Explained | GIFT City: The history & tax incentives of India’s first ‘Smart City’

Prime Minister Modi conceptualised the project in 2008, as Chief Minister of Gujarat

The story so far: In a major milestone for his dream project, the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 29 launched the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) – the nation’s first such exchange. The Exchange will be constructed in the heart of GIFT city – an international financial services hub conceptualised by Mr. Modi in 2008.

Highlighting India’s first ‘IT services hub’ — the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) city — Mr. Modi said that with the launch of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), India had joined the league of global financial centres like the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

Stating that IFSCA will enable innovation in the financial services sector, he said , “Today, India alone has a 40 per cent share in real-time digital payments all over the world”. He also said that the various measures taken by his government on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy had resulted in India receiving its highest-ever FDI inflow of ₹6,31,050 crore in the financial year 2021-22.

Recently, on August 23, Chartered Speed Ltd. launched a fleet of four electric buses and 20 e-bikes to aid commuters to GIFT City. The company has plans to expand the fleet to 50 electric buses in the coming 12 to 18 months.

In 2008, the then-Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Modi first announced that the state government would build a ‘Nano city’ and the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) at Gandhinagar. Addressing the ‘Invest Gujarat’ summit organised by Assocham, Mr. Modi said that the land between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar would be developed as a Central Business District (CBD) with office spaces, residential apartments, schools, hospitals, hotels, retail and other recreational facilities.

Also read: A GIFT, to be delivered

After a feasibility study was conducted by consulting firm McKinsey and Co, GIFT was launched as a joint venture between the state-run Gujarat Urban Development Co. Ltd and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), with an initial outlay of Rs 78,000 crores. The city is planned on 886 acres of land with 62 million sq. ft. of built-up area with 67 per cent commercial (42 million sq. ft), 22 per cent residential (14 million sq. ft) and 11 per cent social space (6 million sq. ft).