Economy of Rajkot District of Gujarat is primarily based on manufacturing and service sector. About 42 percent of workers are engaged in service activities and 34 percent in manufacturing activities.
Manufacturing activities are concentrated in two main industrial estates, Aji and Bhaktinagar. The current drift of industrial expansion in the district is towards the Engineering and Auto ancillary sector. In this sector, diesel engine is the most important business with around one hundred and five manufacturing units operational in the district. The district also has a variety of manufacturing units for machine tools, metallurgical industries, industrial equipments, electronics, lathe machines, engineering and auto ancillary sector.
Small and medium industries are subjugated by foundries, engineering and automobile works, handicrafts, spices, textile related units gold and silver jewellery, medicines, and wall clocks. Jetpur taluka of the district is well-known for dyeing and printing business and Paddhari taluka for ginning and pressing business in the entire State. Rajkot district is the leading producer of cotton in the State. It is the second largest producer for oil seeds with groundnut being the most important oil seed. Main fruits produced in the district include mango, chikoo, citrus and papaya. Rajkot is the second major producer of onions and spices in the state of Gujarat. Garlic and cumin are main spice crops in the district with 27 percent share to the total production.
Rajkot district is affluent in minerals such as fireclay, chalk, perlite and limestone. Rajkot taluka is the largest producer of fireclay in the district. Due to profuse availability of fireclay in the district, firebricks and ceramic related industries (crockery) businesses have developed in Wankaner and Morbi talukas. In India, perlite used for horticulture and construction applications only occurs in Rajkot district. Other minerals available in the district comprise black trap, silica sand, brick sand, calcite and red clay. There are approximately seventy three medium scale and large scale industrial units in Rajkot. Majority of the industries are concentrated in Rajkot, Morbi and Kotda Sanghani talukas of the district. The industrial units are present across engineering, forging, casting, solvent plants, ceramics, paper, milk products, and electronics and pharmaceuticals sectors.
There are more than 30,463 small scale industries working in Rajkot district. Major industries comprise machinery, glass, textiles, food products and ceramics, and metal products. Maximum numbers of SSI units (5,283 Units) belong to machineries followed by textiles (4,389 Units). Rajkot is one of the biggest centers for engineering industry. Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for engineering sector is planned in the district, which will further enhance the development of engineering sector as well as increase the industrial output and exports of the district. Growth in real estate in Rajkot is quite rapid due to the large investments made by top realty players in projects such as development of commercial complexes, townships, group housing, and IT Parks. This will increase the investments and employment opportunities in the infrastructure sector as well.
The State Government has identified different industrial clusters to fuel the industrial expansion in the district. Most important industries identified are engineering (diesel engine, machine tools, and electric motors, casting and forging), gems and jewellery, ceramics and floor tiles, textiles, ginning and oxidised metals. Development of these clusters will lead to industrial growth in the district. The district has enormous reserves of minerals, in particular fireclay which has led to the development of specific industries such as fire bricks and ceramics.
