Ahmedabad, May 17 (IANS) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said Gujarat must now aim to place itself among the top states in India’s service sector, stating that Ahmedabad should establish itself alongside Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Gurugram as a major technology and innovation hub.

Addressing the launch of Million Minds Tech City, Gujarat’s first SEZ IT park, Shah said Gujarat had already established a strong position in industrial development and was now entering a phase of transformation focused on technology, innovation and high-skilled employment.

“We have done very good work in manufacturing, engineering, pharmaceuticals, ports, logistics, green energy, industrial infrastructure and investment. But now the time has come to take Gujarat into the top one, two or three positions in the service sector as well,” he said.

He said tech parks of the scale being developed in Ahmedabad were essential if the city wanted to compete with India’s established technology centres.

“If Ahmedabad has to establish itself alongside Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Gurugram in the service sector, then tech parks like this are extremely necessary,” he said.

HM Shah credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure as Gujarat chief minister with giving industrial growth in the state a structured direction through infrastructure development, ease of doing business reforms and entrepreneurship-focused policies.

“I can say with confidence that such structured industrial development has not been seen anywhere outside Gujarat. The whole world acknowledges this,” he noted.

He said Gujaratis had traditionally carried entrepreneurial ability “in their DNA” and successive governments had supported industry through infrastructure, financial systems and policy support.

The first phase of Tech City has been developed over 13.5 lakh square feet at a cost of approximately Rs 1,100 crore. HM Shah said it would create an advanced working environment for 9,000 high-skilled professionals.

The larger seven-phase development, spread across 65 acres, is expected to generate more than 63,000 high-value jobs over the next five years with a total investment of around Rs 15,000 crore.

“The project reflected a broader shift in Gujarat’s economy towards technology parks and global capability centres,” he said.

The programme was attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and senior representatives of Ganesh Housing Limited.

–IANS

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