The Gujarat government is studying the situation arising out of imposition of 50 per cent tariffs by the US Administration and will provide relief to industries affected most in the state such as diamond, engineering goods and textile after holding discussions with the stakeholders, Industries Minister Balvantsinh Rajput said on Tuesday. Rajput was speaking at a press conference on the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference (VGRC) for the north Gujarat region to be held in Mehsana on October 9-10. When asked what relief the government wants to offer to the industries of diamond, engineering goods and textile affected most by the US tariffs, Rajput said that the imposition of US tariffs could prove very damaging to the industries. "America had imposed 350% tariffs on China. But with changing circumstances, the tariffs were decreased gradually. So, it’s a kind of pressure technique.Therefore, (we are) studying the current situation. And if required, after holding discussions, we will be helpful to the industrialists while staying with them," Rajput said. Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference After organising 10 editions of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit since 2003, the Gujarat government has decided to take it to the district level. And accordingly, the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference has been planned in four regions of the state starting from north Gujarat. The first VGRC will be organised at Ganpat University in Mehsana. Talking about the impact of VGGS since 2003, Rajput said, "The per capita income of Gujarat was Rs 18,753 (in 2003). Today, after completion of 10 Vibrant Summits, it can be said that the per capita income has increased to more than Rs 2.73 lakh. At the same time, the (industrial) production has risen by 15 times." Speaking on the occasion, Industries Commissioner P Swaroop said that the focus sectors for the north Gujarat region VGRC will be agriculture, food processing, auto components, green energy ecosystem and engineering. These focus sectors will be different for VGRCs in three other regions of the state – Kutch-Saurashtra, south Gujarat and central Gujarat. The conference will showcase the projects for which MoUs were signed in the last VGGS in 2024, Swaroop said, adding that the work on which has already been started. As per an official release, the VGRC for Mehsana has recorded 13,246 registrations till October 6. It will see delegations from organisations such as JETRO, Indo-Canada Business Chamber, US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, World Bank, and Russian Federation.
