Industry & Commerce Baroda enjoys a special place in the state of Gujarat. Till the early 1960’s Baroda was considered to be a cultural and educational centre. The first modern factory (Alembic Pharmaceuticals) was established in Baroda in 1907 and subsequently companies such as Sarabhai Chemicals, Jyoti, etc., came up in the 1940s. By 1962 there were 288 factories employing 27510 workers. At that time, the dominant industrial groups were chemicals and pharmaceuticals, cotton textiles and machine tools. In 1962, Baroda witnessed a sudden spurt in industrial activity with the establishment of Gujarat Refinery. Several factors like raw material availability, product demand, skillful mobilisation of human, financial and material resources by the government and private entrepreneurs have contributed to Baroda becoming one of India’s foremost industrial centres. The discovery of oil and gas in Ankleshwar and North Gujarat led to the

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