Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday said India had transformed from being counted among the world's "Fragile Five" economies to becoming one of the five fastest-growing economies, attributing the change to policy reforms introduced under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
Addressing the valedictory session of the fourth Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference in Vadodara, Patel said the Prime Minister's mantra of "Reform, Perform and Transform" had created a favourable policy environment for industry and the economy. "The Indian economy, once counted among the 'Fragile Five', has now emerged as one of the world's five fastest-growing economies," Patel said.
He said Gujarat had implemented the Prime Minister's vision of inclusive development through the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference, which was designed to promote balanced regional growth while taking local strengths and talent to international markets.
Referring to the concepts of "Vocal for Local" and "Local to Global", Patel said: "They had become the foundation of the conference's success by helping showcase regional capabilities on a global platform." The Chief Minister also said the Prime Minister had protected the interests of Indian industries despite challenging geopolitical conditions.
He added that confidence in India's leadership had strengthened internationally and among the Indian diaspora. "Today the world has complete confidence in the Prime Minister's leadership," Patel said, adding that the growing confidence of Indians living abroad had contributed to foreign remittances worth Rs 13 lakh crore during 2025.
Patel noted that the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, launched by Narendra Modi in 2003, had helped establish Gujarat as a global investment destination and that the state government would continue working with all stakeholders to ensure balanced regional development while contributing to the vision of "Viksit Bharat 2047".
The conference concluded with investment proposals worth more than Rs 3.34 lakh crore through 3,759 memoranda of understanding, with the projects expected to create more than 1.97 lakh potential employment opportunities.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, industrialists, government officials and representatives of industry associations were among those present at the concluding session.