The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu said that terrorism, climate change and corruption were the three main challenges the world was facing today and called upon the global community to come together to tackle them.Addressing the valedictory session of 9th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit at Gandhinagar on Sunday, he said that terrorism was the enemy of humanity and urged all countries to come together in eliminating the menace. Similarly, everyone should join hands to minimize the impact of climate change.He said corruption was the problem of the entire world and urged all countries to agree on extradition of economic fugitives and exchange of information relating to illegal bank accounts.Observing that the reforms taken up by the Government in the past few years have made India the top destination for investments in the world, he said this was the right time for foreign investors to tap the huge potential offered by India in various sectors from real estate to healthcare.India, he said, was the bright spot in the world’s economy today. Global corporations were getting attracted to India because of the huge untapped potential in the Indian consumer market, which is being driven by favorable demographics and rising disposable incomes. Today, India is the second largest mobile phone manufacturer. India has improved its ranking in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business to 77th position. Measures like demonetization, GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, repeal of outdated laws, giving thrust to road and air connectivity, increased focus on infrastructure, housing and agricultural sectors have enabled the economy to pick up momentum. Allowing most sectors open for 100% foreign participation through FDI under the automatic route was expected to add to the momentum, he added.
Quoting the World Bank’s latest forecast, Shri Naidu said that India would continue to be the fastest growing major economy in the world.Expressing confidence about India’s growth story, he said the size of the Indian economy would touch $5 trillion soon and would further double to $10 trillion by 2030.Calling India’s unique model of cooperative and competitive federalism suitable structure for inclusive progress and prosperity, the Vice President appreciated the competition among various states to attract investors and promote industrialization.He appreciated the Gujarat government for emerging as a shining example among states to offer investment opportunities.Shri Naidu said that transformation of India and Gujarat was a testimony of our strong resolve to put India on the global map as a preferred destination to live and do business. In fact, he said that the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s three-word mantra ‘Reform, Perform and Transform’ seeks to achieve transformation in all sectors to take India to greater heights.Urging the developed countries to lead the way in transfer of technology to India, he said “ time and again, we have proved that we are a responsible nation. We will create the ecosystem for safe copyright laws such that there is no hesitation in sharing technology with us. Our native talent will help build upon this technology to come up with innovative products and solutions”.The Vice President said Indian companies were looking for newer markets to invest, sell and export goods. But most importantly, we are looking to go beyond trade and investment. We wish to create long-lasting bonds between nations that will cement seeds of trust and cooperation. This will be paramount to identifying solutions to issues in the economic, social and cultural sphere especially in today’s world which is much heterogeneous.