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| Over 30,000 job loss in SEZ: Ministry of Commerce |
| BS Reporter / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad Jan 12, 2009, 00:39 IST |
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The extent of slowdown could very well be seen in the number of job loss that have occurred in the special economic zones (SEZs) across the country. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, over 30,000 people working in the SEZs have lost their jobs in the past one year.
"There are around 3 lakh people working in the SEZs across the country. Of these, 10-15 per cent have lost their job due to slowdown over the past one year," said R Gopalan, additional secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry during an SEZ Council Meeting held here by ASSOCHAM.
In order to salvage these jobs, the ministry is now mulling over offering several benefits to SEZ units including relaxation of certain duties on selling products in the domestic markets. "Although things are still at a discussions stage, we are thinking about offering certain benefits like allowing SEZ units to sell their products in domestic markets without much levies. This is being done in order to sustain employment in the SEZs. However, these measures, if implemented, will be for a short period of time," said Gopalan.
In spite of the slowdown, the government is expecting SEZs to yield Rs 1,50,000 crore worth revenue over the next three years.
While so far SEZs have witnessed investments of Rs 90,000 crore, Gopalan added that another Rs 40,000-50,000 crore worth investments is expected by the end of the financial year. As against an estimated exports of Rs 120,000 crore for the financial year 2008-09, the government is now expecting about Rs 100,000 crore of exports from SEZs. For the fiscal 2007-08, the country saw exports worth Rs 66,000 crore from SEZs.
Talking about Gujarat, Gopalan said that while functional SEZs in the state form only 10 per cent of the country's, in terms of exports it forms around 30 per cent.
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