Suratruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Diamond cutting & polishing
Kiran Gems, Hari Krishna Exports, Shree Ramkrishna Exports, Dharmanandan Diamonds
Around ninety per cent of the world's diamonds are cut and polished here. The Surat Diamond Bourse at Khajod — Guinness-recognised in 2023 as the world's largest office building by floor area, bigger than the Pentagon — was built to bring 4,500 of those firms under one roof.
Textiles & man-made fabric
Garden Silk, Laxmipati, Ashish Fabrics, the Ring Road markets
India's man-made fabric capital, producing a very large share of the country's synthetic cloth from the power-loom belts at Pandesara, Sachin and Udhna. The wholesale markets around Ring Road are where much of India's clothing is actually traded.
Chemicals, petrochemicals & energy
ONGC Hazira, Reliance Hazira, Shell, Essar, Gujarat Gas
The Hazira industrial belt on the coast west of the city carries gas processing, petrochemicals and one of India's largest private port complexes — a completely different economy from the diamond and textile trades in town.
Steel & heavy engineering
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Hazira, L&T Hazira, Kribhco
The Hazira steel complex is among India's largest integrated plants, and L&T's Hazira works build heavy engineering and defence hardware for national programmes.
Jewellery manufacturing & trade
Surat Diamond Bourse tenants, SEZ units at SEEPZ-style parks, Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council members
The city has been pushing up the value chain from polishing into finished jewellery and lab-grown stones, which is where most of the recent growth and most of the recent volatility have been.
Logistics, aviation & construction
Surat International Airport, Adani Hazira Port, DREAM City, Surat Metro (under construction)
The airport gained international status in 2020 and DREAM City around the Diamond Bourse is a planned district in its own right. Surat is one of India's fastest-growing large cities and a great deal of the employment is in building it.
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