There is nothing new in such reports: we are known to announce a new policy with all fanfare today and drag it into an unending debate, politicking—all ending up in utter chaos the next day. Indeed, it is this very nature of our reforms—one step forward and two steps backward—that created uncertainty in the minds of prospective investors, which ultimately failed the nation in building the much-needed infrastructure, except perhaps in telecom through private-public partnership.
How
else can one explain the current state of utter chaos that
engulfed SEZs, which are conceived as "islands of excellence"
to make world-class infrastructure available to its occupants
at globally competitive prices? They are assumed to attract
global as well as domestic investments to set up manufacturing
and services bases to compete successfully in the global market.
There is indeed nothing new about them, for they are essentially
based on the successful role played in transforming the Chinese
economy by attracting unprecedented inflow of FDI into that
country and, in turn, creating massive employment opportunities
for the local populace. There is, however, a slight difference
between Chinese and Indian SEZs: In China, it is the government
that built world-class infrastructure in the world-size SEZs,
while in India it is expected that the private sector would
develop world-class infrastructure and attract global players
to establish their manufacturing bases. This very model will
take more time than what China took to reap full benefits
from these "islands of excellence" and as though
it is not sufficient enough, the present imbroglio over land
acquisition. |
