In Rs 4.08 lakh cr Gujarat Budget, big boost for tourism & sports infrastructure

The total Budget outlay sees an increase of 10.2 per cent (%). In 2025-26, it was Rs 3.70 lakh crore. As per a Budget document, the Budget has witnessed an increase of 17.5% in capital expenditure of Rs 1.57 lakh crore.

With a push for tourism in the Budget, Somnath is set to be developed as ‘Global Destination’ as part of the vision of ‘One State, One Global Destination’ as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For the Department of Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities, the budget has allocated a total Rs 2,006 crore. Of this, Rs 1,331 crore has been earmarked for the sports sector. This includes a provision of Rs 500 crore for making Ahmedabad an Olympic-ready City and development of SVP Sports Enclave. The budget also includes Rs 165 crore for the development of sports complex infrastructure in various districts, Rs 101 crore for the establishment of sports related infrastructure facilities at Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar, Rs 100 crore for the establishment of Olympic level infrastructure at Karai and Rs 100 crore for the construction of Para High Performance Centre at Gandhinagar.

In his speech, the Finance Minister said, “Gujarat’s global profile has been enhanced as the state will be hosting Commonwealth Games 2030. This will create vast employment opportunities by increasing investment in sports, tourism, hospitality, transportation and other service sectors. It will give a boost to long lasting infrastructure featuring modern stadiums, roads, metro systems and urban facilities.”

“Ahmedabad city will be made an “Olympic-ready City” for organising the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2030. As a part of this, sports complexes and stadiums of international standard will be established and developed with modern public transport facilities. For this, I propose a total provision of Rs 1,278 crore,” he added.

Declaring that 2026-27 would be celebrated as Gujarat Tourism Year, Desai said, “From the stunning beauty of the white desert to the serene waves of the sea, from the Sun Temple to the Statue of Unity and from the roar of Gir to divinity of Somnath-the state showcases a unique blend of nature and culture to establish Gujarat tourism potential at national and international level.”
According to Desai, “A unique identity of Gujarat as a Wedding Destination will be created by ‘Wed in Gujarat’ campaign showcasing the tradition, hospitality and historical grandeur of the State of Gujarat.”

He also announced Rs 300 crore for Ambaji Corridor Master Plan for the comprehensive development of the Ambaji pilgrimage site. A provision of Rs 55 crore was also made for the the renovation of the holy pilgrimage site of Becharaji, for the convenience of devotees participating in the Mahashivratri fair at Girnar and for facilities for devotees coming for the Maa Narmada Parikrama.

Somnath and Shivrajpur beaches have also been proposed to be further augmented with world-class amenities as attractive tourist destinations for tourists.
The budget also envisages to train 1,000 tourist guides at various pilgrimage spots, earmarking Rs 95 crore in this regard.

For the Urban Development Department, the budget has made a provision of Rs 33,504 crore.
“With more than 48 per cent of the state’s population residing in urban areas, the State Government is working with a focused approach to enhance the well-being and livelihood of urban residents and provide better public amenities,” Desai said.

Some of the important provisions for the UDD include Rs 16,116 crore for Swarnim Jayanti Mukhyamantri Shaheri Vikas Yojana, an important scheme for urban infrastructure, Rs 2217 crore for Gujarat Metro Rail Projects including Ahmedabad and Surat Metro expansion, Rs 800 crore for external funding for Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation under the Gujarat Resilient Cities Partnership Program and for AUDA area under the Peri-Urban Liveability Improvement Project and Rs 100 crore for developing MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition) infrastructure at Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Bhavnagar.

In an interesting announcement, the Budget had made provision of Rs 100 crore for establishing Namo Central Library in Gandhinagar.

“The largest and ultra-modern Namo Central Library of the nation will be established at Gandhinagar. In this library, study and reading facilities will be provided in digital form. I propose a provision of Rs 100 crore for the same in this Budget,” Desai said in his Budget speech.

The Budget witnesses an overall push for infrastructure development in the state.
Allocation of Rs 4,272 crore has been done for providing more than 3.15 lakh housing units under schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin & Shaheri), Dr. Ambedkar Awas Yojana, Pandit Deendayal Awas Yojana and Halpati Awas Yojana.

For the development of the state, economic master plans have been prepared for six regions; south Gujarat, central Gujarat, north Gujarat, Saurashtra, the coastal areas of Saurashtra and Kutch. Rs 2,000 crore have been allocated for projects identified under the plans.

The Budget has made a provision of Rs 3,000 crore for the Namo Shakti Expressway and Somnath-Dwarka Expressway projects connecting important places of the state.

“This project aims to create a highway that embodies a blend of culture and tourism,” Desai said.
For the Logistic and Trunk Infrastructure Project at Dholera SIR, Rs 610 crore have been allocated. It will include development of Dholera airport, modern roads, water and waste-water treatment facilities and underground cabling for power distribution.

“As a result, Dholera will become a global hub of future industries, innovation and employment opportunities,” Desai said.

The government has also allocated Rs 150 crore for an innovative Floating Solar Project at Kadana dam.

As part of an initiative, Ambaji Copper Project will become the first underground copper-zinc-lead mine of Gujarat reducing the import dependence. And the budget has a provision of Rs 613 crore for the initiative that aims to excavate untapped mineral resources.

A provision of Rs 500 crore has been made under the Gujarat Wire-free City Mission to convert current overhead electricity lines into underground cables in the urban areas of the state. Similarly, keeping in mind national security, overhead infrastructure line infrastructure in border areas will be converted into modern elevated cable network.

For the works related to roads and bridges Rs 10008 crore have been provided in the budget.
The Budget has also proposed to build 2,000 new anganwadis in the state at a cost of Rs 360 crore.
As per an official document, for the development of tribal areas, allocation of Rs 35,780 has been made in the budget that includes Rs 950 crore for development of roads and bridges and establishment of five new industrial estates.

For Artificial Intelligence and digital governance, the budget has allocated Rs 850 crore.
Expecting more investment in the textile sector, the budget has made a provision of Rs 2,755 crore.
The Education Department has witnessed a maximum provision of Rs 63,184 crore in the budget followed by Urban Development (Rs 33,504 crore), Roads and Buildings (Rs 29,709 crore), Health (Rs 25,403 crore) and Agriculture (Rs 24,022 crore).

Speaking on the budget and financial condition of Gujarat, Desai said, “Gujarat is leading in all criteria of financial discipline set for the entire country. I can certainly say that the financial discipline of Gujarat is the best in the entire country.”

Secretary (Economic Affairs) Sandeep Kumar highlighted Gujarat’s financial condition through various indicators. In that context he said, “Gujarat’s per capital income has been continuously increasing. In 2020-21, it was Rs 2,41,584 which has been increased to over Rs 3 lakh in 2023-24. We are constantly ahead of the national per capita income. Currently Gujarat’s per capital income is 1.6 times more than the national per capita income,” Kumar said.

He also said Gujarat’s unemployment rate has gone down to 1.2% in 2023-24 from 2.1% in 2021-22. “Gujarat has the second lowest unemployment rate in the country,” Kumar said.