The Gujarat model

BILLBOARD images of Narendra Modi loom over visitors to Ahmedabad, the main city of Gujarat, at almost every turn. The big-brother omnipresence of India's prime minister is part of the build-up to a big trade fair held in neighbouring Gandhinagar, a showcase for the business-friendly state initiated in 2003 by Mr Modi when he was its chief minister. The 2015 Vibrant Gujarat summit, the seventh such event, will run for three days from January 11th, when Mr Modi will make a speaking appearance. It will be a vast affair with visitors from 125 countries. A fleet of golf buggies, with plastic wrap still on the seats, stands ready to ferry visiting dignitaries, including John Kerry, America's secretary of state, between the hangar-sized exhibition halls.Gujarat is richer, enjoys faster GDP growth and a greater intensity of jobs and industry than India as a whole. Mr Modi's reputation for clean government and economic competence rests on his record here. When Indians voted for him in great numbers last May, it was in large part because they wanted the country run as Gujarat is. His impact on the state is nevertheless contested. It is helpful, say Mr...Continue reading
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