Special Economic Zones

Govt exploring the possibility of setting up dedicated space parks

Move may be key to achieving Centre's goal of $11 billion space-related export by 2033

Next step is establishing manufacturing zone for telecom sector: Scindia

Scindia said that the manufacturing zone is the next step following the establishment of the one lakh BSNL towers across the country and the upgrade of 5G technology

Adani group Ebitda surges 33% in Q1, leverage at 2.2x at multi-year low

Billionaire Gautam Adani's ports-to-energy conglomerate saw June quarter pre-tax profit surge by 33 per cent on back of strong performance by core infrastructure business as also emerging businesses ranging from solar and wind manufacturing to airports. "EBITDA (in April-June) surged by 32.87 per cent year-on-year to reach Rs 22,570 crore, resulting in a trailing twelve-month (TTM) EBITDA of Rs 79,180 crore, marking a 45.13 per cent increase over the corresponding TTM of the previous year," the group said in a statement. Group net profit jumped over 50 per cent to Rs 10,279 crore in April-June - the first quarter of the current 2024-25 fiscal year. "The consistently advancing EBITDA is largely driven by the Group's highly stable and resilient 'core infrastructure' platform, which constitutes over 80 per cent of the portfolio EBITDA and saw a remarkable 41.6 per cent growth year-on-year in Q1," it said. The core infrastructure platform comprises flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd's ...

China, Pakistan pledge to safeguard CPEC against critics and opponents

Pakistan and China on Friday vowed to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from its "detractors and adversaries", as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang and assured Beijing of providing complete security to Chinese personnel working on the USD 65 billion project. Sharif is currently on a visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, seeking to upgrade cooperation under the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. In a statement, the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office said during the meeting, the two sides discussed the significance of Gwadar as an important pillar of the CPEC and agreed to expedite the timely completion of all related infrastructure projects to transform Gwadar in Balochistan province into a regional economic hub. "They also expressed their firm commitment to protect CPEC from its detractors and adversaries and to upgrade CPEC in the form of

Sri Lanka & Bangladesh look east

The shifting sands of the South Asian trade landscape may be worthy of some serious reflection for India's regional trade strategy

Adani Ports, JSW, PSA looking to bag Rs 7,000 crore Tuticorin project

The envisioned project aims to elevate VO Chidambaranar Port into the inaugural transshipment hub on India's East Coast

Govt extends export benefits under the Rodtep scheme to SEZ units

The government on Friday extended export benefits under the RoDTEP scheme to companies in the special economic zones (SEZs) and export-oriented units (EOUs). The commerce ministry said that amid global economic uncertainties and supply chain disruptions, extending RoDTEP benefits to the uncovered sectors like AA (advance authorisation), EOUs, and SEZ units will help the exporting community in handling the international headwinds. "The government has announced the extension of the RoDTEP scheme support to additional export sectors i.e. Advance Authorisation holders, Export Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones export units," the ministry said. This decision comes in recognition of the significant contribution these sectors make to India's exports, constituting about 25 per cent of the total shipment. The government, in August 2021, announced the rates of tax refunds under the export promotion scheme -- Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) -- for 8,555 ...

Improving leasing trends to support and lay bricks of value for Reits

Grand Design: New SEZ rules and rising GCC leasing set to elevate occupancies and rentals, benefiting Reits and office-focused developers

Commerce ministry to extend benefits under RoDTEP scheme to SEZ units

The commerce ministry has decided to extend export benefits under the RoDTEP scheme for companies in the special economic zones (SEZs) and export oriented units (EOUs). This decision was communicated to the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on February 16. The DGFT may issue a formal notification soon amending the foreign trade policy on the same. "Post rolling out of ICEGATE (Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange Gateway) in SEZs, the RoDTEP scheme may also be extended to SEZs," according to an office memorandum of the commerce ministry. The government in August 2021, announced the rates of tax refunds under export promotion scheme -- Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP), for 8,555 products such as marine goods, yarn and dairy items. As SEZs and EOUs were kept out of the scheme in the list notified that time, the industry was demanding to include them in the scheme. Under RoDTEP, various central and state duties, taxes, and levies imposed on in

Mobile PLI: Only the long-game matters

Rather than solely focusing on boosting exports, India should aim to become a global supplier of key components

WTO meet: India to bargain for 'poor fishermen' in developing countries

The discussion comes against the backdrop of the global trade body trying to build a consensus on an agreement that aims to curb subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing

Govt needs to be transparent, must avoid selective protectionism

One of the major pillars or principles of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was the abolition of quantitative restrictions

Govt eases norms for shifting of used IT hardware goods to tariff areas

The government has relaxed curbs for shifting of used IT hardware goods like laptops and desktops by a company in special economic zones (SEZs) to outside these duty free-enclaves or domestic tariff areas. SEZs are treated as deemed foreign territory for customs laws and bringing goods from these zones into the domestic tariff area (DTA) or domestic market is tantamount to imports. In general, a company from DTA needs a licence for imports of these goods from SEZs. Easing these curbs, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notification has said that used IT assets (laptops, desktops, monitors, printers) can be moved from SEZ by a company to DTA without a license for the purposes of further use in their DTA operations "only". However, these equipment should have been used in SEZ units for two years and should not be older than five years from the date of manufacturing. "Import policy of used IT assets (laptops, desktops, monitors, printers) from SEZ to DTA has been ...

Welspun One to invest Rs 700 crore in infra at Jawaharlal Nehru Port's SEZ

Welspun One said on Wednesday said it will develop an industrial and logistics hub at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port's Special Economic Zone with an investment of around Rs 700 crore. This investment is the second deployment from Welspun Ones' latest Fund 2, which is a Rs 2,000-crore Alternative Investment Fund, the company said in a statement. The development of a 1.2-million square feet industrial and logistics hub spread across 55 acres at JNPA SEZ signifies a paradigm shift in India's infrastructure sector, Welspun One said. The total investment of Rs 700 crore includes land as well as construction cost and the project will be financed through a mix of debt and equity, it said. According to the statement, this strategic collaboration is the beginning of a partnership between JNPA (developer) and Welspun One (as co-developer), leveraging synergies to build future-ready industrial and warehousing infrastructure. "We have partnered with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) as ...

Embassy REIT expects SEZ regulation tweak to boost its finances from FY25

Embassy, which has business parks at SEZs in Bengaluru and Noida, saw its consolidated profit fall 46% to 236.8 million rupees ($2.84 million) in the September quarter, while its revenue grew about 4%

Realty boost: IT SEZ developers get flexibility to use vacant space

A notification amending the SEZ Rules, 2006, issued by the ministry, said a part of the SEZ could be declared "non-processing area" where free-zone rules would not apply

Centre to revise SEZ Act, limiting tax sops and enhancing integration

SEZs are areas within the country that have different economic regulations and are considered as a foreign territory, with the primary focus on promoting exports

DESH Bill explained: What it is and why the government may junk it

Discussions are taking place on whether the DESH bill will be passed or the SEZ Act will be amended, officials said

Govt won't curb PC, laptop, and other IT hardware product imports

Puts in place 'contactless' authorisation system

JNPA unveils projects worth Rs 8,363 cr at Global Maritime India Summit

The country's premier container port Jawaharlal Nehru Port on Tuesday unveils four key projects worth Rs 8,363 crore during the third edition of the Global Maritime India Summit, which was virtually addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The four projects are: construction of the fourth container terminal, Phase II at JNPA; upgradation, operation, maintenance, and transfer of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT); newly constructed additional liquid berth terminal; and port-based multi-product special economic zone (SEZ). With these projects, the port's container capacity will go up significantly by 35 per cent from 7.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units ) to 10.4 million TEUs while the liquid cargo handling capacity is expected to surge by 62.5 per cent, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) said. Of the four projects, foundation stone was laid for the construction of fourth container terminal-phase II on PPP (public-private partnership) basis by Bharat Mumb