State government working on building Furniture Park in Porbandar: Gujarat Minister for Forests, Environment, Climate Change
October 08, 2026
Mr Arjunbhai Modhwadia, Cabinet Minister for Forests and Environment, Climate Change, Science & Technology, Govt of Gujarat today while addressing FICCI’s ‘Viksit Bharat Furniture Conclave 2026’, said that India is transforming itself from rural-based economy to urban-based economy and urbanization is happening at fast pace. “The demand for furniture is growing at rapid pace, and the furniture industry is also transforming. There is a vast scope of the furniture manufacturers,” he added.
Speaking on the theme of the conference ‘Building a Globally Competitive Furniture Manufacturing Ecosystem for Viksit Bharat’, the Minister stated that under the Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy 2026, the state government is working on building a Furniture Park in Porbandar. The park will also have features under the government of India’s BHAVYA Scheme which is launched with a financial outlay of Rs 33,660 crore to develop 100 world-class, plug-and-play industrial parks across India.
“Around 200-acre land is identified for the furniture park and we have additional 800-acre land available,” he highlighted.
Inviting industry to invest in the state, Mr Modhwadia stated that around 42 per cent of India’s port logistics is handled by the seaport in Gujarat. The state government is focusing on enhancing capacity of industrial training institutes to meet the demand of skilled labour including the proposed furniture park. “We have almost 300 industrial training institutes and skilled labour will be available to meet the manufacturing demands,” he added.
Mr Rudra Chatterjee, Chair, FICCI Furniture Committee & Chairman, Obeetee said that the furniture industry can make a huge difference to Viksit Bharat. “By 2047, with a population of 1.4 billion, India should be the world's largest consumer of furniture, and we should also aim to become the largest exporter of furniture in the world,” he added.
Mr Andre Eckholt, Co-Chair, FICCI Furniture Committee and MD, Hettich India said that as India progresses towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, the furniture industry has a tremendous opportunity to become a globally recognized manufacturing powerhouse.
Mr Jens Ekwall, Co-Chair, FICCI Furniture Committee and Regulatory Affairs Manager – Range Operations & Sr Director, IKEA Sweden said that our focus should always be on the end user, the one who ultimately uses the product. “We can then make the product more relevant to their needs through thoughtful design and an efficient supply chain,” he added.
Ms Jyoti Vij, Director General, FICCI said that India possesses all the ingredients required to emerge as a global furniture powerhouse with a large domestic market, growing middle class, expanding urbanization, strong artisan heritage, entrepreneurial MSMEs, and a young workforce.
The conclave brought together leading industry stakeholders, including Mr. Dhiren Gopal, Director, Featherlite Group; Mr. Madhusudan Lohia, Director, Merino Group; Mr. Virendra Singh Ranawat, Co-Founder & CEO, Wooden Street; Mr. Kunal Giani, Managing Director, Sarva Foams; Mr. Venkataramana Gorti, Managing Director, Stanley Lifestyles; Ms. Linn Roslund, MD, Supply Area South Asia, Inter IKEA Group; Mr. Tarun Goel, Founder & Managing Director, Omega QMS; and Mr. Khagesh Kaushal, Vice President, Supply Chain & Procurement, Livspace.
Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh were the focus states at the Conclave.
During the event, FICCI-OMEGA QMS Furniture QCO Handbook was released. This handbook has been developed to help industry stakeholders better understand the requirements and navigate the certification process with greater clarity and preparedness.