The current mood in the country well reflects in the question: "What role do you see for SEZs in accelerating India's economic growth?"-that was put to no less than our Prime Minister by Naina Lal Kidwai at the "ET Awards for Corporate Excellence", 2006 ceremony, held in Mumbai.
In his own characteristic candor, he responded: "Well, the special economic zones have come to be accepted as part of the new policy that we have evolved. So long as we cannot get rid of all taxes on goods and services, so long as we cannot have uniformly good infrastructure, I do believe that these special economic zones have a role in accelerating our growth and also to generate more employment opportunities, to generate more exports. In the recent weeks, several concerns have been raised, and I do believe that they will play an important role in the next stage of development in our country."
SEZs are not new, for Deng Xiaophing, by using them as tool to attract foreign investment and technical know-how into China as a part of its modernization program had made them quite popular all over the world. Indeed, they are not new even for us, since we did establish such enclaves in Kandla, Mumbai, etc., in the early 1960s. So, what this controversy is all about, now? |
