The proposed bill for governing of the special economic zones (SEZs) will be tabled at the ongoing monsoon session of the parliament. This bill, if approved, will transform SEZs into ‘Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs’ (DESH), where the focus would be on all aspects of growth, rather than evaluating success on the basis of net foreign exchange alone.
With the new norms, the performance of the units will be measured on broad parameters like promotion of investment, employment generation, research and development (R&D), as well as other economic activities. This overhaul of SEZ Act, 2015, will issue norms that are in line with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) guidelines.
The norms will ensure separate frameworks for manufacturing and services units. Besides this, it is likely that the state government will be an important stakeholder. Besides this, modern industrial parks will be built, which will focus on research and additional economic activities.
This way the Net Foreign Exchange (NFE) might not be the measurement criteria for the performance of the units. Current laws mandate that the units show positive NFE, and those who did, received benefits from the government. These benefits were given as subsidies and tax exemptions. The WTO has often criticized these laws and termed them unfair.
Commerce secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said that industrial manufacturing hubs are the pillars of India’s growth. He further said that the new norms, compliant with the WTO laws, will help the country strengthen its stand on an international level. He told the reporters, “This new Act will lead to the revival of activities in SEZ areas. They will be manufacturing for both international and domestic markets.”
