The Centre has asked the Maharashtra government to reduce the size of the Reliance Industries-promoted Mahamumbai SEZ as it involves acquisition of over 10,000 hectares of land.
Country's largest gold importer MMTC Ltd has decided to join the SEZ bandwagon by setting up a gems and jewellery park in joint venture with a private player in the tax-free enclave.
'The larger story of systematic destruction, which can and has been quantified, goes mysteriously missing from any political and/or public discourse about the ongoing devastation in the Ghats,' notes Prem Panicker.
The next six months may see the Centre notifying 100 special economic zones.
Moser Baer said on Thursday it has sought an additional 25 acres of land to expand its upcoming special economic zone, which is expected to be operational by the end of this year.
New applicants for Special Economic Zones (SEZ) would have to wait for up to a year before their cases are considered by the Board of Approvals (BoA).
DFC is the US government's development finance institution. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) in a statement said that the US fund will support the development of deepwater shipping container terminal in the Port of Colombo.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday the economy was expected to grow by over nine per cent during 2006-07.
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.
Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) are likely to touch Rs 2 lakh crore in 2009-10, a 100 per cent jump from the year-ago period, with Reliance Industries' Jamnagar special economic zone expected to contribute the most to the kitty.
An announcement to this effect could be made in the Budget scheduled to be unveiled by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha on July 6. The decision to permit SEZ developers to raise ECBs, sources said, would promote development of the special economic zones, besides helping the government in arresting decline in the foreign exchange reserves.
Punjab government has approved Anil Ambani Group's Rs 5,000-crore (Rs 50 billion) multi-product special economic zone in the state.
All the three tax-free enclaves were given formal approval, which would have lapsed by end of this month. While the ministry granted extension of time 'on file', the decision has to be ratified by the inter-ministerial Board of Approval which is meeting here on June 17.
The board of approval, headed by commerce secretary G K Pillai, will also consider requests from realty major DLF for de-notification of its IT-ITeS SEZs in Gujarat, Haryana, West Bengal and Orissa. Larsen and Toubro has proposed to set up an IT SEZ in Mumbai, while Gulf Oil Corporation has moved application for a similar tax-free zone in Bangalore.
Mumbai-based Zoom Developers, engaged in diversified businesses including real estate, plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) in the next three years to construct a 100 hectare IT-ITeS special economic zone at Indore.
The commerce ministry is proposing a host of direct and indirect incentives such as deferral of import duties and exemption from export taxes to revamp Special Economic Zones through a new legislation, an official said. In the Union Budget this year, the government proposed to replace the existing law governing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) with a new legislation to enable states to become partners in 'Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs' (DESH). The official said the commerce ministry has sought views of different ministries, including finance, on the new bill.
Reeling under a cash crunch, the country's largest real estate player, DLF, has approached the government on surrendering its (DLF's) five of the nine IT-ITeS notified special economic zones (SEZ).
Real estate and hotels major Royal Palms will invest around Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) to set up an IT/ITeS special economic zone in Mumbai that would be ready for occupation by end of next year.
However, the central bank is yet to implement the government directive, which was issued after a decision of the empowered Group of Ministers, director general of the export promotion council for EOUs and SEZs L B Singhal said at an Assocham function in Chennai.
Outward shipments from the government-owned SEZ in Kandla, Santacruz, Noida, Madras, Cochin, Falta and Vishakhapatnam grew by 16 per cent to Rs 45,777 crore (Rs 457.77 billion) in the last fiscal from Rs 39,275 crore (Rs 392.75 billion) in the previous year, the outcome Budget of the ministry of commerce said.
However, the board of approval in the commerce ministry asked the DLF to return all the tax sops it had taken from the Centre before its SEZs in Gujarat, West Bengal, Orissa and Haryana could be denotified. The BoA, headed by commerce secretary G K Pillai, also allowed more time to the K Raheja group to build its tax-free zones in Goa, Hyderabad and Navi Mumbai, an official said.
The government has issued fresh guidelines allowing a power plant the fiscal exemptions of the Special Economic Zone if it is set up in the 'processing' area of the tax-free zone.
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.
Infosys Technologies plans to set up five SEZ in Tier II cities -- Mysore, Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram.
Farmers will finally have a right to decide if their land can be acquired or not for special economic zones in Maharashtra.
The finance ministry on Monday defended the budget proposal on a sun set clause for tax sops to special economic zones, saying it is a normal practice in any kind of fiscal concessions.
The eGoM, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is likely to take up issues including demand from developers to revise the 5,000 hectare land ceiling for one SEZ.
This decision will come as a relief to Essar's multi-product port-based SEZ project in Hazira as well as of Adani Group's zone in Mundra, which the revenue department felt was not built on vacant land when it was notified, and hence it had violated the law. Both the zones are in Gujarat.
TCS is also seeking more time for setting up a unit in Mihan special economic zone at Nagpur in Maharashtra.
Gujarat may have missed the IT/ITES bus earlier, but the two upcoming IT/ITES SEZs by K Raheja Corp and DLF are all set to drive the growth of the industry here. As many as 50 companies are likely to set up shops in the two parks coming up in Gandhinagar.
The government on Monday proposed to levy Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) of 18.5 per cent on the book profits of Special Economic Zone developers and units, which was termed as a 'setback' by the players.
During April-December 2009-10, exports from special economic zones stood at Rs 1,51,785 crore (Rs 1,517.85 billion).
The West Bengal government on Thursday said it has received applications for 21 SEZs in the IT sector, of which six were in the final stage of approval. A SEZ set up by Wipro was already functioning in the state, while the other six can take up construction soon. A wireless technology research centre was being set up at Calcutta University. Commenting on WB's progress, State IT Minister Debesh Das said starting IT in 1999-2000 by 2005-06 the state witnessed 17-fold increase.
The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act of 2005, which completed two years on February 10, 2008, has facilitated a 200 per cent rise in exports from these zones during the period, and has led to an incremental investment of Rs 70,416 crore (Rs 704.16 billion).
