Gwalior's bid to become a telecom manufacturing hub took a concrete step forward as Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia toured the proposed site for the Telecom Manufacturing Zone at Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Counter Magnet City, accompanied by the Department of Telecommunications Secretary and other officials.
Originally developed as a Counter Magnet City meant to ease pressure on Delhi, the site is now being repurposed to host Asia's first dedicated telecom manufacturing cluster, according to an official release.
Scindia described the zone as a full industrial ecosystem, comprising 24-25 manufacturing units spanning six key verticals of telecom production, rather than a single facility, with the project expected to pull in Rs 5,500 crore in investment and create over 18,000 jobs.
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Land Demand Already Outstripping Supply
The zone's first phase has been mapped across roughly 170 acres, split between over 90 acres in SADA and more than 70 acres in the adjoining IT Park. Scindia said applicant interest has already outpaced this allocation, prompting officials to look at securing additional land to expand the first phase further.
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From MoU To Formal Applications
The project's roots go back to a July memorandum of understanding between the Department of Telecommunications and Madhya Pradesh's government under Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. That was followed by investor roadshows in August, jointly led by Scindia and Yadav, first in Delhi, which secured around Rs 3,500 crore in commitments with the potential for roughly 14,000 jobs, and then in Mumbai on August 4, which brought in about Rs 2,000 crore in pledges and an estimated 4,000 jobs.
Scindia was careful to note these weren't just verbal assurances, pointing out that interested firms had to formally apply during the land allocation stage, a process that has since produced applications from 24 companies.
Incentives And Infrastructure Sweeten The Pitch
Backing the push is an incentive package from the Madhya Pradesh government covering land lease, power, employment and production, along with sustainability-linked benefits, plus a separate Common Testing Lab proposed by the Centre at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore.
Scindia also pointed to Gwalior's improving connectivity as a draw for investors: the roughly 120-km Agra-Gwalior High-Speed Corridor now linking the city to Delhi and northern markets, its position on major rail routes, and an airport built for about Rs 650 crore in just 16 months, now connecting Gwalior with Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. He added that the city's roughly 25,000 annual engineering graduates give it a ready talent pool for the sector.
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Scindia said the project carries forward the industrial legacy behind Gwalior's original Counter Magnet City vision, with both central and state governments fully geared up to support incoming investors. He's set to continue the push with a roadshow in Bengaluru on September 22.
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