'SEZ legislation in a fortnight'

BANGALORE: India will not be following the Chinese or any other model for setting up Special Economic Zones, but creating something of its own for which the legislation could be in place within the next fortnight or so, commerce secretary S N Menon said here recently.

The SEZs would, he said, not be driven by the government but emerge from the interaction between the private sector and state governments. Each multi-product SEZ would have an area of around 1,000 hectares or more, where world-class infrastructure would be created to provide not just housing and communications but also offshore banking and facilities for the hospitality and tourism sectors. In tune with the foreign trade policy, there would be a linkage with employment-generation. Insofar as agri-processing was concerned, the infrastructure would also involve the creation of supply chains, cold chains.

Speaking at a coffee export awards function, Mr Menon noted that some 38 proposals for SEZs had so far been given in-principle approval. These included both multi-product and specialised SEZs like one for gems and jewellery in Kolkata, one by Wipro for software again in Kolkata, one for tea in the foothills of Darjeeling district,one for auto-parts and software in Tamil Nadu, one in Mangalore in which ONGC could be among others involved and one in Hassan for agri-commodities like gherkins, potatoes and possibly coffee.

While the aim was to attract an estimated $ 150 billion of infrastructural investment over the next three to four years, a single-window system would also be to set up attract investment from the SMEs—small and medium enterprises.

SMEs would be encouraged to come to India either through direct investment or JVs. Mr Menon noted that the Indian plantation sector of tea, coffee, rubber and spices had, unlike its counterpart in Vietnam, been burdened by historic legislation like the Plantation Labour Act.

Consequently, the Indian plantation sector had to take on itself social costs which Vietnamese planters did not have to incur.

It was now being proposed that 90% of the social costs for tea be equally shared by the Centre and the states.