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GAINS
Those snags here and there aside, overall some gains were made at the PBD. India’s emerging image got boosted due to Rajasthan’s superb hospitality at its grand palaces with sprawling gardens. They certainly went down well with the diaspora. The cuisine was overall top class, and the city wore a clean look during the day, and a bright look by night. It was difficult not to miss the romance of palace after palace as one drove through the beautiful pink city.
Both Prime Ministers—Dr Manmohan Singh and Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad and Tobago, the chief guest—lifted the event with superb speeches at the inauguration. The speech of the TnT PM who in particular was very impressive can be read on page 12.Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi who spoke at various sessions had some very valid points to make:
- That the Ministry’s focus was increasingly going to be on the next generation of the diaspora, and that getting the youth together for a future conference was a distinct possibility. He said that this area would receive top most priority from the MOIA.
- He mentioned at the chief ministers’ session---addressed by the chief ministers of host state Rajasthan, and Gujarat, Jharkhand and Kerala---that it was crucial one for NRIs as they were stakeholders in the growth of India in the states. “Since independence, both central and state Governments have tried to work cohesively to develop the nation, and all those attending had a natural, and primary interest in the states of their origin.”
- Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said that Rajasthan received the maximum number of tourists among all states in the country and all efforts were being made to upgrade tourism infrastructure. He mentioned that power sector was receiving priority and 4,500 megawatt was being added in a time-bound manner to the existing capacity through private and public sector participation in power projects. He also said that by March end 150 mw of solar power generation capacity would be installed.
- Jharkhand’s chief minister Arjun Munda said that his state was a reservoir of mines and minerals, had the highest coal reserves in the country, and because of its forest cover and natural reserves produced the maximum per capita oxygen. He spoke about investment potential not only in the mining sector, but also in production of raw silk, and in the manufacturing sector which was based on thermal energy.
- Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi stole the show with a mix of bold statements, good humour and some convincing facts about the state’s progress from one that was essentially trading in nature two decades back to one of India’s foremost industrialized and best-managed states. Though he took digs at the centre for always keeping decisions on Gujarat in abeyance, he reminded his audience that it was the NDA Government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s leadership that had started the PBD movement. He also urged the Government to show political will and conduct the PBD in Gujarat in 2015, as it would be the 100th anniversary of Gandhiji’s return from South Africa to Gujarat. Each year PBD concludes on January 9, the day Mahatma returned to India in 1915. He also said that his state which lacked the natural resources of Jharkhand and the political patronage of Congress-ruled states had 4,000 mw of surplus electricity, was geared to produce 3,000 mw of solar energy (he took a dig at his Rajasthan counterpart for the figure of 150 mw), had 18,000 villages connected via broad-band and was moving towards creating a pool of teachers that could be exported to the rest of the world for which it had set up the Indian Institute of Teachers Education.
There were many delightful sessions with very intellectually stimulating content, which we plan to cover in the coming issues. One could safely say that if some of the snags can be taken care off, then the event will become truly world
class.
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