Gujarat accelerates work on the eight-year-old project billed as India’s first global financial services centre—a potential rival to Dubai, ...

Late last month, BSE Ltd, which runs Asia’s oldest stock exchange in Mumbai, said it will set up an international exchange at GIFT City.

Estimated investment: Rs.150 crore.

Around the same time, the BSE Brokers’ Forum, an association of brokers who trade on the exchange and hold almost 40% equity in it, said it will set up its back-office operations at the financial enclave, at a cost of Rs.200 crore.

Then, again, GIFT, whose first phase is due to be completed by 2016, recently found a place in KPMG International’s Infrastructure 100: World Markets Report. This report highlights key trends driving infrastructure investment across the globe.

“The US$20-billion mega GIFT City project combines state-of-the-art connectivity, infrastructure and transportation with sustainable, environmentally-sensitive growth. Although only two of the planned buildings have been constructed, new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi backs the initiative, which is designed to change the way India thinks about contemporary urban planning,” the report says.

Well, that’s not all.

In the last year or so, several banks have picked up small chunks of land at the project site. These include State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender; ICICI Bank Ltd and HDFC Bank Ltd, India’s largest and second largest private sector banks by assets; and Yes Bank Ltd, the country’s youngest lender.

Needless to say, thanks to this sudden, peaking interest, R.K. Jha, 68, finds himself a relieved man.

The managing director of GIFT, Jha, who’s been around with the project from Day One, says it has finally taken off. So much so that the first phase is sold out.

Now, all of this brings us to a simple question; what gives? 

Well, Narendra Modi.