Barely days before the much-hyped Vibrant Gujarat investment mela, the Gujarat government on Monday unveiled its industrial policy for the year.
Not surprisingly, the policy is high on promises and low on specifics. Simply put, it looks and sounds like a high-decibel publicity blitzkrieg aimed at luring mega investments into the state.
In sharp contrast to what chief minister Narendra Modi claims on the cover page of the glossy policy document, the policy does ?promise (the investor) the moon.? High on hyperbole, the policy document reads like an election manifesto. In a bid to achieve its aspiration of becoming a ?beacon of comprehensive social and economic development?, the policy lays down the state government?s three-pronged goals of attracting quality investments, increasing employment opportunities and making ?Made in Gujarat? a respected global brand.
The primary goal of enhancing investments would, as per the new Industrial Policy is sought to be achieved largely through the creation of special investment regions (SIR) , public private partnerships between the state government and the private sector and through mega projects involving investment of more than Rs 1,000 crore.
Interestingly, while creation of SIRs is being given top priority by the state government which is even proposing a specific Act for convergence of industrial, social and urban infrastructure, reading between the fine print reveals how the central government?s path-breaking Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) scheme has been cleverly woven in as the core of the SIRs and IRs?a clever conjuring trick which shows Modi as the magician pulling out DMIC from his hat. As per the policy ?DMIC with its SIRs and IRs would be fully leveraged for development of the state.? In the case of the PPP model too, there?s nothing new which the government is proposing apart from ?further encouraging the PPP model specially in the infrastructure sector.?
With regard to the encouragement which the state government proposes to accord to mega projects involving investment of more than Rs 1000 crore too, the policy is ambiguous at best when it talks of evolving ?merit based packages of assistance.? The message is clear: Modi doesn?t plan to do a Nano for all and sundry: freebies will be handed over in an arbitrary manner depending on the whims and fancies of the powers-that-be. Interestingly, innovative projects in the manufacturing sector being taken up for the first time in Gujarat would also be treated at par with mega projects for encouragement leaving more scope for manipulation of freebies.
And though reams have been written on encouraging small and medium enterprises touted as the ?backbone of the economy? and development of human resources and skill enhancement of manpower by providing training by institutions like IIM and IIT and other sector specific expert institutions, all of it reads a bit like a wish-list without any specific blue-print of how exactly the government hopes to achieve these.