Inside The Secretariat: Were Small Entrepreneurs Left High And Dry?

Foreign Trips Frozen, IAS Lobby Disappointed

Amid uncertainties triggered by the fuel situation and broader economic pressures, the Gujarat government has introduced a series of fuel-conservation measures, including restrictions on official foreign travel. As a result, overseas tours that were expected to begin around the middle of this year ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) - 2027 scheduled for early 2027 have currently been put on hold. The restrictions are not limited to international travel alone — even inter-district travel by officials has now come under tighter control. Under these circumstances, some officers aspiring for foreign visits are reportedly praying for the conflict situation in the Middle East to end quickly so that international travel opportunities may reopen. Traditionally, six to eight months before every Vibrant Gujarat summit, senior officials travel abroad along with various corporate delegations from Gujarat to attract foreign investment and strengthen business ties with global investors.

New Push to Fix Gujarat’s MSME Bottlenecks

Gujarat has a dedicated policy framework for MSMEs, and the government consistently claims that it provides incentives and support to small industries. However, in reality, many small entrepreneurs struggle to survive against complex regulations, confusing legal provisions, and the functioning of “query masters” within the system, which often turns compliance into a difficult and exhausting process. The condition and direction of the MSME sector have been discussed seriously in meetings of the Committee of Secretaries. During a recent meeting, several senior officials reportedly offered suggestions for improving the ecosystem. The state’s Chief Secretary himself acknowledged that while the MSME sector generates employment opportunities for youth, entrepreneurs continue to face significant difficulties in securing loans. There were also suggestions to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for simplifying access to government records, schemes, incentives, policy provisions, and official information related to various MSME support programmes. The idea is to reduce procedural confusion and improve ease of access for small businesses navigating the government system.

Gujarat IPS Officer Still Eyeing CBI’s Top Job

Manoj Shashidharan, a 1994-batch IPS officer from the Gujarat cadre, is currently serving as Special Director in the CBI. According to discussions within police circles, he was being seen as a likely choice for appointment as the next CBI chief. However, he will not be able to secure the post for at least another year, as the Union government recently extended the tenure of Praveen Sood as CBI Director by one more year. This means Sood will continue in office until May 2027. It is widely believed within bureaucratic circles that any IPS officer aspiring to occupy the top position in the CBI must enjoy immense trust and confidence of the central government and remain in its good books. The Gujarat officer, however, still has sufficient time on his side, as he is due to retire only in November 2030, keeping his chances alive for the future.

NEP Era: High Spending, Low Learning Access!

After the implementation of the National Education Policy, Gujarat too accepted and began implementing the reform model along with other states across India. Yet, according to official data, as many as 2,936 primary schools in the state are functioning with only one teacher. At the same time, the government’s administrative imbalance is equally striking — there are 63 schools where 78 teachers are posted despite having not a single student enrolled. In secondary education, Gujarat has one teacher for every 27 students, whereas the national average stands at one teacher for every 15 students. This is also a state where annual “Shala Praveshotsav” campaigns are organized every year, yet nearly 2.3 lakh students drop out before reaching Class 10. Despite the state’s education budget exceeding ₹60,000 crore, the condition of the system continues to raise serious questions. Both the Primary and Secondary Education Departments are expected to make stronger efforts to correct these structural gaps. For Milind Torawane, Principal Secretary of Primary and Higher Secondary Education, this remains a major administrative and policy challenge.

Three Decades Later, ‘Kalpasar’ Sees Fresh Hope!

People in Gujarat have been waiting for nearly 30 years for the ‘Kalpasar’ project to become a reality, and recent developments indicate that the ambitious plan may now move forward more rapidly. The chances of the project taking shape have increased following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Netherlands, mainly because the country’s famous Afsluitdijk Dam is being seen as an important engineering reference for Gujarat’s vision. The Afsluitdijk is a 32-kilometre-long and 90-metre-wide dam that connects the provinces of North Holland and Friesland while separating the sea from the freshwater IJsselmeer lake. Gujarat’s Kalpasar project is envisioned on somewhat similar lines and is proposed to take shape across the Gulf of Khambhat. A memorandum of understanding has now been signed between India’s Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Netherlands’ infrastructure authorities, raising hopes that the project may finally gather speed. However, the scale of investment remains massive. While the estimated cost of the Kalpasar project in 1999 was around ₹25,000 crore, current estimates suggest that the cost could now rise to nearly ₹2.5 lakh crore.

Government Fleet Electrification Back in Focus

Despite Gujarat’s EV policy and repeated government commitments, electric vehicles have still not made meaningful inroads into government departments. So far, only the vehicles of Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) have been converted into electric mobility, while EV adoption across the broader Gujarat government machinery remains far from reality. Departments such as police, health, education, and other public-service wings continue to operate outdated diesel vehicles, many of which are already considered unfit or obsolete. The government has aggressively pushed electric mobility through electric buses in the State Transport Corporation and urban public transport services, yet EV presence inside government departments remains minimal. At a time when rising petrol, diesel, and CNG prices are driving ordinary vehicle owners toward electric mobility, the government is now increasingly pushing departmental officials to seriously consider purchasing EV vehicles for official use.