Invest India facilitates Vestas Wind Systems

WINDS OF CHANGE

When Shikarpur region of Gujarat started witnessing skyscraping windmills thrusting into its soil, people were skeptical. With the industry in Kutch limited to cotton, crafts, minerals and rubber they had limited knowledge about windmills & alternate energy. And even less about the job generation from this change. Today a unit of this new energy company has created 1000 direct & 3000 indirect jobs leaving the people of Shakarpur pleasantly surprised. They didn’t have to travel far & wide for a job, now their job was closer to home. And it’s Invest India who made this possible.

What led to this turn of events was a query on make in India portal from Vestas’ - A Danish company operating in India since 1989. They sought assistance in getting some 20 licenses/permits for setting up a blade manufacturing unit which Vestas’ chairman, Bert Nordberg & President Anders Runevad had promised to PM Narendra Modi. They wanted to establish a green-field manufacturing unit but to meet their project deadline it was important for them to get timely approvals which was becoming difficult.

So Vestas’ turned to Invest India for support and what they experienced was phenomenal speed of achieving what seemed unachievable. “We received most of the clearances in no time because of Invest India team. For instance the Consent to Establish, an extremely critical clearance to start construction work was to be taken. We had taken a lead time of 60 days but with Invest India team we achieved it in 22 days. Similarly, Gujarat Transmission Corporation officers worked hard to ensure power availability at the factory site by reducing the lead-time from 18 months to 6 months. This was very impressive” shares Clive Turton. From assessing 29 states on more than 30 parameters, to zeroing in on Gujarat as the perfect site and even awarding Vestas’ with a 15% discount on electricity bills for 5 years, Invest India team was there every step of the way to ensure that India moves towards new energy quickly & smoothly. The team also introduced Vestas to the Skill Council with whom they later signed an MoU, promising employment of over 60 Suryamitra candidates. Infact Turton was amazed that it wasn’t just Invest India but also MNRE, DPIIT, Finance and Environment Ministries too who extended seamless support assuring them that it’s not just one man but a collective ambition to make India better than before.

What was even more impressive was the project completion timeline by Invest India. This project was completed and a unit established in 15 months, the shortest time ever taken to establish by Vestas’ anywhere in the world. Now that certainly speaks volumes about the efficiency and dedication team Invest India has towards their cases as well as the country.