By Geetanjali Kedia

Interesting facts about Gujarat:

• Houses 5% of India's population
• Covers 6% of India's land area
• Clocks highest GDP among all states, accounting for 10% of India's GDP
• Highest industrialized state, producing 16% of nation's total industrial output
• Accounts for 22% of India's exports, including 80% of diamond exports
• Longest coastline of 1,600 km
• Power surplus state, with over 18,000 villages receiving power 24x7
• Only Indian state with integrated state-wide gas and water grid
• India's largest natural reserves of oil and gas, being the highest crude producing state  

Whoa...Gujarat is indeed the crown in India's growth and development! And active push from the state government, more actively, for the last 8 years, has helped it maintain its numero uno position.

The Vibrant Gujarat Summit, held biennially since 2003, has been a very successful medium for attracting investment alliances in India's most prosperous state. The Government of Gujarat is credited for having received proposals worth over US$ 370 billion in the last 4 such events. This year, the event is scheduled to be held on January 12 and 13, which promises to outdo its previous investment records. The summit, a vehicle to attract both domestic and international investment in the state's infrastructure, is a matter of pride for the entire nation.  

Gujarat is home to practically all corporate big-wigs – be it the Ambanis, Tatas, Birlas, Essars, Adanis, Jindals and so on and so forth. Each major industry, from pharma to petroleum, from cement to chemicals, from engineering to infrastructure, you name it and Gujarat has its presence. Not just the core industries, even its agricultural output is noteworthy – Gujarat is the India's largest cotton producer, besides having one of largest production of tobacco, mango, groundnut, castor etc.  

If we were to focus on one key sector, which is a key differentiator for Gujarat, it would definitely be ports and shipping. The state, gateway to land-locked states of India, connects the country's west coast with global trading partners such as Middle East, Africa, Europe and Americas. Also, it is an important trading hub with South East Asian and Oceania countries. Its 1,600 km long coast line and 1,670 km long shoreline is India's largest, dotted with 41 ports, including 1 major port at Kandla. Also world's largest ship-breaking yard is located near Bhavnagar in Gujarat.

During the 5^th Vibrant Gujarat Summit, Gujarat's port sector alone is estimated to receive an investment of over Rs. 110,000 crore, over the next two days. These will include a host of facilities and infrastructure building from the biggies of India Inc.:

Others such as Reliance Industries, ONGC, GMR Infra, Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Container Corporation and Mazgain Dock are also likely to make investment to set up marine ship building parks, coal terminals, logistics parks etc. in Gujarat. These large investments will lead to better trade infrastructure, augmenting India's imports as well as exports sharply.

Thus, Gujarat, with due push from state Government and whole-hearted support from India Inc. seems to have the growth trajectory chalked out for both itself and the country.