Highlights of GIFT TEC city and SEZ

Highlights of GIFT TEC city and SEZ

Question - India is planning to accommodate a rapidly expending urban population through development of smart cities. Examine the highlights of GIFT TEC city and SEZ in this context.

Gujarat International Finance TEC City(GIFT) is the first smart city to come up in India.

GIFT TEC City/SEZ : Highlights

GIFT will function as a financial hub with tax and other breaks to lure brokerages, banks and other businesses

• It is to be developed in collaboration with IL&FS Engineering and Construction for competing with India’s financial capital, Mumbai and overseas rivals like Singapore

• India may have built smart cities in the past such as that designed by Le Corbusier in Chandigarh, but the scale of this smart city is unprecedented

• The city will have new centres and adapt existing ones alongside

• Companies such as Microsoft, IBM Corp and Cisco Systems have already commenced helping smart cities to blossom out

• GIFT also has a tie up with National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange /NCDEX for establishing an International Commodity and Derivatives Exchange

• NCDEX will also establish this exchange in the GIFT/SEZ area which is a multi-services SEZ being developed as an International Financial Services Centre/IFSC

• This IFSC is being constructed by GIFT SEZ ltd which is a completely owned subsidiary of GIFT Company Ltd/GIFTCL

• MoU has been signed between GIFT SEZ and NCDEX for exchange to provide electronic platform for trading

• International financial traders as well as domestic investors can trade here

• International exchanges can also set up shop here

• GIFT SEZ is India’s first IFSC

• GIFT city will create 5 lakh direct jobs and equal number of indirect jobs

• This will require 62 million square feet of commercial, residential and social facilities

• It will also entail total investment of INR 78,000 crore over next 10 years

• Located on the banks of River Sabarmati in Gandhinagar, GIFT already has several features such as :

- Drinking water through tap
- Automated waste collection
- Dedicated power supply
- Modern underground infrastructure
- Office blocks

Facts and Stats

• Urban population in India is expected to increase by more than 400 million people to 814 million by 2050

• Urban population is booming in India and bigger cities are overpopulated

• 100 smart cities will be established by 2022 to meet the growing demand

• Plan costs USD 1 trillion

• India has allocated INR 60 billion/USD 962 million in annual federal budget for the construction of smart cities