The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid foundation stones for multiple development projects in Surat, Gujarat, worth over Rs 188 billion (bn). He expressed gratitude to the people of Gujarat for their support and greeted elected representatives from Surat and Navsari, describing the electoral outcome as a mandate to expand public service. He urged elected public representatives to intensify efforts to develop every village, district and city as part of a vision for a developed Gujarat and developed India.

Noting the coincidence with Environment Day, he highlighted Surat's status as one of the cleanest cities and recalled its transformation from a plague-affected city to a model of urban sanitation over two and a half decades. He attributed this progress to sustained action by citizens, officers, employees and public representatives and pointed to the nationwide waste to wealth movement active for 12 years as a major contributor to urban cleanliness. He also linked these efforts to innovations such as the circular water economy that treats wastewater for industrial use.

He traced Gujarat's early commitment to a green future to the establishment of the Climate Change Department in 2009 and to the Charanka Solar Park, and he said Surat exemplifies balancing progress with nature through initiatives in electric mobility and metro expansion. He mentioned the approval of the Tapi Barrage Project to secure drinking water and drainage and anticipated Hazira Industrial Area's shift towards green steel production powered by renewable energy. He framed these initiatives as further strengthening Surat's identity as a green city.

He placed the local developments in a national context, crediting the resolve of 1.4 billion (bn) Indians amid recent global shocks. He noted Gujarat contributes one-fifth (50 GW) of the nation's 250 GW renewable capacity and is set to lead in Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia. He highlighted investments over the last 12 years in energy and infrastructure and the inauguration of a modern ESIC hospital in Surat to improve worker healthcare.