An Introduction and main features of Gujrat Economy Gujarat is located on the western coast of India and has the longest coastline of 1,600 km among all states in the country. The state shares its borders with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The Arabian Sea borders the state both to the west and the south-west.
Gujarat is one of the leading industrialised states in India. At current prices, Gujarat’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) was about US$ 158.2 billion over 2015-16. Average annual GSDP growth rate from 2004-05 to 2015-16 was about 12.02 per cent. As of June 2016, Gujarat had a total installed power generation capacity of 30,188.75 megawatt (MW).
Gujarat is considered the petroleum capital of India due to presence of large refining capacity set up by private and public sector companies. As of December 2015, Gujarat ranked second in the production of crude oil (onshore) in India. The state produced 3.32 million tonnes of crude oil, which accounted for 24.7 per cent of the total crude oil (onshore) production in the country till December 2015.
The state is the world’s largest producer of processed diamonds, accounting for 72 per cent of the world’s processed diamond share and 80 per cent of India’s diamond exports. With a contribution of 65 to 70 per cent to India’s denim production, Gujarat is the largest manufacturer of denim in the country and the third largest in the world.
The state has excellent infrastructure as compared to other states. There are 45 ports, 18 domestic airports and one international airport. There are 106 product clusters and 60 notified special economic zones (SEZs). Large scale investment is expected in Gujarat as part of the US$ 90 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
According to the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) inflows in the state of Gujarat totalled US$ 13.28 billion during April 2000-March 2016. Gujarat accounted for about 4.6 per cent share in the overall FDI inflows in India. The Vibrant Saurashtra Expo and Summit, was held in Rajkot in January 2016. MoUs worth US$ 341.88 million were realised for the development of various sectors of the state during the event.
Key Sectors:
- During 2015-16 (up to December 2015), state held 213 agriculture produce market committees (APMCs) and there were 213 main yards and 187 sub-market yards operational in the state.
- The state government has announced plans for the setting up of brown and green field projects to facilitate environment friendly processing standards in the textile units of the state.
- As per the state budget 2016-17, allocation of US$1.20 billion was proposed by the Government of Gujarat for the Energy and Petrochemical Department.
- By 2020, the state aims to achieve 10 per cent of engineering output from auto and auto components from the existing level of 3.7 per cent.
- Eight out of 10 diamonds in the world were polished in Surat.
- The Central Government plans to set up a medical device park in the state of Gujarat. The Government also plans to start building the park, before the start of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017, for which a high level committee has also been constituted.
Key Industries: Agro and food processing, Dairy, Chemicals and petrochemicals, Textiles and apparels, Engineering and auto, Gems and jewellery, Oil and gas, Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, IT, Minerals, Ports, power and Tourism.
The economy of Gujarat has significantagricultural as well as industrial production. Gujaratcontrols some of the largest businesses in India. MajorAgricultural produce of the state include cotton,groundnuts (peanuts), dates, sugar cane, milk & milkproducts. Gujarat is the main producer of tobacco,cotton, and groundnuts in India. Other major cropsproduced are rice, wheat, jowar, bajra, maize, tur andgram. The total crop area amounts to more than one-half of the total land area.
One of India’s most industrialized states,Gujarat maintains a variety of industries, the principalones being general and electrical engineering, and themanufacture of textiles, vegetable oils, chemicals, sodaash, cement and petrol. New industries include theproduction of fertilizers and petrochemicals. The stateis rich in calcite, gypsum, manganese, lignite, bauxite,limestone, agate, feldspar and quartz sand.produces about 91% of India’s requirement of sodaash and gives the country about 66% of its nationalrequirement of salt. Chemical Industries in Gujaratcount for more than 35% of Indian Chemicalsproduction. Gujarat contributes lion’s share, 45 percentof the country’s total exports that were made fromSpecial Economic Zones.
Agriculture
Agriculture in Gujarat forms a major part of the state economy. Agriculture, which is the main stay of the people in Gujarat, provides Gujarat with the required food grains, as well as it also contributes a major share for the adjoining areas.
Owing to a rugged topography and an unfavourable environment, the total output of agriculture in Gujarat is not very high; yet it is enough as far as the requirement of the state and its abutting lot is concerned.Some of the factors that hinder the prospects of agriculture in Gujarat are:
- poor soil
- inadequate rainfall
- frequent droughts or flood
- fewer rivers
- undeveloped irrigation facilities
- dry-arid weather, etc.
Transportation
Gujarat has excellent transportation infrastructure. Public transport is provided by both government and private operators. Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) is the government organization providing bus services both within Gujarat and also to the neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation also provides public transportation services to the Union Territories of Daman and Diu.
Mining
The mining industry of the state of Tamil Nadu is equipped with modern amenities and technologically oriented devices that helps in extracting minerals and raw materials from the core of the earth. Tamil Nadu is rich in mineral resources. The region is blessed with many mineral resources which contributes heavily to the industrialization of the state.
Tamil Nadu has ample reserves of Graphite of various attractive colors in the districts of Kancheepuram, Salem, Erode, Dharmapuri and many other places. The districts of Salem, Trivannamalai and Namakkal also have rich repository of Iron Ore which is used in many industries. Bauxite , Silica and Clay are found scattered in different regions of the state. Tamil Nadu also has some amount of Oil and Natural Gas in the sea of Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram, where the “Oil and Natural Gas Corporation” has set up its plants to explore the oil rich areas of the state.
With such a rich deposit of Minerals, the state has become one of the most favorable destinations for the heavy Engineering, Iron and Steel, Electrical, Glass and Cement industries which contributes heavily to the state treasury and strengthens the financial position of Tamil Nadu
Industries
The Gujarat Industry has been completely revolutionized with respect to its visual aspect and also infrastructure in the last 42 years since the dawn of the state itself in 1960. Post its revival, there has been no looking back for the Gujarat Industry. The entire credit for lifting up Gujarat’s industrial status and also for providing encouragement and assistance to the companies from Indian soil as well as foreign turfs who want to become an integral wing of the Gujarat Industry, goes to the State Government.
The Gujarat Industry has not only flourished in various fields but has also furnished employment to a major bulk of the masses. The appendages of the industry of Gujarat that deals in cotton and non-metallic mineral products are the prominent juggernauts who have created maximum employment opportunities.
Another train of industries are waiting in the pipeline to be unleashed so that they can take over the Gujarat market by storm. These industries include petrochemicals, chemicals, engineering, fertilizers, electronic goods and many more.
Tourism
Tourism in Gujarat has a wide scope for the tourists, as it includes wide range of forts and museums, wild life sanctuaries, temples and mosques, and other places of interest. Gujarat tourism is, indeed, a treat to the sightseers!
The major part of Gujarat tourism forms the many forts and palaces that stand as live witnesses to the golden era in the history of India.
Some such forts and palaces that deserves special mention in Gujarat tourism are:
- Pawagadh Fort
- Dabhoi Fort
- NazarBagh Palace
- Kusum Vilas Palace
- Uparkot Fort, etc.
Banking and Financial institutions:
The banking and financial institutions of Gujarat provides financial services to its customers. The banking and financial institutions is under the regulatory authority of the government. Banking and financial institutions in Gujarat include banks, stock brokers, asset management firms and similar function 
businesses.
The primary function of the banking and financial institutions in Gujarat is to act as intermediaries between the capital and debt markets. The banking and financial institutions transfer funds from the retail or institutional investor to those companies which require funding. The presence of banking and financial institutions in Gujarat ensure the proper flow of money through the regional economy.