[Reader-list] The Real Modi Story

[Rakesh Iyer]

Dear Nishant

Thanks for the story you sent. And for all of you, the following link
continues from where Nishant has left. This has got to do with the actual
position of investments in Gujarat, compared to the mighty claims made by
Modi.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/report-by-own-govt-punctures-modis-gujarat-hype/413765/0

>From Indian Express:
Report by own Govt punctures Modi's Gujarat hype
*Ahmedabad:* In the run-up to the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit
2009 (VGGIS) earlier this month, Chief Minister Narendra Modi claimed that
61 per cent of the investments promised during the VGGIS in 2003, 2005 and
2007 had come Gujarat's way but data compiled by his own
Government<http://www.indianexpress.com/special/government,%20india/>shows
otherwise — actual investment made until 2007 was less than 21 per
cent of what was promised.

A state government document accessed by 'The Indian Express' says that out
of the proposed total investment of Rs 633,829.9 crore during the VGGIS
melas of 2003, 2005 and 2007, only Rs 130,354.36 crore materialised. This
works out to 20.5 per cent, as against the 61 per cent Modi announced. But
for even this rate, all of some Rs 1,030 crore worth of projects, which the
document says are still at a "planning stage", have to fructify.

The 52 page document of MoUs and investment statistics and analyses
(IC/IM.CS Rev Meet/3431) was put together by the Industries Commissioner for
the Chief Secretary's review meeting on December 3, 2008.

The document also puts a question mark on the projected
employment-generation prowess of the Vibrant Gujarat meets. While Modi
projected 25 lakh new jobs from the over 8,500 MoUs signed during the fourth
VGGIS last fortnight, the document indicates that Gujarat actually got just
12.3 per cent of the 13,23,452 jobs promised in the 760 MoUs signed during
the three VGGIS from 2003.

The document also suggests that the gap between proposed and actual
investments has been widening perceptibly with each VGGIS meet while the
number of MoUs signed and their worth, not the volume of actually
implemented investment, is used for official projection of the success of
these meets.

As per the document, of the Rs 66,068.5 crore worth of investment promised
at the 2003 VGGIS meet, the actual investment, including projects still
being implemented, was Rs 30,299.97 crore — a conversion rate of 45.86 per
cent.

Only Rs 20,942.3 crore worth of investment materialised from the Rs
102,460.41 crore worth of MoUs signed at the 2005 VGGIS, an effective
success rate of 20.4 per cent. This rate was lower at the next VGGIS and IT
Summit in 2007 — of the combined committed investment of Rs 465,301 crore,
only Rs 79,112.09 crore came in, including projects still considered to be
at the planning stage. Only 106,648 of the promised 13,21,635 jobs came to
Gujarat, which works out to just 8 per cent.

Incidentally, these figures discussed at the Chief Secretary's review
meeting were lower than what the same Industries commissionerate had
provided, in response to an RTI application for the same period. The RTI
reply had pegged the success rate of the 2005 and 2007 VGGIS at an average
25.25 per cent.

M Sahu, Managing Director of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, who
piloted the 2009 VGGIS presentations along with Modi and played a lead role
in organising the meet, told The 'Indian Express' that figures in the
document discussed at the Chief Secretary's review meeting with 17 senior
state bureaucrats were not "authentic final figures".

"The fact is, investors seldom give us real figures but only some statistics
that they choose to, until they commence operation. We need to look at their
balance sheet at the end of each year to find out actual investments made.
We have no monitoring mechanism to decide if what they give us are actual
figures. So we use the ones given only for discussion and periodic review
purposes," Sahu said.

To assess success, he said the government would go by the number of MoUs,
out of the total signed at each VGGIS, that have been commissioned or are
under implementation. The quantum of investment that is projected to have
actually happened cannot be a yardstick, he said.


>From my side:

I remember what Mr. Ashish Nandy, had written after the victory of 2007
elections. Modi has managed to comfortably win over the elite sections of
society cutting across castes, and by doing so, he has allowed the
disastrous model of development, which this country has been following since
independence, which is based on a few enjoying the fruits of resources
belonging to many. Not only Muslims, but tribals, fishermen, farmers and
women are suffering a lot under his regime. Articles relating to this have
been posted and will continue to be posted.

Since the Modi mania is sweeping across the elites, it's high time somebody
takes the battle to the maniac himself and takes the backwards, the
downtrodden and those left over by the current model of development.
Otherwise, the entire India may soon have to face the music of a man playing
havoc with the culture and traditions of India.

Regards

Rakesh