Draft DESH Bill seeks to bail out SEZ units

There is nothing in the said Bill to suggest that it will contribute to enhancement of export competitiveness

In her Budget speech this year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act will be replaced with a new legislation that will enable the states to become partners in ‘Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs’ (DESH) and that this will cover all large existing and new industrial enclaves to optimally utilise available infrastructure and enhance competitiveness of exports. Now, the commerce ministry has sent the draft DESH Bill to the SEZ units and SEZ developers asking for their comments. The DESH Bill may be presented to the Parliament in the upcoming winter session.

Essentially, the draft