CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: When we envision India’s economic future, the dream of becoming a global financial center is an essential part of that vision. GIFT City—an ambitious project being developed in Gandhinagar, Gujarat—is an effort to turn that dream into reality. Touted as India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), it boasts impressive skyscrapers, underground utility tunnels, walk-to-work concepts, and cutting-edge infrastructure, presenting a blueprint of an ideal financial world.
But the key question remains: can this experiment truly make India’s economy globally competitive, or will it remain a state-centric showpiece?
Within GIFT City, companies are being offered massive tax incentives—complete income tax exemption for 10 years, along with relief from customs duties and GST. These measures aim to attract investors. However, when benefits are restricted to specific regions or entities, it also raises concerns about imbalance. Can such a model not be implemented across the rest of the country? And will the benefits of this concept reach people outside Gujarat, or will it remain confined to a limited geography
Another challenge facing the project is its pace. While construction and planning have been ongoing for years, commercial activity on the ground is slower than expected. Several international companies—whose presence would signal the project’s success—have yet to fully commit. Meanwhile, many Indian banks and companies have opened branches there primarily to avail regulatory benefits, rather than to conduct substantial operations.
It is also worth questioning why, if this is a ‘nationally important’ project, it wasn’t established in Mumbai—the country’s financial capital. Is it fair to limit a framework with the potential to reshape the nation’s financial landscape within the boundaries of a single state? States like Maharashtra and others are now developing their own innovation city concepts, but these remain in early stages and lack the policy support and infrastructure enjoyed by GIFT City.
GIFT City holds immense potential—but that potential isn’t defined by glass and steel skyscrapers alone. It lies in real economic activities. Until ideas, technologies, and partnerships emerge from here that strengthen the nation’s financial system, the dream will remain unfulfilled.
Gujarat’s initiative is commendable, but it deserves critical evaluation too. India needs experiments like GIFT City—but also the transparency and inclusiveness that can make such initiatives models for the entire nation, rather than achievements of one particular state.
#GIFTCity, #SmartCity, #UrbanDevelopment, #IndianEconomy, #PolicyExperiment, #FinancialHub, #Gujarat, #CityPlanning, #EconomicZone, #SEZIndia
