What to Expect From Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2017Often referred to as the 'Davos of the East', it is set to debut the Nobel Prize Series in India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to unveil the eight edition of Vibrant Gujarat, one of the biggest investment summits in India on January 9, 2017.

The Summit is expected to attract participation from 9 renowned Nobel Laureates along with heads of states and governments, ministers, leaders from the corporate world, senior policy makers, heads of international institutions and academia from around the world.

Often referred to as the "Davos of the East', it is set to debut the Nobel Prize Series in India.

The Summit, which aims to focus on 'Sustainable Economic and Social Development, is expected to be dominated by 8 key growth areas.

Investment

Investment is at the heart of the Summit each year with MoUs of lakhs of crores of rupees. Indian business tycoons of the likes of Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani, Shashi Ruia & Gautam Adani have committed large sums for the investment of Gujarat in the last seven years. The participation of big players like by global industrial giants such as Hitachi, Cisco, Trafigura Beheer, Boeing International, EDF and Gilead Sciences may attract investments & MoUs.

Innovation

At a time when digital payments services have gained attention, innovation is set to be the theme of the Summit. What businesses, domestic and international, can provide as solutions to steer India's Digital India dream will be looked at.

The 9 Nobel Laureates attending the Summit are also expected to speak of innovation in their respective fields and this may spur pacts for research in India.

GST

The much-awaited Goods and Services Tax, which will centralize taxes paid by businesses is expected to gain center space. India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's plan to rollout GST effective April 2017 after an overwhelming states' government support has hit roadblock. Opposition parties displeasure with ruling government's decision to demonetize INR 500 & INR 1000 notes has delayed GST rollout timeline to July.

How the government decides to project this delay and the commitment it makes to an effective & quick implementation of the GST will likely be discussed.

Smart Cities

Narendra Modi's initiatives to make smart cities is far from seeing the early signs of achievement. How businesses can contribute to the development of India and how partnerships with the government could mutually benefit is touted to be discussed.

Logistics and Infrastructure

Urban Mobility is set to be in the limelight for 2017. With the Indian market opening up for foreign players, a plethora of opportunities for automakers and automotive consulting services wait to be availed.

The government's is likely to invite businesses to invest in the construction of world-class infrastructure including roads, bridges, and train services among others facilities.

Manufacturing

Narendra Modi's Make in India initiative announced in 2014 aims to make India a manufacturing hub such as China. Foreign businesses are increasingly looking to enter India and are expected to be lured by cheap labour cost and large land resources available in India.

Leveraging Gujarat's manufacturing leadership and economic strength to connect the global investor with India and the state will take centerstage. Which companies would like to set their foot in Gujarat will be watched for.

Ease of Doing Business

Red-tapism and corruption have long been associated with the government and business transactions. Narendra Modi government's efforts to wipe off the blot from India's image are likely to be discussed.

India is also inviting businesses worldwide to occupy land, built companies, contribute to India's infrastructure, partner to develop technologies and pave a path to growth for the country. The government is expected to portray a business-friendly image of India to invest investments and empower India to compete with the best global economies.

Startups

Startups are at the heart of India's entrepreneurial growth story. With stalwarts of Indian startups, Sachin Bansal of Flipkart and Bhavish Aggarwal of ANI Technologies, the parent company of Ola Cabs scheduled to attend the Summit, the debate about whether government must intervene in business models to protect domestic players from international competition is set to be discussed.

Indian government's initiatives to promote startups financially and in terms of support via other means may garner high degree of interest from budding entrepreneurs.