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Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel on Tuesday laid out an ambitious industrial roadmap for the state at FICCI's National Executive Committee Meeting, targeting a trillion-dollar economy and a 10 per cent share of national GDP, according to the official release by FICCI.
Addressing the gathering, Patel pointed to two semiconductor fabrication plants inaugurated under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guidance as proof of Gujarat's growing role in the global semiconductor supply chain. "Viksit Bharat means Viksit Gujarat and FICCI will always be an active partner in this journey," Patel said. The Chief Minister noted that GIFT City now hosts an AI Centre of Excellence, data centres, and fintech infrastructure, with over 100 Fortune 500 companies currently operating in the state. He also outlined enabling policies covering semiconductors, green hydrogen, IT and ITeS, and Global Capability Centres, reaffirming the state's commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. Patel pointed to strong female participation in start-ups under the Mudra Yojana as evidence of inclusive, women-led growth, framing Gujarat's trajectory as central to India's broader aspiration of becoming a developed economy by 2047. Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, speaking at the Industry Interactive Session that followed the CM's address, said Gujarat will install more data centre capacity over the next two to three years than the rest of India put together. Sanghavi identified data centres, semiconductors, Global Capability Centres, defence, and aircraft manufacturing as the sunrise sectors driving Gujarat's next phase of expansion. On semiconductors, he said Asia's largest fabrication plant is coming up in Dholera -- a 920-square-kilometre greenfield industrial zone -- while a large assembly, test, marking, and packaging ecosystem is taking shape at Sanand. "Industrial infrastructure of comparable scale is also ready across Becharaji, Vadodara, and South Gujarat," Sanghavi said, adding that the spread ensures no single corridor becomes a bottleneck. The Deputy Chief Minister also announced new concert venues being constructed near Narendra Modi Stadium with capacities ranging from 15,000 to 1.25 lakh, aimed at making Ahmedabad a destination for large-scale entertainment events. He said hotel plots are being allocated in the stadium precinct and new policies for concerts, expos, and hotels are expected within days. FICCI President Anant Goenka noted that Gujarat home to roughly 5 per cent of India's population generates over 8 per cent of national GDP, contributes more than 30 per cent of merchandise exports, and handles 40 per cent of the country's cargo throughput. "Gujarat's performance continues to inspire. The scale of industrial ambition from semiconductor fabrication units in Dholera and Sanand to the C295 aircraft manufacturing plant in Vadodara is positioning Gujarat as a hub for high-value manufacturing," Goenka said. Pranav Adani, Director, Adani Enterprises, highlighted the group's copper smelter set to be the world's largest single-location copper production facility as a testament to Gujarat's manufacturing credentials. With an investment of close to a billion dollars, the facility is nearing production. On clean energy, he pointed to the group's 30-gigawatt renewable energy project at Khavda on the India-Pakistan border -- a site that, at full capacity, will be the world's largest renewable energy production facility. "All of this," he said, "is possible because of the vision and support of the state government." Pankaj Patel, FICCI Past President and Chairman of Zydus Lifesciences Limited, said the "only way to grow from where we are today is through research," stressing the need for a strong ecosystem that fosters innovation. Gokul Jaykrishna, Chair of the FICCI Gujarat State Council and Managing Director and CEO of Asahi Songwon Colours, said Gujarat has "consistently translated vision into action, setting benchmarks for the rest of the nation." Vijay Sankar, Senior Vice President of FICCI and Chairman of The Sanmar Group, said Gujarat had "set a landmark for all other states" through policy clarity, infrastructure provisioning, and its proven model for attracting foreign direct investment. FICCI Secretary General Anant Swarup moderated the Special Session with the Chief Minister, while Jaykrishna moderated the interactive session with the Deputy Chief Minister. (ANI)
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