Sun sets on SEZs: Most consistent failures of economic policy since 1965

Even after a high-profile new policy was announced in 2005, SEZs account for just about a third of India's merchandise exports

In the melee caused by the abrupt national lockdown on March 24, the sun set unnoticed on a key income tax break for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on March 31. The post-lockdown economic tumult has distracted from the several calls over December and January to extend the 100 per cent income tax holiday on export income from SEZs in the interests of attracting foreign investment for the prime minister’s signature Make in India programme. The fascination with SEZs endures, though they represent one of the most consistent failures of economic policy since 1965, when Kandla, Asia’s first such zone, was