Gandhinagar, Oct 9 (IANS) While inaugurating the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference in Mehsana on Friday, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel unveiled and dedicated the Regional Economic Master Plan, prepared for the state’s six key economic regions, namely North Gujarat, Kutch, Central Gujarat, Saurashtra, Coastal Saurashtra, and Surat.

These master plans will serve as a roadmap to achieve the ambitious goal of expanding Gujarat’s economy — through balanced regional development across all 33 districts — from its current size of USD 280 billion (FY 2023) to over USD 3.5 trillion.

Under these six regional master plans, public and private investments totalling over Rs 15 lakh crore have been planned across 500+ projects. To ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach the youth, Regional Skilling Centres and Centres of Excellence — focused on areas such as Green Skills, Blue Economy, Logistics, and AI Academies — will be established in collaboration with industries across all regions.

These initiatives and economic activities are expected to generate about 28 million new employment opportunities for the youth of the state.

These regional master plans will focus on futuristic sectors aligned with the local production strengths of each region.

Advanced Manufacturing: The focus will be on futuristic sectors such as electric vehicles (EVs), battery storage, marine chemicals, biologics, industrial ceramics, and biofuels — all driven by value addition and technology-led innovation.

Service Sector: The goal is to increase the share of the service sector in the state’s economy to 51 per cent by 2047. Emerging service areas such as Global Capability Centres (GCCs), clinical research, logistics, product design, and BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) will drive growth in skilled employment.

Tourism: The tourism sector will be boosted through new avenues such as medical value travel, heritage tourism, eco-tourism, cruise tourism, and spiritual and wellness tourism.

Blue Economy: Gujarat’s 2,240 km-long coastline will be leveraged for port logistics, shipbuilding, fish processing and exports, maritime tourism, and marine innovation, empowering the fishing community and generating new employment opportunities.

Rural Economy & Sustainable Development: Agro-processing and the dairy industry will focus on Agri-tech and high-value products (ready-to-eat foods, nutraceuticals, protein supplements) to add value to the rural economy. Renewable energy projects, circular economy initiatives, and green manufacturing will advance the sustainability agenda.

At the core of this development plan is the strengthening of robust infrastructure.

Over the next 22 years, implementation will include coastal railways, high-speed inter-state rail corridors, and sea-link projects. Airport expansions will be undertaken, along with the establishment of new cargo terminals and cold chains to ensure efficient logistics.

–IANS

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