12 JANUARY 2015: Vibrant summit- A new platform for business diplomacy

Ø  Raising concerns over the impact of climate change, world leaders laid thrust on renewable energy and sustainable development at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged investors to “shape and agree on the post-2015 development agenda with a set of sustainable development goals.” He set 2030 as the target to provide universal access to energy to all seven billion people in the world, double energy efficiency and double the use of renewable energy. Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s smart city initiative for encouraging the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency, Mr. Ban urged the Indian business community “to lead the transformation we need to achieve sustainable development and inclusive growth.” World Bank president Jim Yong Kim projected the Indian economy to grow 6.4 per cent this year. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sought India’s cooperation in ensuring sustainable development.

Ø  As part of attracting investments, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will seek collaboration from Australia in mining, fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture and food processing during his address at Indo-Australian business summit in New Delhi.

Ø  SunEdison Inc, the U.S.-headquartered solar energy services firm, and India’s Adani Group have come together to invest $4 billion or Rs. 25,000 crore in setting up one of the world’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing facility in Gujarat. The project is expected to create not only thousands of jobs, but also provide a much-need impetus to the country’s electrification programmes through solar energy. The proposed solar PV production unit will come up at Mundra in about three years. And, it will vertically integrate all aspects of solar panel production on site, including poly silicon refining, and ingot, cell, and module production.

Ø  Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley adopted four villages in Vadodara district of Gujarat under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana for MPs. Today I adopted four villages — Karnali, Pipaliya, Valida, Baglipura — under the Karnali group panchayat of Dabhoi taluka in Vadodara district, as part of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. The scheme encourages MPs from both Houses to identify and develop one village from their constituency as a model village by 2016, and two more by 2019.