The government of India has constituted a group of eminent persons led by Baba Kalyani, chairman, Bharat Forge, to study the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Policy of India.

The SEZ Policy was implemented from April 1, 2000. Subsequently, the Special Economic Zones Act 2005 was passed by Parliament in May 2005 and received presidential assent on the June 23, 2005 and the Special Economic Zone Act was enacted. The SEZ Act 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect on February 10, 2006.

The others in the group include Ravindra Sannareddy, MD, Sricity SEZ; Neel Raheja, president, K Raheja Group; Arun Misra, MD, Tata Steel SEZ Ltd; Ms. Anita Arjundas, MD, Mahindra Life Space Developer; Ajay Pandey, MD & Group CEO, GIFT City SEZ; SrikanthBadiga, Director, Hyderabad Phoenix Developer; Principal Secretaries (Industries) of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu & Karnataka.

The group will evaluate the SEZ policy, suggest measures to cater to the needs of exporters in the present economic scenario and make the SEZ policy WTO-compatible, suggest course correction in the SEZ policy, make comparative analysis of the SEZ scheme and dovetail the SEZ policy with other similar schemes.

The group is required to submit its recommendation in three months’ time.