Dusty Roads To Fast Lanes: How Car Plant Wheeled In Change

Ahmedabad/Vadodara: Two independent studies by the Institute of Rural Management Studies (IRMA), Anand, and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) revealed a sweeping change in the once backward Becharaji-Mandal region. The economic impact of Japanese car behemoth Suzuki Motors Gujarat (SMG) alone was a staggering Rs 2.26 lakh crore.
Since 2014, the cumulative investment by SMG, TDSG (India's first lithium-ion battery manufacturer), and auto ancillary units in the region was Rs 61,000 crore, sources said.

The micro village-to-village IRMA study revealed that close to 2 lakh people socially and economically benefited within a radius of 30km of the plant due to a massive spurt in construction, hotels, catering businesses, restaurants, travel, retail, housing, and educational activities.
In the on-field study that spanned 10 months, IRMA found a seven-fold rise in shops and commercial units in the region that covers Mehsana, Ahmedabad, and Surendranagar districts, with a population of 45,517. IRMA Professor Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan said the study covered 18 villages in the three districts, which are directly or indirectly impacted, and the overall 323 villages located within a 30-km radius of the plant.
Before 2017, when the Becharaji plant was established, there were 622 shops and commercial units in the region, which have now increased to 4,254 in the villages, the highway, and the market area in the plant vicinity. The number of rickshaws, mostly driven by locals and migrants, shot up to 419 from 57. The study deployed ‘HEALS' – health, education, assets, livelihood, and standard of living – framework to analyse the data collected from the population.
Lifeless farms now lively hotels
Ahmedabad: With economic activities spiralling in the region, the North Gujarat belt has generated entrepreneurial activities. During the survey, IRMA documented a new business venture of creating and renting out parking space for trucks. Similarly, villagers are now renting out their space to build dormitories and earning through rents.
"We came across a scrap dealer, Himmat Chavda, in Mera village whose earnings increased from Rs 5,000 per month to Rs 45,000 per month. Similarly, a home-based food and snacks enterprise owner, Amit Prajapati, in Shankhalpur saw a four-fold rise in its income from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 per month," said Nathan.
Eerie nights now dazzle with business
Ahmedabad: The macro study by IIMA, which also used the World Bank-approved luminosity analysis, shows an estimated 7,54,510 direct employment opportunities created by SMG. "The overall economic impact covering the value generated through manufacturing, supply chain activities, ancillary industries, and improved livelihoods is pegged at Rs 2.26 lakh crore. To independently validate the growth, the IIMA used luminosity analysis that links night-time light intensity to economic activity, which showed a 775% increase in night-time brightness around the Hansalpur facility over the past decade, indicating sustained industrial growth.
"Industries are the key drivers of economic growth. Establishing the Suzuki factory in the Mandal-Becharaji region was one such driver. The region metamorphosed from a sleepy village to an industrial hub of Gujarat, with the factory being the growth fulcrum. A large number of interviews we conducted confirmed the impact at an individual level as well," said Dr Amit Karna of IIMA.