Gandhinagar: Describing the Union Budget 2026-27 as one “encompassing comprehensive development”, chief minister Bhupendra Patel said on Thursday that the tax holiday extension in GIFT City will encourage investors to invest with greater confidence. He said that tier-2 and tier-3 cities with populations of over 5 lakh will be developed as city economic regions under the Union govt’s announcement in the Budget.Speaking to reporters in Gandhinagar, the CM said, “Extending the 10-year tax holiday in the country’s fintech hub GIFT City to 20 years will attract investors to make long-term investments in GIFT City with greater confidence.”He said that Gujarat, being a leader in the pharmaceutical sector in the country, will benefit the most from the Union govt’s Biopharma Shakti programme, with an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore.Referring to the state’s 42.9 lakh MSMEs as the backbone of the economy, Patel said that the central govt’s budget announced a Rs 10,000 crore SME fund to create “Champion MSMEs”, which will directly benefit the state’s MSME sector. He added that Gujarat will also leverage announcements made under the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0.Highlighting Gujarat’s contribution to national growth, the CM stated that under the 16th Finance Commission, Gujarat’s central devolution increased from 3.48% to 3.75%. This will accelerate infrastructure development, including in rural areas, he said.
