When Gujarat launched the Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy 2026 in Gandhinagar on June 15, with chief minister Bhupendra Patel and deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi in attendance, the pitch was not just about drawing in more factories. It was about recasting Gujarat as a “future-focused” industrial state and a “global powerhouse” for advanced manufacturing, innovation and sustainable growth. The government described the policy as a “transparent, flexible, and industry-centric framework” designed to give investors “confidence and clarity”, while placing Gujarat as a key contributor to India’s broader “Viksit Bharat@2047” vision.
One of the sharpest changes in the new framework is the shift to a “choose your incentive” model. Instead of forcing investors into a single subsidy structure, Gujarat is allowing projects to choose a blend of capital subsidy, interest subsidy and power tariff reimbursement depending on their business model. That flexibility runs through the document. The policy sets separate tracks for MSMEs, large units, mega industries and ultra mega projects, while also making a special push for advanced manufacturing, R&D and value addition. The launch note says the state is aiming to build a “high-value, technology-intensive industrial ecosystem” and reduce reliance on low-margin activities.
That ambition becomes more complicated in places like Kutch, which the policy itself positions as a major future industrial zone. The regional plan for Kutch includes a green hydrogen hub, a mineral processing zone, Gujarat’s largest multi sector exports manufacturing hub, a science and tech park, and other infrastructure-heavy projects. These are exactly the kinds of sectors that need not just land and power, but long-term water planning too.
During a media roundtable after the launch, Fortune India asked: “Where does this water come from?”
Mamta Verma, IAS, additional chief secretary, Industries and Mines Department, Gujarat, did not dismiss the issue. “The water, there are parameters,” she said, adding that industries coming into Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) would operate within water requirements and policy frameworks. She also said the state is supporting desalination plants. When pressed on whether future industrial growth in water-stressed areas like Kutch would depend mainly on desalination, she replied: “No, no, it’s not like that… multiple sources, not only desalination.” Government officials also added that Gujarat already has a 10-year study on industrial water demand and sources, and that a carrying-capacity assessment has already been done.
The policy itself backs that up with a stronger push for wastewater recycling, zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems and greener industrial infrastructure. It offers 50% assistance for projects that achieve at least 70% wastewater recycling, while also extending support for ZLD systems across MSME, large, mega and ultra mega units. The document also mentions desalination, stormwater management and next-generation GIDC facilities as part of the industrial infrastructure it wants to build.
Water is only one piece of the policy. The thrust sector list is much broader: green energy, mobility, capital equipment, textiles and apparels, sustainability, chemicals, agro processing, healthcare, critical minerals processing, semiconductor ancillaries, nuclear power equipment, electronics waste recycling, toy manufacturing, footwear, robots and drones. In other words, Gujarat is not just chasing factory count. It is selecting the kind of industrial ecosystem it wants to host.
The policy also places heavy stress on the softer but equally important side of industrial growth: research, innovation, skills and housing. It proposes early-bird support for the first five R&D centres with a minimum investment of ₹300 crore, including 50% capital subsidy on building, machinery and equipment, along with patent and IPR support. It also calls for a Gujarat Research & Innovation Park and a one-stop digital portal for testing and R&D facilities.
That same logic runs through the social infrastructure chapters of the policy. It includes support for working women’s hostels, dormitories, labour housing, startup sustenance support, women-led enterprises, skill centres and Project T.H.R.I.V.E., a relocation initiative meant to decongest cities and shift units into planned industrial spaces with better infrastructure and “ease of living.” The launch note also highlights stronger support for startups, women entrepreneurs, differently abled entrepreneurs and SC/ST entrepreneurs.
At the launch, deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi said the policy’s stress on “R&D, emerging technologies, and innovation-led growth” would help Gujarat lead India’s transition into a knowledge-driven and technology-intensive economy. That is really the bigger signal hidden inside the incentives. Gujarat is not only trying to attract more investment; it is trying to choose a more advanced kind of investment and then build the water, power, logistics and social systems around it.
For now, the state says it has already mapped industrial water needs for the next decade and has multiple sources in mind, including desalination, Kalpasar and Bhadbhut. The policy’s real test will be whether that planning can keep pace as Gujarat pushes deeper into semiconductors, green hydrogen and other resource-intensive industries. If the numbers hold, this could be the state’s most ambitious industrial leap yet.
