10 facts about India's first Global Financial Hub- GIFT City!

The Gujrat International Financial Tech (GIFT) city will be a juxtaposition of townships, multi-speciality Special Economic Zones(SEZs), financial centre and business district which is spread over a sprawling 886 acres of area. Still under construction, it is situated 12 km away from Ahmedabad International Airport. It is being designed at par with global centres such as Shinjuku, Tokyo, Lujiazui, Shanghai, La Defense, Paris, London Dockyards etc. The city is an optimized integration of state-of-art infrastructure and ecological sustainability. Crucial quotients of the environment, waste management and species protection has been taken care of.

One of the fastest growing states in the country, Gujrat has proven its financial potential and business acumen through consistent GDP growth of 10 per cent since last six years. Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar are globally recognized to be one of the best places for migration. Some of the areas it leads in are: Petrochemicals Pharmaceuticals Cement Ceramics Diamond Exports Stock Market Capitalisation

Mckinsey Market Assessment Report highlights the scope of growth and generation of jobs through such financial hub. This shall also create a conducive environment to increase capital and economic activity. The GIFT city will provide more than an unbelievable 5,00,000 direct and indirect jobs. For this purpose it needs several acres of real estate office and residential space.

This escapade is under the agency Gujrat Urban Development Company Limited (GUDC), Government of Gujrat. It is in a 50:50 joint venture with the company Gujrat International Finance Tec-City Company Limited GITFCL) and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS). Some of its associates are:

Falwood India Private Limited East China Architectural Design Limited McKinsey & Company Jones Lang LaSelle Meghraj Maharaj & Aibara TCE Engineering Consultants Limited Hewitt British Telecom

It is divided into three layouts. Mutli-Service SEZ with IFSC that is segregated into Processing and Non-Processing area, Domestic Finance Centre, and Associated Infrastructure.

• Commodity Exchanges • Global Trading Exchanges • Insurance • Offshore Banking • IT/ITeS • BPO, KPO Sevices • Data Centres • Apartments, Hotels, Shopping Malls, Retail Stores, Theatre, Medical Centre • Commercial and Office Buildings • Commercial and Office Buildings • Schools, Clubs, Hotel, Exhibition Centre, Housing

Factors that contribute to this are rooftop garden, usage of non-conventional energy, rainwater harvesting, planning with micro-climatology, and Green buldings.

Various economists, political observers and thinkers believe that developing such gigantically expensive mega-structures won't help Indian citizens much as the country is still facing problems of acute hunger and chronic poverty. Developing 100 smart cities would cost $2 trillion (KPMG India). Furthermore, with a population of 1 lakh in a city, the cost of infrastructure for each person would be around $23,000 whereas ironically India's per capita income is $1600 (World Bank).

The government has decided to ease liquor norms in this portion og Gujarat. Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) will set up an international exchange in GIFT City and has signed a MoU for asset class exchange. The Dehradun Municipal Corporation has signed up for a Greenfield Township. IndusInd Bank will get an IFSC Banking UNit here. Oracle has clinched the biggest space of 105,442 square feet of office in GIFT City. Also, this global centre is expected to bring back the $50 billion in revenue annually loss to other global hubs, where regulations will be guided by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA).

Although, several critical statements have surfaced diminishing the importance of this gargantuan project, but India being one of the fastest developing countries needs to leverage its stunning intellectual class. Th prime motive is the creation of jobs and generation of revenues that is possible only if reformative steps are taken in the right direction. The GIFT city venture is a bugle of Smart Cities and soon such townships will hop throughout the nation offering prodigious opportunities.