GIFT City's IFSC Story Enters a New Growth Chapter in 2026

Anyone tracking Gujarat International Finance Tec-City over the past few years has watched a quiet transformation turn into a genuine growth story. By early 2026, this once-futuristic vision on the outskirts of Gandhinagar had matured into a serious financial address, and the numbers back it up. Banking assets within GIFT IFSC crossed the $111 billion mark this year, a figure that reflects strong growth in international banking, capital markets, asset management and financial services. To put that in perspective, capital commitments in the zone rose from less than $0.5 billion in March 2020 to nearly $39 billion by March 2026, a roughly 60x increase in just six years.

The fund management side of the ecosystem tells a similar story. The number of fund management entities operating out of GIFT City grew from just 8 in March 2020 to 202 by December 2025, and the fintech ecosystem has grown significantly with 120 tech firms and ancillary service providers now operating within the IFSC. What began as a government-backed experiment in financial infrastructure is now home to genuine institutional depth, spanning banking, insurance, reinsurance, aircraft leasing and fund management.

Policy support has kept pace with this expansion. The Union Budget 2026 extended the tax holiday for units in GIFT City to 20 consecutive years out of a 25-year block, and units operating within the IFSC continue to benefit from the absence of withholding tax on interest payments for external commercial borrowings raised via GIFT City, a distinct advantage compared to withholding tax rates of 20-35% on interest for ECBs raised elsewhere in India. Closer to home, the Gujarat Industrial Policy 2026 has formally recognised GIFT City as a major global financial and fintech destination, reinforcing the state's commitment to the project's long-term ambitions.

Connectivity has also caught up with the city's aspirations. The Ahmedabad Metro's Violet Line, which links GIFT City to GNLU and the broader Gandhinagar network, opened in September 2024, and in February 2026 the Union Cabinet approved a further metro extension connecting GIFT City to Shahpur, a 3.33 km elevated corridor expected to serve roughly 23,702 daily passengers by 2029, rising sharply to over 58,000 daily passengers by 2041 as the commercial ecosystem matures. Add in proximity to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, the upcoming Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train corridor, and access to NH48 and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway network, and it's easy to see why professionals working here no longer think of GIFT City as remote.

Brigade Group has had skin in this game since the very start. Brigade International Finance Centre (BIFC), the group's maiden project in Gujarat and its first venture outside South India, opened its first 14-storey tower with National Stock Exchange as its anchor tenant, and the IGBC LEED Gold-certified building has since become home to a mix of domestic and multinational banks, insurance firms, foreign exchange companies and fintech players. Building on that foundation, Brigade is now expanding the campus with BIFC 2, a roughly 440,000 sq. ft. second tower designed as a 3-basement plus ground plus 24-floor structure, slated for completion by December 2027. Alongside the office towers, the SEZ campus also includes Grand Mercure GIFT City, a hospitality component managed by AccorHotels that adds a live-work-stay dimension to the district.

For homebuyers watching this activity from the sidelines, the practical implication is straightforward: as more banks, fund managers and GCCs set up shop in GIFT City, the pull on nearby residential markets grows stronger. Areas surrounding GIFT City such as Zundal and Randesan are already witnessing rapid housing development, with demand largely driven by professionals working in finance, IT, and allied sectors within GIFT City. Improved infrastructure and employment-led migration have made this influence zone a leading choice for both homebuyers and investors in the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar region.

What makes 2026 feel different from earlier years of GIFT City's journey is the sense that the ecosystem has crossed a credibility threshold. Institutions no longer need convincing that the ambition is real; the banking numbers, the fintech headcount, and the steady drumbeat of policy extensions have done that work already. For anyone evaluating whether to buy, lease, or simply track this market, the near-term signals worth watching are the pace of metro and bullet-train delivery, the next round of Budget incentives, and how quickly commercial expansions like BIFC 2 fill up with tenants once they come online.