In September 2014, Harold Varmus, winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1989 and then director of the US National Cancer Institute, had a half-an-hour interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York.The American scientist recounted his days in India as an apprentice at a mission hospital in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. He then went on to explain how medicines had evolved since then.As the ministry of external affairs spokesman later told reporters, Varmus complimented Modi for India’s anti-smoking laws and the PM responded by inviting the eminent cancer specialist to visit on a regular basis.The Modi-Varmus interaction resulted in a concrete development in the form of the 710-bed National Cancer Institute that is being built in Haryana’s Jhajjar.Modelled on the US National Cancer Institute, which Varmus headed till March 2015, the hospital is being built at a cost of a little over Rs 2,035 crore and will be India’s largest government-funded hospital project ever.Buoyed by this success, the Prime Minister’s Office early last year directed the department of biotechnology to invite Nobel laureates in large groups.The objective: Inspire young Indians in the fields of science and technology and also stimulate the knowledge economy by wooing foreign investments into new-age R&D projects, a senior official of the department of biotechnology told ET.On January 9-10, a group of nine Nobel laureates will interact with Indian and foreign investors, Indian scientists and students, in addition to meeting the Prime Minister, at the 8th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar.This biannual mega investor summit was first held in 2003, when Modi was chief minister. Bringing Nobel laureates to a traditionally industry and investor dominated event is clearly an attempt to give the summit a science and tech edge.Apart from Varmus, the laureates who are expected at the Vibrant Gujarat summit are — Hartmut Michel (chemistry), Richard J Roberts (medicine), Serge Haroche (physics), WE Moerner (chemistry), David Gross (physics), Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (chemistry), Ada Yonath (chemistry) and Randy Schekman (medicine)."There will be a lunch meeting of the nine Nobel laureates, global CEOs and the Prime Minister during the summit. Top executives from companies such as Gilead Sciences, Takeda, SAAB, Volvo and 3M, among others, are likely to be present. I am sure this initiative will bring in foreign direct investment (FDI) to Gujarat and elsewhere," said K Vijay Raghavan, secretary in the department of biotechnology, adding that the government would put in place a follow-up mechanism of continuing engagement with the Nobel laureates.The secretary reckoned that foreign investments may come in drug discovery, cyber-physical systems, robotics, nanoscience and new materials. He pointed out that US biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, which had got US FDA approval for a hepatitis C drug last June, is planning to set up a plant in India.Vibrant Gujarat will also play host to a Nobel Prize exhibition — the exhibits are being flown in from Sweden — with the theme being the impact of science on economy and society.The exhibition will continue for five weeks and is likely to host a number of interactive sessions with Indian scientists and students. When contacted over the phone, CEO of Nobel Media Mattias Fyrenius told ET that he expects the Nobel Prize Series dialogue and exhibitions to be held annually or biannually in various Indian cities."When science, business and policy makers come on one platform, it results in development and growth. Nobel laureates will meet top executives from 3M, Ericsson, Scania and Volvo Cars, among other companies, this time," said Fyrenius.Nobel Media is a commercial entity that spreads knowledge about the Nobel Prize and manages the Nobel Prize media portfolio, rights and distribution. The union department of biotechnology, which is the nodal department anchoring this Nobel Prize Series initiative, is now planning to invite about 10 laureates annually for the next five years."The laureates will participate in interactive discussions and exhibitions in various cities. They may not be the same set of laureates, but we will try to have 10 laureates together every year," said secretary Raghavan.So will the visit of the Nobel laureates result in a global biotech or nanoscience giant pouring dollars into an Indian venture? Not overnight, but perhaps over the longer term.As Didar Singh, secretary general of industry body Ficci, put it, "Investments chase perception and branding. The fact that such a large group of Nobel laureates is coming to India speaks well of Brand India. In the long run, it will bring investments too."