The Reserve Bank of India on Thrusday ruled out any concessional finance to developers and units in these zones, saying they should be treated on par with real estate projects.\n
The commerce ministry on Wednesday reiterated that the three notified special economic zones in Goa could not be scrapped by the Centre. It added that the issue had to be sorted between the state government and developers of the zones. Even as the Goa government has raised the issue of scrapping three notified special economic zones with the Centre, the state administration has till date not sent any formal communication to the SEZs in this regard.
Real estate companies are rushing in on the opportunities galore around the two SEZs promoted by Reliance Industries.
The Centre cannot de-notify three special economic zones that have been notified in Goa, but can cancel others following the state government's decision to scrap such zones, Commerce Secretary Gopal Pillai said on Wednesday.
There are four nodes and each of these, like Dronagiri, is also formally termed an SEZ, all part of the NMSEZ.
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.
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 decision regarding this was taken by the Board of Approval in its meeting on September 18.
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.
It is also stipulated that these units cannot under any circumstances source items locally for export purpose.
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.
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.
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
'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 market capitalisation of Adani Group companies rose by nearly Rs 73,000 crore on Monday as investors lapped up shares of the power-to-port conglomerate after BJP's electoral wins in three states, spurring hopes of regime continuity at the Centre. The Gautam Adani group's market map once again neared the Rs 12-trillion mark, following sharp gains made over the past week. "Two big overhangs for the Adani Group have receded somewhat following the state election results, there is more certainty that the BJP will win a third time next year.
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.
The Rajasthan police early on Friday removed the widows of the three CRPF jawans killed in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack from the protest site outside Congress leader Sachin Pilot's house here and shifted them to hospitals near their respective residential areas.
Faced by criticism on its special economic zone policy, the government is preparing guidelines for acquisition of land from farmers for setting up SEZs.
The government on Friday said any freeze on number of Special Economic Zones would not be feasible given the country's demographic reality.
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 Thursday tweaked curbs on imports of laptops and computers as it allowed importers to bring in shipments of IT hardware from overseas on a mere 'authorisation' upon detailing quantity and value. The new 'import management system' is aimed at monitoring shipments of laptops, tablets and computers into the country without hurting market supply or creating a cumbersome licensing regime. The announcement is likely to provide relief to companies in the IT hardware segment in India as they had flagged concerns over the imposition of a strict licensing regime for importers.
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.
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.
The government has also ruled out the need for an amendment to the SEZ Act, as was demanded by Left parties.
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.
Commerce ministry has written to finance ministry to retain all the fiscal incentives for the special economic zones in the new direct tax code.
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.
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.
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