Replying to supplementaries to a host of questions on SEZs in Rajya Sabha, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said special economic zones have become important engines of economic growth. The minister's reply triggered angry reactions from Left, BJP and some Congress members, who claimed that SEZs have become real estate business as norms are being violated and sought a special discussion on the matter.
Unaffected by controversies, global financial market heavyweight Soros group, has approached the Indian government, expressing interest to invest in special economic zones in India.
Reliance Industries Limited has chalked out a novel scheme to compensate and rehabilitate the displaced people from Special Economic Zone areas the company is developing.
There are four nodes and each of these, like Dronagiri, is also formally termed an SEZ, all part of the NMSEZ.
India continues to be an attractive foreign direct investment destination to foreign investors despite controversies over special economic zones, a global investments expert said in New Delhi.
A Parliamentary Committee has pulled up the government for going ahead with approvals for more Special Economic Zones without waiting for its report on the subject.
The rehabilitation policy, which is being currently formulated by the Ministry of Rural Development, is unlikely to affect the special economic zones already approved by the government.
The Act is criticised as an imperial legislation, lacking ameliorative measures for the deprived, with obsolete benchmarks for determining compensation.
G K Pillai, chairman of India's Board of Approval for SEZs, demystifies SEZs and the controversy surrounding them.
The Mayawati-led Uttar Pradesh Cabinet decided to refer the 1,200-acre SEZ proposal to New Delhi as it violated the contiguity norms laid down by it.
The government has put the brakes on fresh approval and notification of zones beyond the 63 already notified.
Even as the SEZ Board of Approval meeting, held in New Delhi on Thursday, deferred taking a decision on Essar's request to link its steel-based zone at Hazira
The decision regarding this was taken by the Board of Approval in its meeting on September 18.
It is also stipulated that these units cannot under any circumstances source items locally for export purpose.
Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Essar were among 17 aspirants, who were granted in-principle approval by the government on Monday for setting up Special Economic Zones.
Created to develop special economic zones in the northern state, Reliance Haryana SEZ Ltd is a joint venture between Reliance Ventures Ltd, an RIL subsidiary, and Haryana State Industrial Investment Development Corporation.
Faced by criticism on its special economic zone policy, the government is preparing guidelines for acquisition of land from farmers for setting up SEZs.
'We have discontinued or replaced certain contractual staff, total number not exceeding double digits, in the north India operations involved in activities under the discretionary cost head,' a Reliance Industries spokesperson said in reply to an e-mailed query sent by Business Standard. According to some employees, who claimed to have been retrenched, the number of laid-off people is much higher. However, the company denies this.
The government on Friday said any freeze on number of Special Economic Zones would not be feasible given the country's demographic reality.
The government has also ruled out the need for an amendment to the SEZ Act, as was demanded by Left parties.
In 2008-09, SEZ exports grew 10 times as fast as overall exports - this year, they've risen while overall exports fell, says Aradhana Aggarwal.
The government on Tuesday cleared nine fresh proposals for setting up special economic zones, most of which are related to IT and ITES, followed by the bio-technology sector.
Speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of the ground breaking ceremony of the Chennai-based Sri City's SEZ in Tada, in Andhra Pradesh, last week, Singhal said SEZs in the country have so far generated over 300,000 jobs, adding once all the 462 zones start functioning, they are expected to create 4 million jobs.
The Commerce Ministry on Friday proposed revamp of the SEZ policy to address issues concerning land acquisition and boost exports with a view to bridge the widening trade deficit.
Commerce ministry has written to finance ministry to retain all the fiscal incentives for the special economic zones in the new direct tax code.
The Raigad District Collector had last month issued a notice asking the landowners in the 22 project-affected villages in the district to record their statement regarding their consent for the land acquisition. The petition says that this move is a result of the pressure from local politicians for opposing the SEZ.
Real estate developer K Raheja Universal Private Ltd wants to scrap one of their notified special economic zones and also surrender a part of another zone, citing lack of demand from the information technology sector.
With an aim of roping in a strategic partner for its Haryana SEZ project, corporate giant Reliance Industries is believed to be in talks with IL&FS and a couple of other players for part-sale of its stake.
The Board of approval had given more time for Raheja's to develop their project in the state. The project is one amongst the three SEZs recommended to be denotified by the state government. Goa's Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik said he would meet new Union Commerce ministry Anand Sharma and brief him on the issue.
The zones will be required to register themselves with www.sezindia.nic.in. Currently, developers have to send SEZ-related applications to the Department of Commerce, after which the inter-ministerial Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Gopal K Pillai, takes a call on them.
"We are confident that the status quo will be there...the issue has been taken up at the highest level," additional secretary in the Commerce Ministry D K Mittal said.
Development commissioners have been asked to forward proposals regarding SEZs along with their comments at the earliest so that they could be deliberated over at the meeting, it said.
"We will learn from their experiences of becoming crorepatis," he said. Kalbhairva also intends to talk to financial institutions for assistance and is even planning an initial public offer.
Nandigram remained in headlines throughout the year despite the West Bengal government cancelling the SEZ project of Indonesia's Salem Group in January following violence and political pressure on Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
