Education and Industry

Industry & Commerce

Baroda enjoys a special place in the state of Gujarat. Till the early 1960’s Baroda was considered to be a cultural and educational centre. The first modern factory (Alembic Pharmaceuticals) was established in Baroda in 1907 and subsequently companies such as Sarabhai Chemicals, Jyoti, etc., came up in the 1940s. By 1962 there were 288 factories employing 27510 workers. At that time, the dominant industrial groups were chemicals and pharmaceuticals, cotton textiles and machine tools.

In 1962, Baroda witnessed a sudden spurt in industrial activity with the establishment of Gujarat Refinery. Several factors like raw material availability, product demand, skillful mobilisation of human, financial and material resources by the government and private entrepreneurs have contributed to Baroda becoming one of India’s foremost industrial centres.

The discovery of oil and gas in Ankleshwar and North Gujarat led to the industrial development of Gujarat in a big way. The Baroda region is the largest beneficiary in the process of this industrialisation. Gujarat Refinery went into the first phase of production in 1965. The refinery being a basic industry made vital contributions on several fronts at the regional and national levels.

In Baroda various large-scale industries such as Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited have come up in the vicinity of Gujarat Refinery and all of them are dependent on it for their fuel and feedstock. Other large-scale public sector units are Heavy Water Project and Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited. In addition to these public sector enterprises, a number of other large-scale enterprises have come up in the private sector. The products of these industries have wide applications in various sectors of the Indian economy.

The establishment of large industrial units in a region automatically brings into existence a number of smaller enterprises. Baroda is no exception and the city and the surrounding areas are today humming with industrial activity.

The industrialisation of Baroda has attracted entrepreneurs not only from Baroda but also from all over Gujarat and India. A large number of the entrepreneurs come with sound business backgrounds and the level of education and technical skills is exceptionally high.