Gujarat’s policies and initiatives in the food processing industry have boosted the state’s capabilities and made it one of the developed states in India. Gujarat is the most industrialized state in India. The state has been recognized nationally and globally for offering a conducive business ecosystem. It provides ease of doing business and state-of-the-art infrastructure to the investors and businesses coming to set up industrial units in the state. Gujarat launched the New Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020 with a vision to give additional thrust to “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. The policy aims to strengthen the integrated value chains, innovation, and research. It also has provisions to promote industries that adopt sustainable & cleaner manufacturing and innovative Industry 4.0 practices.
Gujarat’s Policies And Initiatives: Analyzing the State’s Economic Policies And Performance
The state is India’s most industrialized and urbanized state. The state has 6% of India’s geographical area and 5% of its population. Gujarat accounts for almost 8% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It also stands 1st in terms of the number of IEMs filed & actual investment reported for 2019. The state had a ~51% share (1st Rank in India) of IEMs filed in India in terms of value, with a proposed investment of USD 49 billion in 2019 as per the data released by DPIIT. Gujarat recorded a growth of 333% over the previous year in proposed investments in 2019. These investments are as a result of Gujarat’s Policies And Initiatives.
Foreign Direct Investment
According to a report by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Gujarat received a foreign direct investment equity inflow of $57.7 billion between April 2014 and September 2024. Further, between April 2014 and September 2024, Gujarat attracted $57.7 billion in FDI equity inflow. It accounted for 11.7% of the total FDI equity inflow of $492.27 billion in the country. Overall, it is Gujarat’s Policies And Initiatives which has attracted a large volume of FDI in the state.
Robust physical infrastructure
Gujarat has world-class infrastructure, besides its long coastline and its strategic location in the Arabian Sea. The robust infrastructure of the state includes a wide network of connectivity and utilities to the last mile. The state has 1,57,470 km of roads, which include National Highways, State Highways, and District Roads.
Connectivity
The state has 49 large ports, including 1 major port and 48 non-major ports. It also has 17 operational airports and airstrips, with 2 International airports.
Power
The state is a power surplus state which provides round-the-clock, three-phase, uninterrupted quality power & > 30 GW installed power generation capacity, providing 24×7 uninterrupted supply. It has a 2600 km state-wide Integrated Gas Grid.
Industrial Corridors
The state has mega industrial infrastructure projects, such as:
- Delhi – Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), which is being built with an investment of USD 90 billion (~INR 6.4 lakh crore).
- It is a high-tech industrial zone spread across six states over a 1,500 km long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). Around 36% of the DMIC will pass through Gujarat. Further, the state houses 6 of the 24 industrial nodes identified across the DMIC.
- These nodes are:
a) Ahmedabad-Dholera Investment Region,
b) Vadodara-Ankleshwar Industrial Area,
c) Palanpur-Mehsana Industrial Area,
d) Bharuch-Dahej PCPIR and Investment Region,
e) Surat-Hazira Industrial Area and
f) Valsad-Umbergaon Industrial Area.
Dholera Special Investment Region (D-SIR)
It is India’s largest greenfield industrial investment region, which is spread over 920 sq. km. It will have smart & sustainable infrastructure that spans over transportation, water, power, wastewater, drainage, and urban design. DSIR has a cluster of Agri & Food processing. The world’s largest solar park of 5 GW is also being developed at Dholera SIR.
GIFT City
Gujarat International Financial Tech (GIFT) City is India’s 1st operational Smart City and International Financial Service Centre (IFSC). It has a world-class infrastructure for offshore and international transactions in banking, insurance, and capital markets. It is also home to India’s first International Exchange (India INX).
Companies in Gujarat
Gujarat is home to some of the world’s largest companies. It includes 100+ Fortune 500 companies. MSMEs form an integral part of the entire supply chain of these large companies in the state. These companies act as ancillary units to large industries. It contributes significantly to the industrial development of the state. There are over 100 MSMEs with multiproduct activity clusters spread across the state. Currently, the state has 11.26 lakh registered MSMEs. It represents 7.5% of the total 1.48 crore registered MSMEs in India.
Gujarat’s Policies And Initiatives
The state has brought several reforms to improve and ease the environment for doing business. The commitment of the Gujarat government to provide a conducive atmosphere is reflected in the policies and schemes of the government.
Single Window Clearance Acts, 2017
The Gujarat Single Window Clearance Act, 2017, helps to streamline the process for obtaining approvals and clearances required to set up industries in the state. The act aims to simplify business operations and attract investment by providing a single point of contact for all necessary approvals. It reduces bureaucratic delays and promotes investor-friendly policies.
Gujarat MSME Act, 2019
‘Gujarat Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (Facilitation of Establishment and Operation) Act, 2019’ aims to streamline the process of establishing and operating MSMEs in Gujarat. It provides provisional approvals for three years and exempts them from certain approvals and inspections. Under this act, the nodal agencies assist in ensuring compliance with relevant laws. The provisions of the law also foster entrepreneurship and investment. It simplifies the regulatory landscape for MSMEs in Gujarat.
Strengthening of the Investor Facilitation Agency (IFA)
The Investor Facilitation Agency (IFA) is the nodal agency that operates at the state level. Further, the District Industries Centre (DIC) operates at the district level (regional offices) to support prospective investors in the state. The agency monitors applications and provides the required information to all the concerned departments.
Mega Online Permission
This mechanism aims to strengthen the Ease of Doing Business Environment in the state. The mechanism requires investors to submit only one application form for 26 different state-related approvals and compliances.
Centralized Inspection System
The state has also initiated the process for streamlining the Central Inspection System to further bring transparency and facilitate ease of doing business. Further, the state envisages forming a committee at the state level to accelerate the process of land procurement and conversion for industries.
Land Banks
The state government has earmarked land parcels available for industrial use across the state. The state has launched a dedicated website that provides details of GIDC land parcels, Private Industrial Parks, Logistics Parks, SEZs, and SIRs.
‘One District One Product’ Scheme in Gujarat
Gujarat has promoted the following products for the ODOP scheme for different agricultural products in the state. It includes:
| S. No. | District | Revised ODOP |
| 1. | Ahmedabad | Wheat-based Products |
| 2. | Amreli | Groundnut-based Products |
| 3. | Anand | Banana-based Products |
| 4. | Aravalli | Potato-based Products |
| 5. | Banaskantha | Pomegranate-based products |
| 6. | Bharuch | Banana-based Products |
| 7. | Bhavnagar | Onion-based Products |
| 8. | Botad | Guava-based Products |
| 9. | Chhota Udaipur | Maize-based Products |
| 10. | Dahod | Soybean-based Products |
| 11. | Dang | Finger Millet (Ragi) based Products |
| 12. | Devbhoomi Dwarka | Groundnut-based Products |
| 13. | Gandhinagar | Vegetable-Okra based products |
| 14. | Gir Somnath | Mango-based Products |
| 15. | Jamnagar | Groundnut-based Products |
| 16. | Junagadh | Coriander-based products |
| 17. | Kheda | Rice-based Products |
| 18. | Kutch | Datepalm-based products |
| 19. | Mahisagar | Papaya based products |
| 20. | Mehsana | Cumin-based products |
| 21. | Morbi | Sesamum-based Products |
| 22. | Narmada | Banana-based Products |
| 23. | Navsari | Mango-based Products |
| 24. | Panchmahal | Maize-based Products |
| 25. | Patan | Cumin-based Products |
| 26. | Porbandar | Gram-based Products |
| 27. | Rajkot | Groundnut-based Products |
| 28. | Sabrakantha | Vegetable-Cauliflower, Cabbage-based products |
| 29. | Surat | Banana-based Products |
| 30. | Surendranagar | Cumin-based Products |
| 31. | Tapi | Sorghum-based Products |
| 32. | Vadodara | Tur-based Products |
| 33. | Valsad | Sapota-based products |
Way Forward
Gujarat’s Policies And Initiatives have overall transformed the state into India’s most industrially developed state in India. It has also brought the Foreign Direct Investments on a large scale. Furthermore, the inter-connectivity, large infrastructure projects, large coastline aided by ports and connectivity have transformed the state into one of the most developed states of the country. These developments have been aided by the setting up of GIFT city and infrastructure projects such as the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. These initiatives have led to the development of Gujarat as the most industrially prosperous state in the country.