Vadodara enjoys a special place in the state of Gujarat. Till the early 1960′s Vadodara was considered to be a cultural and educational centre. The first modern factory (Alembic Pharmaceuticals) was established in vadodara 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, Vadodara 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 Vadodara becoming one of India’s foremost industrial centres.

The discovey of oil and gas in Ankleshwar and North Gujarat led to the industrial development of Gujarat in a big way. The Vadodara region is the largest beneficiary in the process of this industrialisation. Gujarat Refinery went into the first phase of production in 1965. The refinery being a basic industry made vital contributions on several fronts at the regional and national levels.

In Vadodara various large-scale industries such as Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals, Indian Petrochemicals corporation Limited and Gajarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited have come up in the vicinity of Gujarat Refinery and all of them are dependent on it for their fuel and feedstock. Other largest-scale public sector units are Heavy Water Project and Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited. In addition to these public sector enterprises. A number of other large-scale enterprises have come up in the private sector. The products of these industries have wide applications in various sectors of the Indian Economy.

The industrialization of Vadodara has attracted entrepreneurs not only from other parts of Gujarat but also from all over India. A large number of the entrepreneurs come with sound business backgrounds and level of education and technical skills is exceptionally high.