The Gujarat government has unveiled the Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy 2026 to position the state as a global research and development hub. According to reports from Mint, the policy was released last week by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar, with Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi emphasizing that incentivizing R&D will create an ecosystem for new-age industries to grow in the state. As reported by Mint, the policy focuses on innovation-led growth with a clear vision to make Gujarat a global hub for research and development, offering CAPEX and OPEX support along with financial assistance for intellectual property rights and patents. Additional Chief Secretary Mamta Verma told Mint that the focus extends beyond industrial policy to achieve holistic social development of the state, with the policy providing dedicated incentive support to attract large-scale R&D investments and provide string initial stimulus and global visibility.
The policy offers early bird incentives to the first 5 R&D centres with a minimum investment of ₹300 crore. According to Mint, these centres will receive CAPEX support of 50% capital subsidy for building, machinery & equipment in 5 years up to ₹50 crore per annum. Additionally, they will get a reimbursement of 25% of allotment price (GIDC/Dholera/Govt. Land) or 25% of Jantri rate in case of private land, along with power tariff and payroll subsidy. The R&D centres will also be eligible for IPR and patent support for a period of 10 years. Other R&D centres with minimum investment of ₹100 crore will receive capital subsidy of up to ₹20 crore on building, machinery and equipment in five years. As reported by Mint, Sanghavi stated that the state will reap huge benefits of incentivising R&D activities, with the policy providing special incentives for R&D centres establishing operations in the state to provide strong initial stimulus and global visibility.
The policy provides operating expenses support in the form of power tariff at Re 1 per unit for a period of five years and payroll subsidy of ₹10,000 per person per month for a period of three years. As reported by Mint, R&D centres established under the new policy will get 100% reimbursement of up to ₹10,000 per IPR filed for a period of 10 years and 75% of cost of up to ₹15 lakh per patent for a total of 25 patents over a period of 10 years. The policy document emphasizes that these initiatives aim to strengthen Gujarat's innovation capacity and accelerate applied research aligned with the state's priority sectors. According to Mint, the initiatives are designed to provide a common ecosystem with robust digital connectivity, sustainability-oriented infrastructure and proximity to industrial clusters to strengthen Gujarat's innovation capacity.
To further catalyze the R&D ecosystem, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) shall develop a Gujarat Research and Innovation Park to attract leading R&D companies, startups, and technology-driven firms. According to Mint, the park will provide state-of-the-art infrastructure, shared laboratories and testing facilities, pilot-scale and prototyping infrastructure, and plug-and-play workspaces. Additionally, a one-stop digital portal for testing and R&D facilities will be developed to facilitate seamless access for industries. The policy document states that with robust digital connectivity and sustainability-oriented infrastructure, the proposed R&D park will strengthen Gujarat's innovation capacity and support high-value technology development. As reported by Mint, the park will accelerate applied research and support the development of high-value technologies aligned with the state's priority sectors and the broader vision of Viksit Gujarat and Viksit Bharat.
The new industrial policy comes at a time when Gujarat has slipped to 9th place in new investor registrations amid market volatility, foreign investor selling, and geopolitical tensions. According to Mint, Gujarat witnessed a sharp slowdown in new stock market investor additions in May 2026, recording its weakest monthly growth in more than a year with 51,700 new investors added, the lowest monthly addition since April 2025. Gujarat had previously ranked third in the country in terms of new investor additions until the end of 2025, but has now slipped to ninth place in 2026. Additional Chief Secretary Mamta Verma emphasized that the focus extends beyond industrial policy to achieve holistic social development of the state, with the policy providing dedicated incentive support to attract large-scale R&D investments and provide string initial stimulus and global visibility.
