Features
Gujarat is located on the west coast of India bordered by Rajasthan to the north, Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh to the east, and the Arabian Sea to the west. It has a population of 67 Million with a GDP of $158 Billion. FDI inflows totaled $13 billion in 2016. Gandhinagar is the capital, with Ahmedabad being the largest city followed by Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot. The most common language spoken is Gujarati, but Hindi and English are spoken as well.
The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), established in association with the Harvard Business School is Asia’s 1st ranked management college. One of India’s premier Engineering Institutions, the Indian Institute of Technology has a campus in Gandhinagar. There are also two centers for space and satellite education and research. Ahmedabad is also home to the National Institute of Design.
Business
In terms of business, Kandla is one of India’s largest busiest seaports. Imports such as petroleum, iron, chemicals and exports such as grains, salt and textiles flow via Kandla. On the developmental side, India’s first bullet train is under construction from Ahmedabad to Mumbai which will cover 508km in just over two hours. The Indian Railways is working in cooperation with Japan’s companies and government. Ahmedabad (AMD) has Gujarat’s only international airport called Sardar Vallabhai International Airport.
The Gujarati community is known for its aptitude in business and entrepreneurship. Out of the ten richest people in India, four are of Gujarati origin: Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, Azim Premji of Wipro, Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry (now an Irish citizen and a major shareholder of Tata Sons), and Dilip Sanghvi of Sun Pharma. In 1977, Morarji Desai of Gujarat became the Prime Minister of India. More recently Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat was elected as India’s 14th Prime Minister.
Industry
The Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River supplies much of Gujarat with water and electricity. Gujarat has also made a major commitment to expanding solar power production. Natural resources in the state include gypsum, bauxite, feldspar and limestone.
Gujarat is the world’s largest processor of diamonds, exceeding Belgium and Israel. It accounts for 72% of the world’s processed diamond share and 80% of India’s diamond exports.
Gujarat is considered as the petroleum refinery capital of India. Government owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation has a refinery in Koyali which has the capacity to produce 13.7 million tons per year and has 40 operating units. Large corporations such as Reliance Industries and Essar Oil have refineries in Jamnagar and Vadinar. Jamnagar is the world’s largest refining hub with crude processing capacity of 1.24 million barrels per day. Vadinar is India’s second largest refinery with 405,000 barrels per day.
Gujarat is the largest producer (35%), exporter (60%) of cotton in India. The state is also the third largest denim producer in the world. Peanuts, milk and sugarcane are some of the agricultural goods produced in Gujarat. Public listed companies such as Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Cadila Healthcare have their headquarters in Ahmedabad.
Tourism
Dwarka is one of the four main pilgrimage sites for Hindus, being the western most of the Char Dhams (four abodes). The Gir Forest is the last remaining sanctuary for lions in India.
