‘Gujarat has been the go-to state for foreign investors’

What is the state doing to attract more investment in terms of providing infrastructure and the ease of doing business?

Historically, Gujarat has always been the go-to state for foreign investors. Gujarat has successfully received the maximum foreign investment in the last three consecutive years when the global economy was really struggling. Gujarat achieved 240% more foreign direct investment (FDI) during fiscal 2020 compared to the previous year and continued the growth path in the next fiscal when the state’s FDI jumped 3.8 times over FY20.

If you look at the reasons behind this achievement, it’s largely due to our industry-friendly policies, transparent administrative system, and commitment towards development. We have created a business-friendly environment through our single window system which helps investors a lot. So far, around 800,000 applications have been processed through this Investor Facilitation Portal. In addition, we have also provided a ‘Relationship Manager’ facility for our investors so that their queries as well as approvals can be processed expeditiously.

To further improve the ease of doing business in the state, a framework has been prepared in the form of ‘Mega Permission’ under which 26 types of approvals and compliances are being facilitated in a single application. To further strengthen this momentum and increase the current growth rate, our government has also implemented the New Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020 in the state. This policy will play a very important role in fulfilling the resolve of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. We have paid attention to all those aspects in this policy which are necessary for the self-reliance of Gujarat and the country.

The main focus of this industrial policy is to move towards a global industry hub based on inclusive and balanced regional growth, job creation and Industry 4.0.

What about tax incentives?

Under the Industrial Policy 2015, the state government had decided to assist with reimbursement of Net SGST as a general incentive scheme with balanced regional growth and inclusive development. Under our latest Industrial policy of 2020, we took a bold decision by becoming the first state to de-link incentives from SGST. Also, up to 12% of fixed capital investment is being given to large industries for setting up manufacturing operations in the state in form of capital subsidies. So we are already quite ahead in providing the incentives and will continue to do so as long as it benefits the state and its people.

Is a new industrial policy on the cards to prop up investment and growth?

Gujarat is a policy-driven state, and hence we implemented the new industrial policy in 2020. We introduced this to take clear advantage of the changes in the global environment due to the pandemic.

Industrial policy 2020 vividly focused on key sectors, strengthening integrated value chains, innovation and research. Its objective was to promote sustainable and cleaner manufacturing, innovative Industry 4.0 practices, and encourage entrepreneurship and enhance micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). So as of now, our current policy is performing well, and we are flexible enough to incorporate changes in the future if the situation demands.

Gujarat is proactively promoting ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. What steps have been carried out to make Gujarat Aatmanirbhar?

We aim to implement pivotal strategies to achieve our aim of making ‘Gujarat Aatmanirbhar’. Attracting more investments in the state, encouraging MSMEs, and focusing on developing startups will be the key focused areas of our plan of action.

Secondly, Gujarat is one of the top three states in India, where MSMEs are growing at a rapid pace. Today, over 500,000 MSMEs are registered in the state. Moreover, Gujarat was declared the best performing state in ‘State Startup Ranking’ in the DPIIT report released in 2018 and 2019. This report indicates the proactive steps taken by our government to strengthen the startup ecosystem. Our beneficiary policies, too, have helped startups flourish in the last few years.