What is sez? and what is the bane and boon?

Question

What is sez? and what is the bane and boon?

Answer 1

SEZ is Special Economic Zone is an area inside a state but which acts as alien territory for tariff and trade operations. As the saying goes, every coin has two side, SEZ also comes with two aspects to it.

The good part being that the area under sez would be developed in terms of infrastructure, employment for people living in the sez area would increase, leading to the economic growth of the nation.

But there are certain question marks about SEZ! Will it actually employ people from the same area where it is being set up? In the context of Mumbai where SEZ is supposed to be set up in the Uttam-Manori-Gorai area, the promises made during the set up of the Essel World have not yet been fulfilled, what's the guarantee that under SEZ employment to people from around the area would be guaranteed? The people living in the above mentioned areas have been there since the 12th century and gain their livelihood from agriculture and fishing. This process of planning and development is a threat, as the other states (e.g., Tamil nadu, kerala, West Bangal, Andra PRadesh, Uttar Pradesh) in which the SEZs have been approved are facing intense protests, from the farming community, accusing the government of forcibly snatching fertile land from them. The land required for SEZ  is being bought from poor farmers and people living in the area and resold to corporates at unimaginale prices. This is going to profit the middle party and the corporates but as usual the poor will not only remain poor but also become more helpless as they will surely gain nothing in return.

Answer 2

A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a geographical region that has economic laws that are more liberal than a country's typical economic laws. Usually the goal is an increase in foreign investment. One of the earliest and the most famous Special Economic Zones were founded by the government of the People's Republic of China under Deng Xiaoping in the early 1980s. The most successful Special Economic Zone in China, Shenzhen, has developed from a small village into a city with a population over 10 million within 20 years. The article Special Economic Zone of the People's Republic of China provides more information about the Special Economic Zones in China. Following the Chinese examples, Special Economic Zones have been established in several countries, including Pakistan, India, Iran, Jordan, Poland, Kazakhstan, the Philippines,Russia, and Ukraine. North Korea has also attempted this to a degree, but failed. Currently, Puno, Peru has been slated to become a "Zona Ecomomica" by its president Alan Garcia. In the United States, SEZ are referred to as "Urban Enterprise Zones".

According to World Bank estimates, as of 2007 there are more than 3,000 projects taking place in SEZs in 120 countries worldwide.