The Union Cabinet will soon consider a comprehensive Special Economic Zones Bill, which would lay down guidelines for their development, operation and management.
The government may look at relaxing 5,000 hectare-ceiling on land for Special Economic Zones once the the Land Acquisition Act is in place, commerce secretary G K Pillai said on Monday. "Now that the new Relief & Rehabilitation policy has come into being, the government may think of relaxing the upper limit of 5,000 hectares for SEZs (once the land acquisition law is enacted), he said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit.
Three special economic zones promoted by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and his close aide Anand Jain in the same area have been listed for clearance on Friday.
The government on Wednesday granted approval to Nokia, Wipro, Hewlett Packard, Reliance, Biocon, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Mahindra and Mahindra, Reliance energy and Adani Group's to set up Special Economic zones.
Sources close to the development said RIL, which was planning two adjacent economic zones in the coastal district of Raigarh in Maharashtra, is looking to set up three special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to develop the various components of the project.
BoA has given formal approval to 15 special economic zones, including those of TCS and Cognizant, and in-principle nod to five, Commerce Secretary and BoA Chairman G K Pillai told reporters after the meeting in New Delhi.
While announcing the launch of Estancia three months ago, the promoters had said they would earmark about Rs 600 crore to develop an IT park inside Estancia.
The government on Friday the proposals of telecom giants Motorola and Foxconn, and Singapore-based reality major Ascendas to join as partners in the Special Economic Zones coming up near Chennai.
Senior officials from different ministries, including finance, home affairs and defence, would be attending the meeting. The last BOA held on August 11 had allowed Maytas Ventures, promoted by the disgraced former Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju's son, to surrender its biotech SEZ and approved three new proposals, including that of Brooke Bond Real Estates IT/ITES tax-free enclave in Karnataka.
Rentals for commercial complexes fell sharply and the land, developers felt, could be employed for other purposes.
SEZ developers have been facing problems in setting up their projects as they have to take permissions from state authorities for master plan and environment at different levels.
Genpact, a leading BPO player, on Wednesday announced its expansion plans in Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar and Jaipur.
The Mumbai SEZ had sought the stay on the grounds that if the acquisition is not completed by June 8, the entire process will lapse under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
The government on Wednesday assured domestic and global auto companies all help such as granting SEZ status and a re-look at tax structure for setting up testing centres and manufacturing plants in a bid to make India the automotive hub of the world.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd on Thursday announced its plans to set up a special economic zone at Jaipur entailing an investment of $2 billion.
The proposed legislation on special economic zones would give a big boost to the inflow of foreign direct investment in the country, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said in New Delhi on Friday.
Goa has scrapped 12 SEZs, including the seven, which were approved by the state government. But the government is struggling over denotification of three industrial enclaves, which has now rushed to the High Court against government's intention to scrap them.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who heads an Empowered Group of Ministers on Special Economic Zones, is likely to consult Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resolve the dispute between finance and commerce ministries over tax exemption for export profits from the zones.
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.
A day ahead of the interim Budget, India slashed import duty on spare parts, like battery cover, lens and SIM socket, used in mobile phone manufacturing to 10 per cent, from 15 per cent. The duty cut is aimed at boosting local production and exports, as well as reducing prices in local markets. The finance ministry on January 30, notified the cut in duty on all goods for use in manufacture of cellular mobile phones to 10 per cent.
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).
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.
Gitanjali Group, the Rs 4,500-crore (Rs 45 billion) diamond-studded jewellery manufacturing firm, has evinced interest in setting up a special economic zone (SEZ) for diamond processing industry near Bangalore.
Undaunted by criticism by a Parliamentary panel, the government cleared 28 fresh special economic zone proposals on Thursday, including the Navi Mumbai promoted by Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani.
Karnataka has received in principle approval from the Centre for setting up a special economic zone across its three coastal districts.
Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd employees affiliated to three separate unions in Vadodra will go on a mass protest on Tuesday against the proposed transfer of some of them to Reliance Industries' SEZ in Jamnagar.
Board of Approval has asked the Goa government to compensate the denotified developers over the SEZ issue.
This is the largest foreign direct investment proposal in the state and represents a five-fold increase from an earlier announcement by GFH for a $2 billion to $2.5 billion investment in an "energy city".
Newly-elected president of industry body Assocham and Videocon chief Venugopal Dhoot on Tuesday said he was against "land grabbing" in the name of SEZs
Citigroup Property Investors has invested Rs 640 crore (Rs 6.4 billion) in four special economic zones (SEZs) being developed by the Delhi-based property developer BPTP, picking up a 40 per cent stake in the special purpose vehicle. BPTP is developing a 25 acre SEZ in Noida, 100 acre SEZ in Greater Noida, 54 acre SEZ in Faridabad and 27 acre SEZ in Gurgaon, with a total saleable space of 20 million square feet. The company has 10 ongoing projects spread across 34.66 mn sq ft.
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.
Bihar does not figure at all in the list of SEZs that have been given either formal or in-principle clearance by the board of approval. In sharp contrast, the Board has cleared a total of 550 proposals across 20 major states.
After violence in Nandigram, the Government has decided not to give further approvals for Special Economic Zones where acquisition of land is being resisted.
Corporate India is starting to step up its capital expenditure plans amid government incentives and signs of rising demand, company executives and analysts have indicated. This coincides with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently citing a double-digit growth in private capital expenditure. Healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates, along with increasing capacity utilisation and improving business sentiment, are contributing to a favourable environment for sustained growth in private sector investments, the RBI said in its policy last week.
