Gujarat woos big ticket investments as CM Patel holds VGGS 2027 talks with industry leaders

New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday held a series of meetings with senior industry leaders in New Delhi, with discussions covering proposed investments worth thousands of crores in automobiles, chemicals, renewable energy, green manufacturing and advanced technology ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) 2027.

At the VGGS 2027 curtain-raiser at Bharat Mandapam, CM Patel met representatives of JBM Group, DCM Shriram Ltd, Schneider Electric India, JSW MG Motor India and Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd, among others.

The discussions focused on expansion plans and new investments in Gujarat, including a proposed Rs 3,500 crore expansion by JBM Group and Rs 8,000-10,000 crore of planned investment by DCM Shriram at Dahej over the next five to seven years.

In a post on X, Patel said he met JBM Group Vice-Chairman Nishant Arya and discussed the company’s proposed Rs 3,500 crore investment to expand auto-component and electric bus manufacturing in Gujarat.

“The company has a 17-year manufacturing presence and employs more than 9,000 people across Sanand, Vithalapur and Becharaji,” he noted.

The discussions with JBM also covered potential partnerships to set up compressed biogas (CBG) plants and expand advanced energy-storage systems.

Patel also met DCM Shriram Chairman and Senior Managing Director Ajay Shriram and Aditya Shriram.

The discussions included the company’s long-term investment plans of Rs 8,000-10,000 crore at Dahej over the next five to seven years, along with expansion of captive green-energy integration.

The Chief Minister congratulated the company on its Jhagadia facility receiving Global Lighthouse recognition from the World Economic Forum.

Schneider Electric India Managing Director and CEO Deepak Sharma was another industry leader who met Patel. The two discussed strengthening the company’s manufacturing operations in Gujarat, including its upcoming fourth facility, as well as specialised technologies for hyperscale data centres.

“Schneider’s Gujarat operations support semiconductor and large technology infrastructure projects across India and export to 17 global markets,” Patel said.

He also highlighted the company’s partnership with 50 state Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), which is aimed at strengthening the state’s technical talent base.

At the meeting with JSW MG Motor India Managing Director Anurag Mehrotra, Patel discussed the company’s phased expansion at Halol.

According to the Chief Minister, the company plans to increase production capacity from 1.1 lakh vehicles to five lakh cars, backed by an investment of more than Rs 3,750 crore.

About 80 per cent of the planned production is expected to comprise electric vehicles.

The meeting also touched upon the company’s workforce, with Patel noting that women account for “40 per cent of its employees”.

Patel separately met Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd CEO and Managing Director Sanjay Banga to discuss the company’s ongoing collaboration with Gujarat in renewable energy.

The talks covered additional solar and wind capacity, a 4 GW facility and a proposed 20 GW battery-storage ecosystem at Dholera.

The meetings came as part of the curtain-raiser programme for VGGS 2027, which is being held in New Delhi following Patel’s recent high-level investment outreach to the US and Canada.

The state government had announced that the Delhi programme would bring together leading industrialists, heads of missions and senior Central government officials ahead of the main summit, scheduled from January 10 to 12, 2027.

The wider programme includes meetings with companies such as TPREL, JSW MG Motor India, Schneider Electric India, DCM Shriram, Seoul Semiconductors, Shree Cement, Purvah Green Power, LG Energy Solutions, JBM Group, Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon, Max Healthcare, Uno Minda, ACMA, ACME Solar, Schwihag AG, AirTrunk, HIF Global, GHCL, Sber Bank, PB Fintech and Mankind Pharma.

The curtain-raiser is intended to carry forward those discussions into investment and expansion proposals ahead of the January summit.

–IANS

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