New Policy To Boost Industry, Generate Jobs In Gujarat's Backward Areas

The new policy’s draft is being prepared after studying successful models from states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

State Industries Minister Balvantsinh Rajput said, “Gujarat’s current industrial policy, announced on August 7, 2020, for a five-year term, has ended. Hence, we are moving ahead towards preparing a new policy. By studying the industrial policies of certain states in the country, we will determine a new direction for industries in Gujarat. Until now, investment plans have been focused on Kutch, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bharuch, and Vadodara. But now development is being considered in industrially backward districts across four zones.”

The Cabinet Minister further said that discussions will be held with representatives from the MSME sector, large and medium industries, industry bodies like FICCI, Assocham, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce, CII, regional and international organisations, on the new provisions to be included in the proposed policy, incentives to be given, industries’ group-specific needs, and the challenges of the current policy.

A senior official from the Industries and Mines Department, said, “Ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit in January 2027, estimates of new investment areas and emerging employment opportunities will be drawn from the four regional Vibrant Summits of 2025-26. In the draft policy we are preparing, greater emphasis will be placed on MSMEs, semiconductors, fintech, green industries, renewable energy, the agricultural sector, and green hydrogen.”

Sources in the Industries Department said the state government is making an effort to link state-level schemes with central schemes, so that industries can benefit more. Under the proposed policy, more financial and other benefits are being planned for both startups and established players.

The aim is to attract investment in areas where industrial development has not taken place, and to increase local employment. In industrially backward areas, units will be offered the highest incentives, which will include land and tax relief. 

According to an official in the Office of the Industries Commissioner, “A team from the Industries department is reviewing which sectors benefited from Gujarat’s completed industrial policy and what outcomes it produced. In particular, the study is examining which aspects of the policy investors did not like and where they faced difficulties. By assessing the advantages and shortcomings of the current policy, appropriate improvements will be suggested for the proposed policy.”

State’s Infrastructure Overview

• More than 200 industrial estates
• Over 33,000 hectares of industrial land
• More than 100 private industrial, logistic, textile, and apparel parks
• 30 GW power generation, 2,600 km gas pipeline grid
• Connectivity through railways, ports, airports, and highways
• 20 operational Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
• 8 Special Investment Regions (SIRs)
• PM MITRA and Tribal Parks
• Bulk drugs and medical devices park
• Agro-food and seafood park

Power Projects

• Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City)
• Ahmedabad-Mumbai High Speed Rail (Bullet Train)
• Diamond Research & Mercantile (DREAM) City
• Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)
• Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR)
• 30,000 MW Kutch Hybrid Renewable Energy Park
• Mandal-Becharaji SIR (MBSIR)
• Petroleum, Chemicals, and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR)

Key Features Of Gujarat’s 2020 Policy 

• Global business destination with self-reliance as the main goal
• MSMEs exempted from many approvals for three years
• 26 types of approvals through a single application
• Higher incentives for talukas with low industrial development
• Government land available on long-term lease
• Special incentives to attract industries from other countries
• Capital and interest subsidies based on taluka category
• Extra push for startups and innovation
• Support for government-private R&D centres
• Assistance up to Rs 25 crore for common infrastructure
• Assistance up to Rs 30 crore for private industrial parks
• Dormitory housing incentives for workers
• Financial assistance for environmental infrastructure
• Institutes for skill development