GIFT City

Overview

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, commonly known as GIFT City, is a planned business district located between the cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is being developed as a central business district with a focus on financial services and information technology, and it hosts India's first operational International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Key facts
Type	Planned business district / Special Economic Zone
Location	Between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
State	Gujarat
Country	India
Hosts	India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC)
Regulator (IFSC)	International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)
Nearest river	Sabarmati

Background

GIFT City was conceptualised as a greenfield financial and technology hub intended to provide India with a domestic centre comparable to international financial districts in cities such as London, Singapore and Dubai. The project was promoted by the Government of Gujarat and is developed by GIFT Company Limited, originally established as a joint venture between the Gujarat Urban Development Company Limited (GUDCL) and the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) group; the equity holding subsequently changed over time.

The site sits along the Sabarmati river on the corridor connecting Ahmedabad with the state capital, Gandhinagar, and is integrated with road and metro connectivity to both cities.

Master plan and infrastructure

The city is being built as a multi-use development with commercial, residential and social facility zones. Distinctive infrastructure features that have been publicly described as part of its plan include:

A district cooling system providing centralised chilled water for air-conditioning.
An automated waste collection system using underground pneumatic pipes.
An integrated utility tunnel carrying power, water, telecom and other services.
A dedicated power supply network and underground utilities.

The skyline is anchored by high-rise commercial towers, including the GIFT One and GIFT Two buildings, which were among the earliest landmarks of the development.

International Financial Services Centre

A portion of GIFT City is notified as a multi-services Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and houses India's first International Financial Services Centre. The IFSC enables financial institutions to offer services to non-resident clients in foreign currency, with a regulatory framework distinct from that applicable in the domestic tariff area.

The IFSC was initially regulated by the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India in their respective domains. A unified regulator, the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), was established under the IFSCA Act, 2019 and is headquartered at GIFT City.

Activities undertaken at the IFSC include:

Banking through IFSC Banking Units (IBUs) of Indian and foreign banks.
International stock exchanges, with India INX (promoted by BSE) and NSE IFSC (promoted by NSE) operating from GIFT City.
Trading of select financial products, including the GIFT Nifty derivatives contracts (formerly traded as SGX Nifty in Singapore before migration to NSE IFSC).
Insurance and reinsurance business, capital market intermediaries, fund management, aircraft and ship leasing, and bullion trading through the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX).

Timeline

2007 – Project announced by the Government of Gujarat.
2011–2013 – Construction of the first commercial towers and core infrastructure begins.
2015 – GIFT One tower inaugurated; commercial occupation of the campus begins.
2017 – India INX and NSE IFSC commence operations as international exchanges from GIFT IFSC.
2020 – International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) constituted as the unified IFSC regulator.
2022 – India International Bullion Exchange launched at GIFT City.
2023 – Migration of Nifty derivatives from SGX, Singapore to NSE IFSC under the GIFT Nifty brand.