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No proposal sent for GIFT City in Chandigarh: Centre
The development assumes significance as the Chandigarh administration had earlier indicated plans to set up an International Financial Services Centre, modelled on GIFT City, in Industrial Area, Phase 1 and Phase 2
Over six months after UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria announced in his Independence Day address that Chandigarh would be developed as a National Service Industry Centre on the lines of Gujarat’s GIFT City, the Union government on Monday informed the Lok Sabha that no such proposal had been received from the Chandigarh administration.
The development assumes significance as the UT administration had earlier indicated plans to set up an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), modelled on the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), in Industrial Area, Phase 1 and Phase 2.
The proposal envisioned transforming the existing industrial belt into a futuristic business ecosystem focused on financial services and global business operations. The administration had also proposed appointing a consultant to prepare a detailed plan for the project.
But on Monday, responding to an unstarred question raised by Chandigarh member of Parliament Manish Tewari, minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the Centre had not received any formal proposal from the UT administration seeking the establishment of a financial hub similar to GIFT City in the Union territory.
In his question, Tewari had asked whether the Union government had received any such request and whether the law restricted the establishment of only one such financial hub in the country.
In its reply, the government clarified that the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Act, 2019, did not provide for the establishment of IFSCs. Instead, such centres were notified under Section 18 of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act, 2005.
The Centre also acknowledged that it had received a representation from MP Manish Tewari on January 6, 2025, requesting that Chandigarh be considered for setting up an IFC. In his communication, the MP had argued that the Chandigarh region faced inherent limitations in expanding manufacturing activities due to spatial constraints, environmental concerns and administrative restrictions. He suggested that an international financial hub could emerge as a new engine of economic growth for the Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula-New Chandigarh region.
However, the government said the representation had been responded to on January 23, 2025, explaining that concentrating offshore financial services in a single location enabled better regulatory oversight and operational efficiency, while also allowing authorities to continuously upgrade regulatory infrastructure.
The government also cited remarks made by former finance minister Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha in December 2017, noting that there was a practical limit to the number of IFSCs that can be established in the country. Since the existing IFSC at GIFT City was still under development, the Centre believed it should be optimally utilised before considering similar facilities elsewhere.
Reacting to the reply, Tewari said it was unfortunate that despite the hype and public statements made in September and October 2025, the Chandigarh administration had not submitted any proposal for establishing a GIFT City in the city.
“I had raised the matter both verbally and in writing with the Government of India, as an International Financial Services Centre could drive the next phase of economic growth in the Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula-New Chandigarh region, especially since the city has limited scope for manufacturing or specialised agriculture. However, without a formal proposal from the administration, there is little that can be pursued with the Centre,” he said.
GIFT City in Gandhinagar is India’s first operational IFSC, developed as a global financial hub for offshore financial services, including banking, insurance, capital markets and fintech activities. Over the past few years, it has attracted several international financial institutions and regulatory bodies.
The demand for a similar financial hub in the Chandigarh region has occasionally been raised by industry groups and policymakers, who argue that the tricity’s strong services sector, skilled workforce and strategic location in North India make it a potential destination for global financial services.
