Gandhinagar, May 17 (IANS) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the 'Million Minds Tech Park' and the 'Ganesh Real Estate Management Institute' in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Speaking on the occasion, the Union Home Minister said that Gujarat will take lead in the field of technology, just the way it has led the nation since Independence. He added that these two projects would give fresh momentum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of transforming Gujarat from merely a manufacturing hub into a leading global centre for services and technology.

Expressing his vision of placing Gujarat among the top three states in the service sector, Home Minister Shah said that the state has consistently focused on economic activities. Through the 'Million Minds Tech Park', thousands of highly skilled employment opportunities will be created for the youth of the state. The tech park will promote research, innovation and technological development in advanced sectors such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and semiconductors.

Union Minister Amit Shah also said that the 'Ganesh Real Estate Management Institute' would play an important role in bringing professionalism and modernisation to the real estate sector. The institute will prepare skilled human resources through modern urban planning, technology-oriented courses and training aligned with global standards. The Union Home Minister noted that Gujarat is today providing a new direction to the country in the fields of technology, industry and modern infrastructure development and such specialised institutions and technology-driven projects would strengthen the state's position in the global economy.

He added that the tech city, being developed over nearly 65 acres in the Ahmedabad-GIFT City-Gandhinagar high-growth corridor near Vaishnodevi Circle, will include Grade-A office spaces, residential facilities, retail and hospitality infrastructure. The project is expected to generate more than 70,000 high-skilled jobs. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that the state has achieved remarkable progress in manufacturing, ports, infrastructure, green energy, pharmaceuticals and investment -- transforming the politics of development into national ideology.

"The state is now entering a new phase of development driven by IT, innovation and a technology-based economy," the Chief Minister noted. He also remarked that the 'Million Minds Tech Park' would play a significant role in Gujarat's technology-driven growth, describing it as not merely a real estate development but also a centre that would generate high-skilled employment and accelerate the digital economy. He also said that the dream of "Gujarat 2.0" is becoming a reality through sectors such as the digital economy, Artificial Intelligence, semiconductors, Global Capability Centres (GCC) and knowledge-based services.

Due to the state government's IT policy and GCC policy, along with the encouraging policies of the Central Government, Gujarat's IT sector is poised for rapid growth. Chief Minister Patel added that GIFT City is emerging as a global financial and technology ecosystem, while the semiconductor ecosystem developing in Sanand and Dholera Special Investment Region will establish Gujarat as a semiconductor hub.

"GIFT City and Dholera will become powerful engines of Gujarat's economic growth in the coming years," he asserted. The Chief Minister also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for approving the country's first semi-high-speed rail project between Ahmedabad and Dholera, to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore. He said such modern infrastructure would play a crucial role in attracting investments from across India and abroad.

--IANS