped propaganda or false figurative data," said former chief minister fo Gujarat Suresh Mehta.

And while the promised investment would easily run into a few lakh crore rupees by the end of the summit, it is important to be seen how much of that translates into actual investment.