Fintech hub with ADB support coming up at GIFT City
The tourism and road and construction departments have had the highest increase in budget allocations for 2023-24, where there has been an increase of 170 per cent and 71 per cent respectively.
A “fintech hub” will be established with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at GIFT City, Gujarat Finance Minister Kanu Desai announced while presenting the annual budget for the financial year 2022-23 on Friday.
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The budget also made a separate provision of Rs 150 crore for the construction of a river bank at the GIFT City campus located on the banks of the Sabarmati River. “A specialized fintech hub will be set up in GIFT City with an objective to improve the quality of fintech education and research, promote fintech start-ups and incubation and evidence-based research technology,” Desai said in his budget speech. A provision of Rs 76 crore was also made for GIFT City.
JP Gupta, principal secretary, finance department, told The Indian Express that ADB will set up a “training and incubation centre” at GIFT City which is expected to become functional in the next financial year.
“GIFT City belongs to the Gujarat government. But we want it to be independent. We have given a lot of land and currently GIFT City is earning from that land. So more or less it’s on its own. Land is the biggest resource,” Gupta said when asked if the 2023-24 budget has given the least allocation to the GIFT City project in the last decade.
The first budget presented by the re-elected BJP government in Gujarat allocated Rs 500 crore for setting up a labor hostel in the municipal and GIDC areas, Rs 200 crore as equity contribution for Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, Rs 160 crore for Bharuch-Dahej Expressway, Rs 24 crore to resume ship breaking at Sachana, Rs 1,415 crore for Bhadbhut barrage on Narmada river and Rs 100 crore to build a bulk drug park at Jambusar.
The budget says that capital expenditure has increased significantly as it helps to increase “private investment in the state” which will lead to higher economic growth. “The capital outlay for 2022-23 was Rs 38,052 crore. This has increased to 91 per cent to Rs 72,509 crore, said Mona Khandhar, vice-chancellor for financial affairs.
The tourism and road and construction departments have had the highest increase in budget allocations for 2023-24, where there has been an increase of 170 per cent and 71 per cent respectively.
Allocations to Narmada, water resources, water supply and Kalpsar division and food and civil supplies division have also been increased by 43 percent and 41 percent respectively. Expenditure on health and education has been increased by 24 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.
