Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday raised concern over the proliferation of IT Special Economic Zones, being set up under the ministry's flagship scheme, and pitched for more manufacturing zones.
"SEZs appear to be increasing the digital divide. I have always felt that the true value of SEZs must be judged by the extent to which they help promote labour-intensive manufacturing," Ramesh said while addressing the Executive Board of IT industry body Nasscom.
He said the geographical distribution of IT industry was skewed and it was true about the SEZs as well.
Of the 142 SEZs that have been notified, 86 were for IT and ITeS units alone. "And of these 86, the usual suspects are most prominent -- 26 in Andhra Pradesh, 14 in Tamil Nadu, 13 in Karnataka and 10 in Maharashtra, making a total of 80 per cent in these four states alone," he said.
SEZs are directly handled by Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, while Ramesh has been given charge largely of the plantation sector in the ministry.
While some senior ministers in the government are known to be opposed to proliferation of SEZs, Ramesh criticised the lop-sided developments by SEZs being pushed fast by the ministry. The Board of Approval has so far cleared over 550 SEZs, including those with in-principle approvals.
Most of the country's top software companies, including TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Satyam, as well as smaller firms are setting up IT zones. Besides, some real estate players are also setting up IT SEZs to tap the vast opportunities.
India's great rush for SEZs
