Goyal reviews implementation of recommendations of Baba Kalyani committee on SEZ

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi  : Commerce and Industry & Railways Minister Piyush Goyal chaired a meeting on January 9.2020, in New Delhi to review the remaining recommendations of the Baba Kalyani report on Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy of India. The meeting was attended by members of the Baba Kalyani group along with representatives from the Department of Revenue, Department of Legal Affairs, and legal firms.

Goyal examined the revamp of the SEZ policy with a view to meeting the global challenges being faced by Indian exporters. Discussions were also held to find a way out for implementation of the remaining recommendations to facilitate the ease of doing business in the present global market scenario.

The changes and initiatives taken for the SEZs include delegation of powers to Development Commissioner for shifting of SEZ unit from one zone to another, supplies of services in DTA against foreign exchange or Indian Rupees to be counted towards non-financial entities (NFE), enable a trust to be considered for grant of permission to set-up a unit in a SEZ, setting up of cafeteria, gymnasium, creche and other similar facilities/ amenities and uniform list of services to SEZ.

The Baba Kalyani led committee was constituted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to study the existing SEZ policy of India and had submitted its recommendations in November 2018. The objectives of the committee were to evaluate the SEZ policy and make it WTO compatible, suggest measures for maximising utilisation of vacant land in SEZs, suggest changes in the SEZ policy based on international experience and merge the SEZ policy with other Government schemes like coastal economic zones, Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, national industrial manufacturing zones and food and textile parks, according to a PIB release.

If India is on the path to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025 then the present environment of manufacturing competitiveness and services have to undergo a basic paradigm shift. The success seen in services sector like IT and ITeS have to be promoted in other services sectors like health care, financial services, legal, repair and design services.

The Government of India has set a target of creating 100 million jobs and achieving 25% of GDP from the manufacturing sector by 2022 as part of the flagship Make in India programme. Further, the Government plans to increase manufacturing value to USD 1.2 trillion by 2025. While these plans are intended to propel India into a growth trajectory, it requires evaluation of existing policy frameworks to catalyse manufacturing sector growth. At the same time, policy needs to be compliant with the relevant WTO regulations.