GIFT City's IFSC Status Is Rewriting Gandhinagar's Office Market

GIFT City, sitting between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, has quietly become one of the most closely watched commercial real estate stories in Gujarat. GIFT City, located in Gujarat, is India's first smart city with an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). That single distinction — a dedicated IFSC — is doing more to shape the local office market than almost any other factor, and the effects are now visible in leasing activity, construction cranes, and pricing across the district.

The pull is largely regulatory. The IFSC at GIFT City is not simply a business address with good infrastructure; it is a distinct regulatory and tax jurisdiction that offers financial institutions advantages they cannot find anywhere else in India, including 100% income tax exemption for 10 out of 15 years of operation. For banks, insurers, and fund managers weighing where to set up their next India desk, that kind of certainty is hard to ignore, and it is translating directly into occupier demand.

The numbers back this up. By early 2026, banking assets within GIFT IFSC had crossed USD 106 billion, representing more than seven-fold growth compared to 2020 levels, and the ecosystem now includes dozens of domestic and international banking institutions operating within the financial district. That scale of financial activity does not sit idle in spreadsheets — it needs desks, meeting rooms, data floors, and trading floors, and that is exactly where the construction boom is coming from. This increasing business activity is creating demand for office space, housing, retail services, and supporting infrastructure.

On the supply side, the market is tightening rather than easing. The supply of Grade-A office space has matured, but the demand continues to outpace new completions, and this imbalance maintains a floor under the commercial property price, ensuring that well-located projects retain their value. Large corporate commitments are reinforcing that trend — recently, large corporate leases, such as Infosys leasing in GIFT City, signal strong demand for quality space.

Sustainability has also become a real pricing lever, not just a marketing line. Typically, LEED-certified office spaces in GIFT City command a premium of 10% to 15% over standard buildings, driven by high demand from MNCs and financial institutions that must occupy sustainable spaces to meet their global ESG targets. Developers building green-certified towers are, in effect, being rewarded twice over — once through faster leasing and again through rental premiums.

Policy support has kept pace with this growth. The budget's incentives are believed to encourage the demand for dynamic infrastructure, commercial office spaces, and luxury properties in GIFT City, with this growing centre projected to draw a wide range of companies, fostering an interesting environment ready for development. Real estate advisors tracking the zone remain optimistic about the medium term — experts expect that the real estate sector of GIFT City will sustain growth over the next five years, fueled by increasing corporate presence and the demand for high-quality commercial and residential spaces.

Brigade Group has been part of this build-out from an early stage. Brigade International Finance Centre (BIFC) is a 2 Basement + Ground +14 Floor structure and marks Brigade Group's first project in Gujarat and North India, with a total development of over half a million sq.ft. envisioned, of which the first phase of 3,15,000 sq.ft. is already operational and home to several Indian and multinational banks, insurance firms, foreign exchange companies, and fintechs. The building itself was designed with the ESG-driven leasing trend in mind — BIFC is an IGBC LEED Gold certified building, assuring the highest level of sustenance, quality, safety, and design.

With Tower 1 largely occupied, Brigade is now scaling up rather than pausing. A second tower, BIFC 2, is planned with a structure of 3 Basements + Ground + 24 Floors and an upcoming launch targeted by December 2027. As with many Indian and multinational firms already operating from the first tower, BIFC 2 will strengthen Brigade Group GIFT City's vision of creating a global financial hub in Gandhinagar, aligned with the Government of India's ambition for GIFT City. For homebuyers and investors watching the district, the takeaway is straightforward: as long as the IFSC keeps pulling in banks and fund managers, Gandhinagar's office skyline — and the residential catchment around it — will keep climbing to match.