Ten years after the SEZ (Special Economic Zones) Act was passed, India has over 500 SEZs scattered all over the country. The idea was copied from China where SEZs fuelled economic growth. The government believed that in India too SEZs would become engines of growth.
The SEZ policy did hit a wall: land acquisition was bitterly opposed by people who had to give up their fields. NGOs and activist groups said SEZs were just a ruse to grab land from small farmers. When Export Promotion Zones (EPZ), set up by the government, had failed what was the guarantee that. . .
