India Building A New City For Global Investors In Prime Minister Modi's Home State

India is building a global hi-tech city in the heart of the state of Gujarat, to give foreign investors easy access to the country's booming economy.

The city will take shape on a barren 886-acre plot of land in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, which hopes the city will help it compete with top global financial centers like Singapore and Dubai.

The lot of land now consists of just two to three buildings, a few schools and a data center, which will soon be newly constructed into a four to​wer world trade center complex. It is hoped to soon become India's hub for investors from across the globe. “Except for the fact that we are not sitting in Singapore and Gujarat International Finance Tec-city (GIFT) is not Singapore, I think from a business perspective we have everything that is required,” Ajay Pandey, the city’s CEO, told CNN.

Foreign direct investment in India is a major driver for economic growth in the country. Foreign companies are attracted to the Indian markets because of the lower wages, better availability of resources, tax breaks, etc.

Modi came into power in 2014 at a time when India's economy was beset with high inflation and corruption. He later introduced policy steps like the unified goods and services tax, demonitization of high-value notes, and boosted the startup eco-system in order to entice foreign investors to make major investments in the country. Simplyfying the tax regime and demonetizing high-value notes and pushing the country into the digital economy were the bold steps that helped the economy.

"Ultimately GIFT metropolis ought to turn out to be a automobile or a spot for individuals from throughout India, like Hong Kong has acted for China within the final 30 or 40 years,” said Bombay Inventory Change CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan to CNN. "We expect the India INX will present a platform to corporates and traders from overseas to fulfill, commerce and spend money on the expansion story of India,” he added.

The GIFT city is just 20 minutes drive away from the Ahmedabad airport, giving it the connectivity to galvanize business activity. There has already been a $2 billion infusion of actual property funding and Pandey, the city's CEO, expects that to go up to $11 billion.