October 2008 is a time in his life that 63-year-old Ravubha Vaghela will never forget. After all, it is not every day that one willingly makes a Rs 7-crore sacrifice. The banker-turned-teacher-turned-realtor-turned-industrialist parted with 30 acres of prime land off the Sanand-Viramgam highway, 30 km from Ahmedabad, for Rs 1,000 per square metre - half the market price - to enable the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government to build an approach road for the Tata Nano plant.

But for his decision, Gujarat might not have become the latest and the fastest growing auto hub in the country. "Though the state government had 1,000 acres of land for the Tata Nano project, negotiations were faltering, as there was no access road to the site. When it became clear that this could push the plant out of Gujarat's hands, I came forward to offer my land," he says.

To achieve our targets, we had to shift focus away from traditional industries with low per capita value addition. So we picked sectors such as automobiles: Saurabh Dalal

Close ties with Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela - Modi's bete noire - did not deter Ravubha from selling his land and persuading other farmers in four villages to part with nearly 3,500 acres, so that Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, or GIDC, could develop the auto hub. "We wanted to show how different the outlook of Gujarati farmers was from those in West Bengal," he adds in English laced with a mix of Hindi and

Gujarati.

Three years later, not only is Tata Motors' Nano plant up and running, but two other global auto majors - Ford Motor and PSA Peugeot Citroen- plan to invest Rs 4,000 crore each to set up car factories in the area. The impact is already visible in Sanand and nearby villages: with the Rs 1,600 crore that farmers have got for their land, they have bought luxury cars, built big houses, bought large tracts of land at some distance from their villages, and invested the rest in the 12 new bank branches which have opened in the area in the past year.

Tata Motors Nano plant, Sanand

MUST READ: Why Ford chose Gujarat over Chennai 

Click here to EnlargeAnd there is more in store: state government officials say Maruti Suzuki, too, will build its plant near Sanand, and that the deal is likely to be sealed in October. Besides car makers, two-wheeler manufacturers are also considering expanding their operations in the area. And GIDC officials say the deluge of offers from farmers who want to sell their land is growing daily.

Gujarat's transformation into an auto hub began in 2008, with the chance marriage of a realisation and an opportunity. Unhappy with the level of value addition in terms of downstream industries and job creation triggered by large chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceuticals investments, Chief Minister Modi sought officials' views on ways to improve the situation.

You cannot afford high logistics costs if you are selling small cars, where margins are thin. Also, it can take 10 days to ship cars from one city to another: Michael Boneham: Michael Boneham

Gujarat accounts for half the chemicals produced in the country and 62 per cent of petrochemicals. Modi wanted to take the share of manufacturing in the state's ARCHIVE: 

Gujarat is India's

new factory hub 

gross domestic product from the current 31 per cent - the national average is 18 per cent - to 40 per cent by 2025 (the projected national target is 25 per cent). "We realised that, to achieve this target, the state had to shift its focus from traditional industries which were capital-intensive but with low per capita value addition," says Saurabh Dalal, the state's industries minister. "We identified sectors such as automobiles, where the ratio of direct to indirect employment is very high."

The opportunity came on October 3, 2008, when Ratan Tata decided to pull the Nano project out of Singur in West Bengal. An SMS from Modi, asking Tata to consider Sanand as a possible location, set the ball rolling. But it was no shoo-in: Tata Motors was considering locations in Karnataka and elsewhere.

"Fortunately for us, land was readily available, and the state's proactive governance, strong infrastructure credentials, coupled with the trust Ratan Tata had in Chief Minister Modi , swung the project our way," says M. Sahu, Principal Secretary in the state's industries and mines department. "The Tata investment clearly gave the necessary impetus and set auto investment into the state on a higher trajectory."

Speedy execution has become the hallmark of Gujarat's new industrialisation policy. Ford India, which inked a memorandum of understanding on July 28 with the state government to set up its second plant in Sanand, got possession of the land and the necessary approvals to do the bhoomi pooja on September 5. But even after Tata Motors' investment, some questions remained.

Despite Gujarat's strengths - abundant electricity, gas, water, ports with fast turnaround times - potential investors were worried about the availability of skilled labour and the auto component base. They waited to see how the Tata project evolved before taking the plunge.

"As part of the negotiation with the Tatas, we underwrote a commitment that 1,000 shop floor workers would be trained before the plant started production. "We delivered on our promise," says Sahu. "This eased the concerns of other investors." The state government has started a programme called Industry Responsive Manpower Building, adds B.B. Swain, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, GIDC.

Attracted by the investment climate, suppliers, too, are slowly heading for Gujarat. Says Harsh Goenka, Chairman, RPG group, "For us, Gujarat is fast becoming an important state to do business in. We have been able to set up our Rs 650 crore CEAT radial tyre plant in Halol in very quick time. There is no corruption and the state is definitely the number one destination as far as the business environment is concerned."

With the emergence of Gujarat, India now has five large auto hubs (see India's Major Auto Hubs). Chennai - often called the Detroit of South Asia - is the largest. In 2010/11, it accounted for 31 per cent of cars and 35 per cent of components made in the country. The others are Pune, Pantnagar, and the National Capital Region.

The competition between them is intense, and states woo investors with facilities and incentives. In an indication of just how fervid the rivalry is, the Tamil Nadu government jumped the gun in August this year, saying Peugeot had agreed to set up its factory in Chennai. The company denied it the next day, and eventually plumped for Gujarat.

We wanted to show how different the outlook of Gujarati farmers is, compared to those in West Bengal: Ravubha Vaghela

Why India has multiple hubs

Large country with car buyers across the

map

Rising transportation costs for shipping

new cars

Infrastructure constraints

Attractive incentives offered by various

state governments

Avoiding concentration of labour in one

location

Availability of skilled labour at reasonable

cost De-risking strategy

While hubs compete, they also complement each other in terms of offering auto companies scope for distributed manufacturing. A large integrated plant in one location may make for economies of scale, but certain factors force manufacturers to set up production facilities in multiple locations. India is a large country, and car buyers are scattered across the map. For instance, the National Capital Region accounts for 20 per cent of cars sold in India. Western India comes next.

Having a plant in one corner of the country increases logistics costs. It costs Rs 15,000, for example, to transport a car from Chennai to New Delhi. This was one of the main reasons Ford India chose Sanand for its second plant. "You cannot afford high logistics costs if you are selling small cars where margins are very thin," says Michael Boneham, Managing Director, Ford India.

Hyundai cars at Chennai Port

"There is also time involved: it takes 10 days to ship cars from one part of the country to another." There are other reasons for multiple locations. "The concentrated power of labour in one location can be crippling, as Maruti Suzuki is realising to its horror now," says Abdul Majeed, Auto Practice Leader at  PricewaterhouseCoopers. He adds that in India, inefficiencies creep up as capacities rise beyond a point, citing the example of congestion at Chennai Port. A single production location is like putting all of one's eggs in the same basket. "De-risking is a critical element," says Majeed.

Then there are the incentives that states offer to attract investment. Pantnagar in Uttarakhand emerged as an auto hub because of central and state government incentives such as 100 per cent exemption from income tax for the first five years, 30 per cent for the next five, and 100 per cent excise duty exemption for 10 years. Two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto took the opportunity.

Bajaj Auto plant, Pantnagar

Our total income tax rate in 2010/11 was 25.5 per cent, as against 33.2 per cent, and the excise benefit translated into a saving of roughly three per cent on the cost of the bike," says Kevin D'Sa, President, Finance, at Bajaj Auto. The effectiveness of incentives is evident in the fact that, with the central government scrapping the excise exemption from April 2010, the flow of investments into Pantnagar has dropped.

Expensive labour and incentives elsewhere drew car makers away from Detroit. India is at a similar stage: V. Sumantran

The plurality of auto hubs compels car makers to balance distributed manufacturing with economies of scale. "A capacity of about 250,000 is the standard unit of production worldwide, and offers reasonable economies of scale," says V. Sumantran, Executive Vice Chairman, Hinduja Automotive. But, as Majeed argues, the benefits of scale in India are affected by infrastructure limitations.

Globally, multiple hubs are the trend. "In the early part of the 20th century, Detroit became the auto hub in the United States, with a strong manufacturing base and cheap migrant labour," says Sumantran. Over time, however, expensive labour and inefficient work practices, coupled with incentives from other states, induced car makers to go elsewhere: Honda chose Ohio, Mercedes went to Alabama, and BMW North Carolina. "India is at a similar stage," he says.

Ford India's Boneham says: "With the country's annual car production set to triple from the current three million units to nine million by 2020, we will definitely see more hubs emerging."

Additional reporting by Manu Kaushik

CASE STUDIES

Tata’s ‘Dream Car’ Plant LocationThe ‘dream car’ project of Ratan Tata, the Chairman of one of India’s largest and most respected business conglomerates is located in West Bengal. In 2005-06 the group had revenues of US$21.9 billion—the equivalent of about 2.8 per cent of the country’s GDP—and a market capitalization of US$46.9 billion. Tata dreams to create a car to be sold in the Indian markets with a price tag of Rs 100,000. The car will have a Euro IV compliant 700 cc petrol engine, a suspension, and a steering system designed for its size. Targeting the burgeoning middle-class, Tata Motors plans to roll out its car in the next three years by using a low-cost assembly operation. The car will be smaller compared to most existing cars on the road and will be produced in larger volumes, with all the high-volume parts manufactured in one plant. The other cost-cutting measures relate to intensive use of plastics on the body of the car and eliminating dealer margin. The group is looking at a very low-cost assembly operation and the use of

modern-day adhesives instead of welding. There are some issues concerning safety, mainly because of the car’s modest size, but Tatas are determined to resolve them before the car reaches the market. In view of the socio-economic dimension in manufacturing the car, the company is looking at small satellite units, with very low break- even points, where the cars would be assembled, sold, and serviced. Tatas are planning to encourage local entrepreneurs to invest in these units, and to train these entrepreneurs to assemble the fully knocked-down or semi-knocked-down components that Tatas would send. These entrepreneurs would also sell and service the assembled vehicles. This approach would replace the dealer, and, therefore, the dealer’s margin. It will lead to an assembly-cum-retail operation that would be combined with very low-cost service facilities.Tatas always wanted to have a car manufacturing facility, but during the early 1940s, they lost the race to B.M. Birla and Walchund Hirachand, who secured the British Government’s permission to establish their car factories in India. Hindustan Motors Limited (HML), India’s pioneering automobile manufacturing company was established just before Indian independence, in 1942 by B.M. Birla. Commencing operations in a small assembly plant in Port Okha near Gujarat, the manufacturing facilities later moved to Uttarpara, West Bengal in 1948, where it began the production of the Ambassador cars. Premier Automobiles was founded by the visionary and entrepreneur par excellence, Walchand Hirachand Doshi, in 1944. In collaboration with the Chrysler Corporation, India’s first car rolled out of the Premier factory in 1947. In collaboration with Fiat SpA, Italy, Premier first started assembling the Fiat 500 in India. Tatas had to wait for almost six decades before their maiden car Indica was launched in 1999. Indica’s success gave confidence to Ratan Tata to go ahead with his Rs 100,000 dream car.During early 2006, Tatas started scouting for a good location for their dream car plant. The three states initially looking lucrative for the location were—Karnataka, West Bengal, and Uttaranchal. Dharwad in Karnataka had the advantage of geographic location, being located between Bangalore and Pune (where Tatas have major facilities). The Karnataka government also offered water and power tariff sops and agreed to Tata’s proposed move to build a township near the scheduled facility.The West Bengal government, which is currently in an industrialization drive in the state, enticed the Tatas with various subsidies and sops. It tried to convince Tatas to set up the factory in the backward district of West Midnapore near Kharagpur. In today’s competitive environment, the car Tatas would be manufacturing would be the cheapest car available in the country, and the task they have undertaken is very challenging. Hence, they have taken into consideration all aspects, including logistics. Since the price factor is so important in this project, the choice of location is very critical. Apart from the availability of proper infrastructure and skilled labour, the company has to take into consideration social infrastructure such as proximity of educational institutions for the children of its employees. Out of the six different places offered by the West Bengal government, the company found Singur, about 50 kilometres north-west of Kolkata to be the most suitable.If a particular company wants a big chunk of land for setting up a large plant, it is not possible for it to purchase land from each and every farmer. This is particularly true in West Bengal where fragmentation of land is very high. The state government came forward to acquire the land for the project. When the opposition raised issues against it, the government gave the justification that it is for a public purpose. According to the government, industrialization means employment generation and development of society. The entire people of the state will be benefited from the new project. Therefore, the land acquisition was in public interest.Setting a healthy precedent, the West Bengal government agreed to pay compensation to farmers for acquiring their land at a generous rate—almost 150 per cent more than the prevailing market price. This was much more than what most other state governments had ordained as the price to be paid for acquiring land from farmers for setting up industries or

special economic zones. For instance, owners of single-crop land in Singur got Rs 840,000 per acre and Rs 1 .2 million an acre if the land was used for double-cropping, while in Maharashtra, farmers got only Rs 24,000 an acre. However, this comparison may not be appropriate.The land in Singur has a greater market value as it is close to the National Highway No. 2, connecting Kolkata with Delhi, and the land in question in Maharashtra may not enjoy a similar advantage. Yet, it has to be conceded that the compensation package decided by the West Bengal government is generous and an important factor in convincing over 9,000 land-owners at Singur (over 94 per cent of the total land to be acquired). These farmers have agreed to the deal and have already received their compensation money from the state government. Land acquisition in Singur has been completed and the land has been handed over to the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBI DC). Now WBIDC is the owner of the land. Till 2 December 2006, Rs 766.4 million has been disbursed as compensation to the farmers who have lost their land. Around 9,020 farmers have received compensation for 635 acres of land. Eighty-eight recorded bargadars (sharecroppers) have already received a payment of Rs 1 .7 million and the number of persons yet to receive payment, till 2 December 2006, was around 3,000.

Another allegation by the opposition against the State government is that land acquired for a private enterprise cannot be considered a public purpose. It is further alleged that the acquisition of land has not followed the established procedure of the company making advance payment. Instead the company is being given the land at a very concessional rate payable within the next 20 years. All this is apparently being kept a secret by the government. The government, however, refutes these allegations and vouches for its transparency in following the procedures laid out for the industrialization of the state. According to government agencies, ‘If you see the zig-zag way the map for the project site has been drawn, you will understand the pains we have taken to ensure the exclusion of the most fertile tracts of land in the region as well as homestead lands. This is not an ideal map for a factory site, and it took a lot of persuasion by us for the Tatas to accept this.Thirdly, there is a perception that the Tata small car project has acquired land far in excess of what it actually requires to set up a factory of that capacity. Maruti Udyog is situated in a total land area of 300 acres and has an installed capacity of 3,50,000 cars a year. The Singur land being handed over to the Tatas is three times more than what Maruti Udyog has and that too for producing only 1,00,000 cars. The question in everyone’s mind is why the Tatas need 997 acres of land and whether there are other facilities that are being planned in that same area. Due to such issues, questions on the justification of allocating the Singur land to the Tatas will continue to be raised. Agitations against the project started immediately after the fencing of the land was done. Singur’s uneasy peace was shattered during early February 2007 as pro-farmland forces clashed with the police in phases throughout the day. It was a grim reminder of the fact that the Tatas’ problems there are still far from over. For a group that has just tripped the mighty CSN of Brazil at the Corus sweepstakes in the United Kingdom, this small village in Hooghly continues to be a problem. It is alleged that the people of Singur offered Tata a plot of land on the other side of the village. This land is low-lying and needed to be filled up. According to the villagers, ‘But the Tatas want everything on a platter. They don’t want to spend money, so they want land which is fertile and the lifeline of the people. Why should the farmers of Singur subsidize Tata’s one-lakh rupee car?’The state government received an unequivocal support by Ratan Tata, who has said his group will not move out of West Bengal. The company cited the example of Uttaranchal where the company was the first to set up a huge plant. Land prices in the state had gone up 25 times in the last 10 months as other automobile companies followed suit. The farmers of Uttaranchal have gained from such opportunities. The company has also approached NGOs and panchayats in Singur to provide training to locals at Ramakrishna Mission for developing technical skills in

areas such as, carpentry, plumbing, electrician, simple fitting jobs, etc. According to them, if the need arises, key employees from Tata Motors plant can travel from Jamshedpur and impart training to students. This will bring to focus the skill sets required for jobs at an auto plant and how these tasks are carried out on a regular basis.Tata Motors has also proposed a weekly forum meeting where farmers meet company executives and clear doubts. It also plans to replicate some of the programmes initiated in Pune and Jamshedpur for people in Singur. As part of other initiatives to connect with the people, the company is organizing special training programmes for women in areas such as tailoring, making, hand gloves garments, food products, and handicrafts. Tata Motors also plans to introduce technical subjects in local secondary schools by providing infrastructure support, sports facilities, career guidance, and a teachers’ training programme.Some of the opposition parties are still not satisfied and are not restricting their agitation only to Singur. They have gone ahead to urge the people of Nandigram to be united against the government’s move to acquire multi-crop land for the proposed SEZ by the Indonesia-based Salim Group.

Questions for discussions1. Why did Tatas prefer to locate their ‘dream car’ plant at Singur, West Bengal despite other equally good options such as Dharwad and Uttaranchal?2. Tatas should have considered Pune and Jamshedpur, where they already had multiple facilities and several ancillary units, for locating this new plant. Do you agree with this statement?3. Tata’s have often chosen wrong locations for their plants, such as the one at Lucknow, which is also marred with controversies. Discuss.4. How do you think the problems at Singur can be amicably resolved by Tatas for earliest construction of their plant?

Kar Nano Final — Presentation Transcript

1. NANO’S drive from Singur to Sanand singur sanand OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AMITY

BUSINESS SCHOOL, Noida

2. Group members V.Karthik Himanshu Ahuja Avi Kapoor Dishant Aggarwal Kshitij Khanna

3. a dream that every eye had dreamt . . . a dream seen by many of us but only TATA

thought about fulfilling . . . . . a dream that could have changed the fate of all connected to

it . . . . .

4. • 3.2 million shareholders Tata Group • India’s largest business group • 5.3% of India’s

GDP • Operations in 80 countries, exports to 85 countries • 61% of all revenue from

abroad • Group revenue: Rs. 250,000 crores, US $ 62.5 bill • Group Profit: Rs 21,000

crores, US $ 5.4 bill

5. Introduction Of Tata Nano “ Dream-dream and dream, because dream gives vision,

vision gives thoughts and finally thoughts lead to the action ". Each letter of these

motivational words said by India's former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam goes exactly

with Mr. Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata group, who in the year 2003, dreamt of producing a

safe, affordable Car for the common man. Finally after the wait of five years, crossing all

financial and technological barriers, Ratan Tata kept his promise and unveiled Tata 'Nano'

on 10th January 2007

6. What makes it so cheap ! The Tata Nano uses plastics & adhesives rather than welding.

Introducing the car with an artificially low price through govt-subsidies and tax-breaks

Using vertical-integration Partially using inexpensive polymers or biodegradable plastics

instead of a full metal-body. It has no AC, no power steering, no power windows, no power

bells and whistles.

7. Why has Singur been in news ?

8. Tata Motors started constructing a factory to manufacture their $2,500 car, the Tata

Nano at Singur The project faced massive opposition from 2,000 of the 12,000 displaced

farmers The problem has been raised by those farmers who maintain that their land has

been taken away from them by force against their will. The unwilling farmers were given

political support by West Bengal's firebrand opposition leader Miss Mamata Bannerjee with

an eye to the upcoming Lok Sabha (Parliamentary) elections Where was the problem

9. Contd…… Miss Bannerjee's "Save Farmland" movement was supported by

celebrity anti-development activists & farmers The issue had turned into a power show.

Where one party claimed to be fighting for poor of Bengal while other says whatsoever is

being done is for growth of state The Tatas finally decided to move out of Singur on 3rd

October, 2008 The pullout decision meant, loss of huge investment for the state of West

Bengal On 7th October, 2008, the Tatas announced that they would be setting up the Tata

Nano plant in Sanand, Gujarat.

10. MAMATA v/s TATA

11. What were the alternatives available Several states that had offered to help include

Haryana, Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh. Even Sri Lanka had made up suitable plans

for TATA’S relocation. Finally Gujarat is basking in the glory of rescuing the plant & is at

present providing shelter to the car which had been every common man’s dream.

12. LEFT 2 RIGHT: TATA DRIVES TO GUJARAT

13. Sanand Moving from bad M to good M Singur

14. Gujarat Economy With 5% of India’s population, Gujarat has 16% of industrial

production. Gujarat had an annual average growth of 9% in the last 3 years and an

average industrial growth of 15%. 50.5 million (5%) Population 196,000 sq. km. (6%) Area

Figures in brackets show % share of India ( Source: ASI ) 14% of India Exports US$ 39.72

billion (16.2%) Industrial Production US$ 17.9 billion (18.5%) Fixed Capital Investment US$

5.17 billion Manufacturing sector Business friendly state policies, responsive local

administration, extensive network of roads, ports, railways and telecom in most parts, well

developed financial structure. Investment Strengths

15. Economic Infrastructure of Gujarat Roads The road network in Gujarat is one of the best

in the country, with 73,600 km of road length. Power By the year 2006-07. power

generation is targeted to reach to a level of 14.937 MW in Gujarat from the current level of

8.615 MW. Airport Ahmedabad is the International Airport while Keshod, Bhuj, Kandla,

Jamnagar, Porbandar, Rajkot and Bhavnagar are the domestic airports. Telecommunication

Efficient telecommunication network is a prerequisite for modern life and in this area too,

Gujarat has not lagged behind. Ports Gujarat has the longest coastline - 1600 km - in the

country dotted with 41 ports. Under the Port Policy. 10 ports at new green field locations

are proposed to be developed. The total investment in the port development is now

estimated at Rs. 23,594 crore. This sector thus offers enormous opportunities not only for

direct investments. Gas Grid To cater to the huge demand of natural gas, Gujarat State

Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (GSPCL) has been entrusted with the task of creating gas grid

infrastructure in the form of a high-pressure pipeline network for transportation of natural

gas through its subsidiary company Gujarat State Petronet Ltd.

16. Vadodara Surat Sanand Gujarat Strengths: Infrastructure Longest coastline in India –

1600 km. First state to privatize ports, railways and road transport 41 Ports Cargo handled

at Kandla, a major port Container Handling at Mundra & at Pipavav 11 Airports with an

International Airport at Ahmedabad Pioneering work in Energy, Water, Urban Development,

Industrial Parks AHMEDABAD

17. Why Sanand??? Conditions did not improve at Singur Land available in plenty The

overall climate in Gujarat has been extremely favorable to industry The general populace

of the state is in favour of industrialization The strategic location of Sanand, some 30 km

from Ahmedabad and its proximity to the Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway made the new site

attractive close to the Charodi railway station Setting up the Nano plant in Gujarat is

advantageous for the group because nearly 50 % of the car parts are produced in Rajkot ,

and the extensive coastline of the state could be beneficial for imports and exports The

location was, it was just 200 km from Rajkot, where the best engineering workforce can be

found.

18. Then there is the ultra mega power project of 4,000 mw that the Tatas are setting up at

Mundra port . The Tatas could draw on power from their own plant in Mundra Mundra Port

would allow them to import steel and other raw materials at very low cost even from

overseas. Transporting the same over land would cost thrice as much. Mundra had the

edge given its container depots for vehicles and a huge roll on, roll off terminal for loading

and unloading vehicles Then there was a 6-lane highway just 1 km away from the land

earmarked for Tata Motors When the Tata Motors team visited Andhra Pradesh, they were

confronted by agitated farmers who did not want to part with their land. That was scary for

the Tata folk. Maharashtra automatically became the choice, but the Tatas got mixed

signals from several quarters Contd….

19. POLITICAL FACTORS There is no Mamata in Gujarat As far as development of Gujarat is

concerned all political leaders of Gujarat seem to be united as on the name of

industrialization no protest has ever seen in Gujarat. WB is the worst state as far as

industrialization is concerned. Half of the year is closed for union activities And the left has

squeezed the industrial environment And as far as industrialization is concerned, Gujarat is

one of the best. Gujaratis are known for their business skill around the world They always

seem to think about development and as a result no bandh is observed as sincerely as in

West Bengal

20. Modi, Tata drive Nano to its new home in 4 days

21. “ One was stupid if not investing in Gujarat”

22. Contd… “ I have to say that today there is no state like Gujarat. Under Mr Modi’s

leadership, Gujarat is head and shoulders above any state. A state would normally take 90

to 180 days to clear a new plant but in the Nano case, we had our land and approval in just

two days.’’

23. Current Scenario Tata Motors Ratan Tata chose Sanand , 30 kms away from

Ahmedabad, for the Tata Nano project . The mother plant, will come up on an area of about

1100 acres in Sanand. The new Nano Plant could have a capacity of 5,00,000 units,

compared to 3,00,000 for Singur. Gujarat has also agreed to match all the incentives

offered by West Bengal government.

24. Modi PM material for Anil Ambani, Sunil Mittal ADAG chairman Anil Ambani “

Narendrabhai has done good for Gujarat and what will happen if he leads the nation.

Gujarat has seen progress in all the fields under his leadership. Now, imagine what will

happen to the country if he gets the opportunity to lead it. Person like him should be the

next leader of the country.’’ Bharti Group CMD Sunil Mittal also showered encomiums.

``Chief minister Modi is known as a CEO, but he is actually not a CEO, because he is not

running a company or a sector. He is running a state and can also run the nation,’’ he said.

25. In his eloquent speech Chief Minister Narendra Modi said that in last five years Gujarat

has traversed a journey from “Why Gujarat? to why not Gujarat?”

26. Impact on TATA - Selection of a suitable location for setting up plant took its due time

Full scale production of NANO got delayed Company had to invest several hundreds of

crore for relocation It is difficult being in the price tag This has not only affected TATA

group but has instilled fear among the other entrepreneurs.

27. On India - This has not affected only TATA but also those who were getting employment

from this project. This project was providing jobs to a no. of people directly and to a lot

many indirectly Investors from both, within and foreign would now consider Indian plans as

a treacherous investment. This would lead an already economically weak Bengal to stay in

the shadows of poverty for longer till such an opportunity knocks at its door again. This

would also result in increasing regional economic disparities.

28. In the light of what has happened at Singur its time that we wake up and decide for

ourselves what do we need ? Such leaders who for their desires or in order to show their

power misguide masses or those leaders who genuinely think about wellbeing of people. ‘

Leaders that are building blocks of developing India or leaders that are blocks in the way of

developing India .’

29. See you soon in Ahmedabad ! Goodbye