Inside The Secretariat: Starlink, Commonwealth Games, & Night Shifts

Paving Way For Starlink

The government has laid the groundwork for the entry of Starlink, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk. Recently, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed with the company. This service will be rolled out in the remote areas of 14 districts of Gujarat, where network connectivity remains a challenge. With the availability of high-speed internet connectivity in the backward and remote regions of these districts, people will be able to make better use of government services and safety-related facilities. The LoI was exchanged between State Industries Commissioner P. Swaroop and Starlink India Head Prabhakar Jayakumar. This understanding is not limited to internet connectivity alone. With the support of Starlink, the government plans to bring government schools, primary health centres, telemedicine centres, wildlife sanctuaries, and port facilities under this service. To ensure the successful implementation of the project, it is proposed to constitute a Joint Working Group with Starlink.

Big-Ticket Policy For Commonwealth Village

As Gujarat prepares to host the Commonwealth Games, the State government is considering a policy to attract private investment for the development of a special village near Gandhinagar. Developing such a village would require between three and five lakh square metres of land, which is not feasible in Ahmedabad or the AUDA area. Therefore, a proposal has been placed before the government to develop the village in the GUDA area of Gandhinagar, either near GIFT City or close to Bhat. Significantly, the Commonwealth Village will include housing, hotels, restaurants, shops, showrooms, malls, and other amenities, requiring large-scale investment. To ensure private investment flows into privately owned land, the government is working on a special policy that will offer attractive incentives to investors. The investment made for the Commonwealth Games is also expected to be utilised for the 2036 Olympic Games.

Bill For Women In Night Shifts

The Gujarat government is set to introduce a bill in the State Legislative Assembly to allow women to work night shifts. The Labour and Employment Department will table the bill to enable women to work during night hours, subject to their consent and the provision of adequate safety measures. Under the proposed provisions, women may be employed between 9 pm and 6 am. Following amendments to the Labour Codes by the Central government, several states have begun implementing these reforms. Women are already working night shifts in states such as Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Himachal Pradesh. The Gujarat government had issued an ordinance last year in this regard. The proposed bill now seeks to amend the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019.

'Commission Raj'

While the State government, on one hand, invites domestic and international industrial groups to the Vibrant Summit and signs MoUs for setting up projects, officials in the Offices of the Industries Department were allegedly forcing these industrial groups to pay commissions in exchange for approvals and policy-related incentives. Following several such complaints received by the government, and after directives issued from the highest level, the Industries Department has finally carried out a mass transfer of 55 industry inspectors and 62 clerks. In particular, incentives are granted on a percentage basis at the District Industries Centres, and this practice reportedly extends all the way up to the office of the Industries Commissionerate. An inquiry revealed that files of small and medium enterprise operators were deliberately kept pending if commissions were not paid. Many new industrial units had fallen victim to this commission-based system. The transfer orders also include officials from the Industries Commissionerate office. According to available information, for the past two years, industries have not been receiving benefits such as subsidies, financial assistance, relief in stamp duty, and other incentives to which they were entitled.

File Clearance Deadline Breached

The failure of many government departments—especially the Education and Health Departments—to comply with instructions for the speedy disposal of files has been taken seriously at the level of the Chief Secretary. Officials have once again been directed to ensure that files are cleared within a week. In many branches, files are technically disposed of, but the process becomes meaningless due to the raising of multiple queries. Since files processed through the e-governance system are not being cleared on time, applicants as well as development works are getting stalled. Even though Chief Secretary M.K. Das had earlier instructed senior departmental officials to dispose of files within seven days, there has been no improvement in the situation. How to clear the backlog of pending files has now emerged as a major question. It is learnt that when such negligence by departments was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister’s Principal Advisor, Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, he too took the issue seriously.

IPS Officers To Take On ‘In-Charge’ Role

Following the model adopted for IAS officers, IPS officers in Gujarat will now also be assigned an “in-charge”–like role. Just as IAS officers heading State departments are appointed as in-charge secretaries for districts, senior IPS officers will now be required to perform supervisory responsibilities over district police administration. In view of complaints and representations made by public representatives reaching the Chief Minister’s Office, the Home Department has directed police officers of the rank of DIG, IG, and Additional IG to conduct inspections of district police offices. This move effectively places senior officers in a watchdog role over district Superintendents of Police. Under the new arrangement, senior IPS officers will be required to visit police stations twice every month.

1,650 Projects On Forest Lands

Official data presented in Parliament have revealed that around 1,650 projects are currently implemented on forest lands in Gujarat. This makes Gujarat the State with the highest diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes in the country. Across India, a total of 97,050 hectares of forest land has been diverted for other uses over the last five years. Of this, the largest share—6,850.11 hectares—has been diverted in Gujarat alone. According to data provided by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, there were eight proposals during this period that were rejected and did not receive approval for the diversion of forest land. Forest land diverted for non-forest purposes is being used for a wide range of activities, including industries, airports, canals, petrol pumps, rehabilitation projects, educational institutions, railways, roads, water pipelines and mining operations. In terms of both the extent of forest land diverted and the number of projects established on such land, Gujarat ranks number one in the country compared to other states.

Gujarat Ranks Third In Attracting Foreign Tourists

According to data released by the Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Gujarat ranked third nationwide in attracting foreign tourists in 2024. Of the 20.5 million foreign tourists who visited India in 2024, the top five states list was topped by Maharashtra, followed by West Bengal and Gujarat. Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Foreign visitors to Gujarat primarily visited destinations such as Somnath, Dwarka, the Statue of Unity, and the Rann Utsav in Kutch.

Tax Devolution

Gujarat is often described as a prosperous state and one of the country’s leading contributors in terms of tax collection. Yet, despite this, the state receives a relatively small share of the taxes collected by the Centre. The Union Budget has revealed that states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal receive a much larger share of central tax devolution than Gujarat. According to the figures, in the coming year, Gujarat will receive ₹57,310 crore, while Uttar Pradesh will get ₹2.73 lakh crore, Bihar ₹1.53 lakh crore, and West Bengal ₹1.14 lakh crore. In the overall ranking of states receiving the central share, Gujarat stands at 10th position. In other words, for every rupee Gujarat contributes to the Centre, it gets back only about 30 to 35 paise. Officials from the State Finance Department explain that although Gujarat is among the country’s top tax-paying states, the share it receives is lower due to the population and income-based criteria used for determining tax devolution.