Gujarat will begin geo-tagging and mapping manufacturing MSME units across the state in an attempt to create a more precise digital picture of where small industries are located and what infrastructure they need.
The exercise is being carried out under the Centre’s Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance, or RAMP, scheme and will eventually feed MSME location data into the PM Gati Shakti planning platform. Gujarat Info Petro Limited has been tasked with implementing the field-level mapping.
The government says the database will be used for infrastructure planning, policy decisions and more targeted implementation of schemes for micro, small and medium enterprises.
Proposal for Conducting Cyber Crisis Drill, Tabletop Exercise (TTEx) & CCMP Readiness Exercise
MSME units will be physically geo-tagged
The project will not rely only on existing registration records.
Authorised representatives of Gujarat Info Petro Limited will visit manufacturing MSME units, verify information and geo-tag their locations. Businesses have been asked to cooperate with the field teams and provide the information required for the mapping exercise.
Geo-tagging means attaching an exact geographical location to a business record.
For policymakers, that makes a major difference.
A spreadsheet may show that thousands of manufacturers operate in a district, but GIS mapping can show whether those units are concentrated around a particular highway, industrial estate, port, power corridor or logistics bottleneck.
That makes the data more useful when governments decide where roads, utilities, waste-treatment facilities or other industrial infrastructure should be improved.
Data will be linked with PM Gati Shakti
One of the main objectives is to integrate MSME information with the PM Gati Shakti platform.
Gati Shakti is a government planning system that brings different infrastructure datasets together on a common digital map.
By adding MSME locations to that system, planners can compare industrial clusters with roads, rail lines, ports, logistics networks and other infrastructure.
The Ministry of MSME’s RAMP portal confirms that “mapping MSME clusters with PM Gati Shakti” is one of the projects approved for Gujarat under the scheme. The state has more than 33.16 lakh operational MSME units, according to the portal.
Gujarat signed its RAMP Letter of Undertaking with the Union MSME Ministry in September 2022 and later submitted its Strategic Investment Plan. Projects worth ₹117.65 crore were approved for the state under the programme.
Mapping could reveal where infrastructure is falling behind
The larger RAMP plan goes beyond plotting factories on a map.
Gujarat’s approved strategy envisages mapping 186 MSME clusters and comparing them with infrastructure availability.
The framework is designed to identify factors such as proximity to raw materials, access to markets, connectivity and facilities for waste and effluent treatment.
The aim is to identify both strong industrial clusters and places where businesses are being held back by infrastructure gaps.
For example, a cluster may have dozens of manufacturers but poor last-mile road access.
Another may have good transport connections but inadequate common treatment facilities for industrial waste.
Once those gaps appear on the same geographical platform as the businesses themselves, funding can theoretically be directed more precisely.
Gujarat wants policy based on location, not just registration numbers
Gujarat already has one of India’s largest MSME bases.
Financial Express reported recently that more than 33 lakh MSMEs are registered in the state and that banks disbursed around ₹3.79 lakh crore to the sector during 2025-26.
But registration numbers alone provide limited information about how industries are distributed.
Two districts may have similar numbers of MSMEs but very different requirements depending on the type of manufacturing, distance from markets and existing infrastructure.
GIS mapping is intended to add that missing geographical layer.
The state says the resulting database will support more effective implementation of government schemes and allow need-based assistance to be directed towards specific industrial areas.
Field verification will determine how useful the database becomes
The project’s success will depend heavily on the quality of the underlying information.
MSME databases can contain businesses that have shifted location, changed activity or stopped operating.
That is why the physical verification element matters.
GIPL representatives are expected to visit units and confirm information rather than simply plotting old registration addresses.
If maintained properly, the database could also help the government understand how industrial clusters evolve over time.
But if location and business information is not regularly updated, a GIS platform can quickly become another outdated government database.
The current project therefore has value not simply because Gujarat is putting MSMEs on a digital map, but because it is trying to connect verified business locations with infrastructure and policy planning.
What this means for you
For Gujarat MSMEs, authorised GIPL representatives may visit units to verify information and geo-tag their locations. Businesses should verify the identity of visiting officials and provide only the information formally required for the government mapping exercise.
The420 Insight
The real value of this project will not come from the map itself. It will come from whether Gujarat uses that map to identify practical gaps — bad roads, weak logistics, inadequate utilities or missing common facilities — and then directs infrastructure spending to the MSME clusters that actually need it.
Follow for daily updates on cybercrime, corporate fraud, DFIR, hacking, investigations, and digital forensics
