Can a purpose-built financial hub transform from a ghost town into a global player?
In short: GIFT City was designed as India's premier international financial hub, yet it struggled for years with empty offices and missed job targets. Now, with aggressive tax incentives, new regulatory frameworks, and a surge in registered entities, this greenfield project is attempting to rewrite its narrative as a serious global contender.
Located between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) is a 359-hectare development intended to serve as India's first International Financial Services Centre. The project was conceived as a walkable, smart city featuring modern infrastructure, including dedicated systems for power, water, and district cooling. Its core mission is to attract global business by offering a specialized regulatory environment and tax architecture that competes with established financial hubs.
The city's early years were marked by significant friction. Original projections anticipated over one million jobs within a decade, but by mid-2019, only about 9,000 positions had materialized. Development also lagged, with only 3 million square feet completed out of a planned 62 million. Analysts and officials point to a combination of external and internal pressures, including the fallout from the 2008 global financial crisis, the lack of a clear regulatory framework until 2014, and the financial instability of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), which was a major partner before the state government bought out its stake in 2020.
Despite these early hurdles, the project has seen a recent acceleration. By June 2025, the hub hosted 939 registered entities, including 47 insurance firms and 272 funds. The city now houses major international banks such as JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC, alongside India's first international bullion exchange. To foster a more vibrant urban environment, authorities even relaxed local liquor laws in 2023 for permanent employees, addressing criticism that the area felt like a ghost town after business hours. Whether this momentum can sustain the city's long-term ambitions remains a subject of intense observation.
The project's success is tied to its ability to lure foreign capital through specific incentives, such as tax holidays and GST-free services for units within its Special Economic Zone. With the recent appointment of Sanjay Kaul as managing director and Group CEO in July 2025, the focus remains on scaling operations and deepening the city's integration into the global financial ecosystem.
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