ART INTEGRATION

PROJECT

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN GUJARAT

 GUJARAT
• Gujarat is the most industrialised state in the country and leads
India in the production of pharmaceuticals, soda ash, salt, plastics,
petrochemicals and chemicals. It is also the world’s third largest
and the country’s largest crude oil refining hub. It is the world’s
largest producer of processed diamonds, and the third largest
producer of denim. Gujarat is a leading maritime state of India
with over 41 ports providing maritime access to North Indian
states that constitute about 25 percent of India’s GDP2 . Gujarat is
has one of the most developed energy sectors of the country with
a per capita consumption of electricity double the national
average. It is the only State with a state-wide gas grid, multiple gas
suppliers, two LNG terminals and a history of city gas distribution.
• Gujarat is one of the most urbanised states in the country with over 38 percent of its
population residing in urban areas as compared to 28 percent for the rest of India. It has
one of the highest networks of surfaced roads -- over 95 percent compared to India’s 57
percent. About 98.8 percent of its villages are connected with motorable roads. Gujarat
has significantly addressed its water problems by using the strategies of rain water
harvesting, check dams and inter-basin transfers. Twenty rivers have been interlinked and
the challenge of uneven water distribution met through inter-basin transfers. These
projects have substantially raised the water table across the state and consequent
availability of water for irrigation; this is expected to bring about stable growth of the
agriculture sector across the state. The Sardar Sarovar project and the Sujalam Suphalam
projects, being implemented by the Government of Gujarat, amongst India’s largest
irrigation and water supply projects, will further improve Gujarat’s water security. Gujarat
was one of the first states in India to implement power sector reforms and restructure its
power sector utilities to wipe out losses. Today, the assured availability of good quality
power is one of the key distinguishing features of the State. Under the Jyotigram scheme,
it has ensured three-phase, round-theclock electricity in all the 18,000 villages of the
state. It has helped revive rural industries. These, along with assured availability of water,
have helped reduce the rural-urban divide and migration from villages to cities.
• Gujarat has also implemented a programme called “SWAGAT” (State-Wide Attention on
Grievances by Application of Technology) which enables the common citizen to take
his/her problems to the highest level of the Chief Minister. This network uses Gujarat’s
huge Wide Area Network connecting government offices up to the tehsil level with the
State Secretariat. This is the largest Internet protocol-based network in the Asia-Pacific
region and the second largest in the world. Land records in Gujarat are maintained on a
web based platform ensuring transparency in land transactions. Gujarat was the first state
to develop regulatory frameworks for PPP through the Gujarat Infrastructure
Development Act. The Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) while
administering the act has pioneered many PPP initiatives across sectors and is the most
admired infrastructure development agency in India. It was the first state to successfully
implement a policy for private sector participation in ports. As a result, it has many private
sector ports and has attracted India’s largest quantum of private investment. It has
replicated its success in the Ports sector and extended it to power, rail and road
infrastructure as well as social sectors like hospitals and education. The PPP initiative has
enabled the government to optimise the utilisation of precious public funds for welfare
and development activities, aimed at inclusive growth.
• People are active partners in various development initiatives in
Gujarat. This ensures that the government is able undertake
and achieve tasks on a scale which is unprecedented in the
country. It has created a large number of water harvesting
structures like farm ponds and checkdams through people’s
participation. This has substantially improved ground water
levels. A large number of villages affected by water problems
have benefited through innovative community-based rural
drinking water and irrigation schemes. It has substantially
increased enrolment and retention of children in schools
through awareness and people’s participation.
• The Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) while
administering the act has pioneered many PPP initiatives across
sectors and is the most admired infrastructure development
agency in India. It was the first state to successfully implement
a policy for private sector participation in ports. As a result, it
has many private sector ports and has attracted India’s largest
quantum of private investment. It has replicated its success in
the Ports sector and extended it to power, rail and road
infrastructure as well as social sectors like hospitals and
education. The PPP initiative has enabled the government to
optimise the utilisation of precious public funds for welfare and
development activities, aimed at inclusive growth.
• As a result of all these initiatives, Gujarat stands far ahead
of other states of India in the availability of quality
physical, industrial and social Infrastructure. Gujarat’s
achievements and the entrepreneurial spirit of Gujaratis'
enable them to think bigger and aim higher. There is a
conviction that Gujarat should be benchmarking itself to
the developed countries of the world and is working
towards GDP growth in excess of 11 percent in the coming
years to bridge the gap. The infrastructure vision for
Gujarat articulates this aspiration of its people while
building on the reality of today.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The IT sector has helped India in creating value in both the economic and
employment fronts. IT in India has opened doors for foreign business
relationships with almost all the reputed companies. Realising the
importance of IT, Gujarat has also come up with its own IT policy to address
the current challenges in the field of agriculture, education, healthcare,
telecommunication, energy, rural development, etc. The objectives that
Gujarat is working on are:

• To increase the current investment in the IT/ITeS sector by 10 times

• To increase the turnover in this sector to US$ 15 billion
• To increase IT exports from the state to US$ 2 billion
• To create employment opportunities in the IT and ITeS sector, and provide
direct employment to 1 million persons
• To focus, among other things, on financial services, mobile applications,
animation, 3D-gaming, digital entertainment, the cloud, Big Data and the
Internet of Things
 TECHNOLOGICAL GROWTH
• Gujarat tops the list of the fastest growing
and developing states in the country, with
Ahmedabad being on the Forbes’ list of the
top three fastest growing cities in the world.
Gujarat is also the third largest state economy
in India. All this makes the state a land of
industrial and business opportunities.
• The Government of Gujarat is giving significant importance to scientific and
technical components in every sphere of its activities as they are vitally important
for economic productivity and technological competitiveness, an improved
environment, better health, and many other purposes. The State of Gujarat always
thinking ahead, aiming high and striving for excellence is conscious and well aware
of the role that Science & Technology can play in the development of humanity.

• In the present scenario,when knowledge-based economy holds the key to a better

future for society, the State Government in its commitment and resolve for socio-
economic upliftment of its people, has identified advancements in Science &
Technology as the growth engine for future progress and is committed to set up
necessary infrastructure and dedicate appropriate resources for the purpose.
ART INTEGRATION PROJECT