E-Paper
Three years of Bhupendra Patel government: Gujarat lists key schemes and policy milestones
As CM Bhupendra Patel completes 3 years in office on December 12, the government highlights initiatives in agriculture, urban development, and governance.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel completes three years of his current tenure on 12 December 2025. Patel, the state’s 18th Chief Minister, assumed office after the 2022 Assembly election, in which the ruling party secured 156 seats. Marking the three-year point, the state government has released a consolidated account of its major schemes and decisions across sectors such as farmers’ welfare, women and child development, health, education, tribal and youth development, urban infrastructure, governance and security.
During this period, Gujarat has hosted large-scale events including G20 meetings and the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. The government has also initiated Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conferences in North, South and Central Gujarat, as well as Kutch-Saurashtra, to link regional investment and development priorities with the broader objectives of “Viksit Bharat @2047” and “Viksit Gujarat @2047”.
The government’s note also recalls the state’s response to an Air India plane crash in 2025, stating that all relevant departments were mobilised to manage rescue, medical support and relief. Separately, 2025 has been declared “Urban Development Year”, with a stated focus on planned, technology-enabled and environmentally conscious urban growth.
On agriculture and rural support, the government has cited measures under Kisan Suryodaya Yojana, through which nearly 16,900 villages are reported to receive daytime power supply for agriculture consumers. Relief assistance has been announced for crop losses caused by heavy and unseasonal rainfall in 2025, including packages totalling several thousand crore rupees and procurement of affected crops at support prices. Over the past three years, more than 33 lakh farmers have received zero-interest crop loans with interest subvention of over ₹3,030 crore, according to official data.
In women’s welfare, the state says it currently has around 5.96 lakh “Lakhpati Didis” and is targeting 10 lakh such self-help group members. The Nari Gaurav Niti–2024 has been notified as an umbrella framework for women-focused schemes. The gender budget, the government notes, crossed ₹1 lakh crore in 2023, with more than 200 schemes, and expanded further to 804 schemes in 2024–25. Programmes such as Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana and G-SAFAL (for self-help groups from Antyodaya families) are positioned as key delivery channels for nutrition and livelihood support.
In health, the assistance ceiling under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana–Mukhyamantri Amrutam (PMJAY–MA) has been raised from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh per beneficiary family. Gujarat describes itself as the only state to have issued digital health cards to school students, covering 1.15 crore children so far. The government also reports a reduction in maternal and infant mortality over recent years, the rollout of Namo Shri Yojana for maternity support, and initiatives such as a “Healthy Gujarat – Obesity-Free Gujarat” campaign and a Tribal Genome Sequencing Project aimed at improving health services for tribal communities.
On education, the Mission Schools of Excellence programme has added classrooms, computer labs, smart classrooms and STEM labs across the state. The 23rd Kanya Kelavani Mahotsav and Shala Praveshotsav were conducted in 2025 with an emphasis on enrolment and retention. An AI-based Early Warning System has been introduced to identify students at risk of dropping out. The government cites Mukhyamantri Paushtik Alpahar Yojana, Namo Lakshmi Yojana and Namo Saraswati Vigyan Sadhana Yojana as key interventions for nutrition and financial support to school-going children, particularly girls.
For tribal communities, the state has provided for a higher allocation—an increase of ₹746 crore—for 2025–26 and launched the Jan Jatiya Kalyan Yojana on Jan Jatiya Gaurav Divas to fund targeted programmes.
Youth, sports and innovation are another focus area. Twenty-four district sports complexes are operational in 22 districts, and over 71 lakh people registered for Khel Mahakumbh 3.0 in 2024. Gujarat has hosted several national and international sports events and has been selected to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. The Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad, built at a reported cost of ₹825 crore, has been inaugurated. Under the Gujarat Student Startup and Innovation Policy 2.0, the state says 600 startups have been incubated at i-Hub, Ahmedabad, and 402 startups have received financial support through the Startup Srujan Fund.
In governance, Gujarat has adopted a roadmap for “Viksit Gujarat @2047” and set up the Gujarat Rajya Institution for Transformation (GRIT), modelled on NITI Aayog, along with the Gujarat Administrative Reforms Commission (GARC). A unified emergency number, 112, now integrates police, fire, ambulance, women’s and child helplines and disaster response services. The government has also modified certain land revenue and land-use conversion norms, decentralising approval powers to the district level for lower-value cases and linking premiums to Jantri rates.
Urban development measures include the declaration of 2025 as Urban Development Year, the inauguration of Ahmedabad Metro Phase-2 between Motera and Gandhinagar’s Sector-1 and up to GIFT City, and the completion of 348 projects under the Smart City Mission across six cities. Nine municipalities have been upgraded to municipal corporations over the last three years, taking the total to 17, while 226 town-planning schemes have been approved. In the 2024–25 Swachh Survekshan, Ahmedabad has been rated the country’s cleanest city, and Surat has consistently ranked among the top cities in cleanliness and air-quality surveys.
The government also points to external recognitions: Gujarat has led the national Startup Ranking for four consecutive years; Dhordo village has been named one of the World’s Best Tourism Villages by the UN World Tourism Organisation; Garba has been added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity; and the Smritivan Earthquake Memorial Museum in Kutch has been listed among notable museums globally. The state’s Republic Day tableau has won the People’s Choice Award three times, and the Gujarat State Yoga Board has registered multiple Guinness World Records.
On law, order and internal security, the government lists several new laws: the Gujarat Special Courts Act, 2024 to enable confiscation of properties acquired through corruption or crime; legislation against human sacrifice and related practices; and a law to curb irregularities in public recruitment and board examinations. Gujarat Police have reported drug seizures of more than 65,000 kg valued at over ₹5,400 crore in the last three years. Under Project VISWAS, the state has integrated over 7,000 CCTV cameras, which, according to officials, have assisted in solving more than 14,000 cases. New technology-driven initiatives such as the i-PRAGATI case-tracking portal, a cybercrime refund portal, online processes to reactivate frozen bank accounts, zonal Anti-Narcotics Task Force units and the GP-DRASTI drone-based surveillance project are also cited as part of efforts to strengthen public safety.
According to the government, these measures together are intended to align Gujarat’s development strategy with the national goal of Viksit Bharat @2047, particularly in fields such as semiconductors, renewable energy, digital governance, urban infrastructure and social welfare.
