Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Saturday exhorted the people to shed their “anti-industry mindset” which, according to him, was preventing the country from developing. Industrial development, he said, could lead to inclusive growth and the “real” development of people. Addressing the valedictory session of the two-day Vibrant Gujarat Investors Summit, Modi stressed on creating the ‘Made in Gujarat’ brand. “Gujarat is emerging as India’s manufacturing hub, with new units being set up in every field of industrial activity. We should aim for zero defect manufacturing and the ‘Made in Gujarat’ tag to gain global acceptance,” he said, adding that small and medium enterprises have a pivotal role to play in the state’s development.

Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry was present at the concluding session of the event.

The Gujarat government received as many as 17,710 intentions of investment (IoIs) in the sixth edition of the summit. “We have received largest number of IoIs from small and medium enterprises, most of them in the affordable housing sector,” said Gujarat principal secretary (industry) Maheshwar Sahu.

He claimed that around 3.75 lakh jobs would be created in the state through these investment proposals.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s ambassador to India Pisan Manawapat announced at the summit that the Thai Airways International would launch the first direct flight from Ahmedabad to Bangkok on April 1 this year. 

The Canadian government has also invited Modi to the country. Canada and Japan were the partner countries at the Vibrant Gujarat summit.