The government has approved a Rs 675 crore (Rs 6.75 Special Economic Zone by Finnish telecom major Nokia near Chennai.
Seeking a faster roadmap for Special Economic Zones, Minister of Commerce and Industry Arun Jaitely said on Wednesday that the process of getting the zones ready should not face roadblocks.\n\n\n\n
The Empowered Group of Ministers to examine the minimum area required for setting up Special Economic Zones is likely to hold its first meeting on Wednesday.
Diversified group Mahindra and Mahindra will set up its third Special Economic Zone at Pune, which is likely to see investments of Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion).
Close on the heels of announcing sops for special economic zones, the government on Friday assured exporters that it will take more steps to enable them to compete globally.
The finance ministry on Friday said revenue loss on account of fiscal sops to Special Economic Zones is estimated to be Rs 1,02,621 crore.
Ensuring health insurance for all workers would be major challenge for the industry that is already grappling with cash crunch, and the government should have borne the cost.
The freeze on special economic zones may go in the next 10 days, with the empowered group of ministers expected to give its nod to proposals that show land has already been tied up.
The government has said it will examine proposals for the simplification of procedures for export oriented units and special economic zones in a time-bound manner.
The commerce ministry has projected Rs 21,631.94 crore (Rs 216.31 billion) worth of exports from the 63 special economic zones, which have been notified since February 2006. Till date, Rs 13,435 crore (Rs 134.35 billion) has been invested in them.
The government will treat sales from domestic tariff area to Special Economic Zones as exports in a bid to attract more foreign direct investment, which could turn out to be an engine of growth.
The government will come up with a legislation, which will have a fiscal package, including a 20-year income tax holiday for special economic zones, by December end, a top government official said on Tuesday.
