Ahmedabad, Jan 23 (KNN) In a bid to strengthen manufacturing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the state, the Gujarat government has announced eight new industrial estates to be set up in eight districts under Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC).

The districts include Banaskantha, Jamnagar, Morbi, Gandhinagar, Patan, Rajkot, Anand and Mahisagar.

The industries that will get a push include marble cutting and polishing industry, brass parts industry, Morbi ceramic, clock and toys industry, food and agro-processing industry, auto ancillary industry, medical devices industry and the engineering industries.

“We want to develop an economic circle with an aim to provide opportunities to several people through a large number of MSME units. These estates will provide Rs 1,223 crore capital investment and 20,000 new jobs in future,” said state Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday.

“MSMEs are crucial for Gujarat’s Atmanirbharta (self-reliance). Morbi’s ceramic industry is the only park, which is giving a tough fight to China in production. Last year Morbi exported ceramics products to China itself. This is the proof of Gujarat’s capabilities in manufacturing,” he added.

The Chief Minister also announced setting up multi-storey sheds in the existing 9 industrial estates of the state resulting in generation of capital investment of around Rs 100 crore and 1,000 new job opportunities.

During the establishment of Gujarat, there were only 6,000 MSME units in the state. After the development journey of the last two decades, today there are 35 lakh MSME units functioning in the state, an official state government release said.