GOVT TO CONSIDER 17 NEW SEZ PROPOSALS TOMORROW
New
Financial Chronicle Mint
The government will tomorrow consider proposals for setting up 17 special economic zones (SEZs), including those of Larsen and Toubro, Emaar MGF and Gulf Oil Corporation.
The Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary G K Pillai, will also consider requests from realty major DLF for de-notification of its IT-ITeS SEZs in Gujarat, Haryana,
"The developer (DLF) has requested for de-notification ... due to slowdown in the economy and liquidity crunch in the overall industry," the agenda document of the meeting said.
Scores of leading SEZ promoters, including Infosys Technologies, CMC Ltd, Hindalco Industries, NIIT Technologies, HCL Technologies, Orient Craft Infrastructure, L&T Phoenix Infoparks and K Raheja Corp, have sought time from the BoA, which is meeting here on June 2.
Larsen and Toubro has proposed to set up an IT SEZ in Mumbai, while Gulf Oil Corporation has moved application for a similar tax-free zone in
Other proposals for new SEZs include Emaar MGF's IT-related SEZ in Kerala.
Since 2006, when the SEZ Act was notified, formal approvals have been granted for setting up 568 SEZs, of which 315 have been notified.
Exports from SEZs grew 36 percent to Rs 90,416 crore in 2008-09 from Rs 66,638 crore in the previous fiscal.
TECOM SETS DEADLINE TO
The Hindu Business Line Business Standard
Tecom, promoters of the proposed Smart City Kochi project, has set a deadline before the State Government by December to sort out all issues that are creating hurdles in the progress of the project.
Fareed Abdulrahman, CEO the Smart City Kochi, said at a press meet here on Monday that the project could not afford any further delay and the State Government should take immediate steps to resolve the issue regarding the 12 percent freehold land before this year-end.
He pointed out that the company had insisted on freehold land as the lease agreement had to be split for securing SEZ status for the project land. Of the 246 acres, 136 acres had already received SEZ status in principle. The provision of freehold land has to be included in the lease agreement for the remaining 110 acres before it gets notified as SEZ since land once notified as SEZ cannot be de-notified for including fresh provisions, he said.
“We are very eager to start the project and can bring everything on track once we see positive signs. We will develop it and bring IT companies, create job and bring business to the city, which will boost the State’s economy,” he said.
The State Government should take a clear stand on the outstanding issues to move the project forward. However, they are not doing anything in this direction, he said, adding that constant communications with the State Government officials reached nowhere.
He also termed as ‘baseless’ the Chief Minister’s statement that Tecom had been hit by global economic recession. “The financial crisis is not at all an issue for Tecom. Honestly, I don’t know the basis for that statement,” he said.
SATYAM MAY MOVE OUT OF PUNE SEZ
Adith Charlie, Mumbai
The Hindu Business Line
Satyam Computer Services, now in the hands of Tech Mahindra, may move out of its 4,800-seater delivery centre in DLF Akruti Infopark, Pune.
This is part of a bigger plan to save over Rs 100 crore by consolidating infrastructure globally.
Satyam is in discussions with DLF Akruti to enable termination of its five-year lease- agreement in the IT park there, an official with knowledge of the development said.
“Reducing real estate costs is obviously a top priority issue for Satyam. Since we already have two other delivery centres in Pune, we will try and consolidate operations in those centres,” he said. “Satyam and DLF enjoy a very healthy relationship. And so do Tech Mahindra and DLF. Hence, we will try to offset costs at one place (for DLF) with opportunities elsewhere,” the official added.
Satyam had inaugurated its DLF Akruti Infopark facility last September. The facility has five floors in addition to the ground and mezzanine floors with a total built up area of approximately 4,00,000 sq.ft and with a floor plate of approximately 60,000 sq.ft.
It was established keeping in mind both Satyam`s overall employee base and projections of future growth. However, the Hyderabad-based company has lost more than 5,000 employees and 35 percent of its overall client base ever since its former chairman, Ramalinga Raju confessed to a Rs 7,800-crore fraud.
46
The State-Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC) has cleared 46 projects including eight IT parks and five in the aerospace sector with a total investment potential of Rs 1,000 crore and creating job opportunities for more than 15,000 people.
The committee under the chairmanship of Large and Medium Industries Minister Murgesh Nirani also cleared 18 sponge iron projects with an investment potential of Rs 592 crore, at its meeting on Saturday.
Murgesh Nirani told reporters in
The major IT park projects cleared include one on 9.04 acre plot at Gollahalli by United Micro Electronics Solutions and one by DRK Enterprises near IT park industrial area in Devanahalli (Rs 27 cr).
NO IMPACT OF SLOWDOWN ON SEZ OCCUPANCY: STATE IT MINISTER
Chennai
The Hindu
The current economic slowdown has not affected the occupancy of government-promoted IT Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in the State, said Poongothai Aladi Aruna, Tamil Nadu IT Minister, on Monday.
Talking to presspersons here, after a review meeting with the officials of the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT), Dr. Poongothai said recruiting had been affected, but there were no job cuts in the IT industry.
While a cohesive national policy was required, Tamil Nadu was still well-placed as an IT destination, the Minister said.
She added that the IT SEZs in Chennai and
P.W.C.Davidar, IT secretary, said the government had decided to introduce electronic file processing in all departments soon. The software being created by ELCOT for the Commercial Taxes department was almost complete and would be released in July, he said.
Santhosh Babu, managing director, ELCOT, said the pilot project to provide handheld devices in ration shops for billing had been successful. Currently, 209 handheld devices were being used and this would be increased to over 1,000 in the coming month, he said.
THREE IT PARKS TO BE READY BY YEAR-END
Chennai
Deccan Chronicle, (Chennai edition)
Government-promoted IT parks in Chennai,
“We are also looking at implementing the rural BPO scheme, which is currently available in Krishnagiri, in other parts of the state,” Aruna said, and refused to divulge details.
DLF, RAHEJA WANT TO SURRENDER SEZS
Mumbai
The Times of
Till last year, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were the flavour of the season. But for some developers, the downturn in the global economy is now forcing them to surrender their SEZs despite having received formal approvals from the Centre.
On Tuesday, the Board of Approval of the ministry of commerce and industry in
Both the developers have cited global slowdown in the IT sector as reasons for scrapping their SEZs. DLF, the country's largest real estate company, has requested the Board of Approval to denotify four of its approved SEZs 25 acres in Gujarat, 25 acres at Rai, Sonepat in Haryana, 25 acres in Kolkota and another 25 acres in Bhubaneswar in Orissa.
Raheja Universal controlled by Suresh Raheja, the youngest of the Raheja brothers who split about two decades ago, has requested the board to denotify its 50-acre IT/ITES SEZ in Navi Mumbai and also sought part denotification of a portion of its 30-acre SEZ in the same area.
According to sources, Raheja Universal approached the board with a proposal to surrender its SEZ, citing economic recession in the IT industry. The company has been selling of its land bank for the past several months now.
Last month, the realty company sold its Wallace Flour Mills property at Mazgaon for a substantial loss following pressure from a private bank to shore up its hefty loans.
In DLF's case, the board in its meeting on Tuesday will consider if the realty major had benefitted from the duty free benefits offered to SEZs and whether it should be returned to the government.
In
The SEZs, which have received formal approvals by the board of approvals in
Six of the approved SEZs are located in Mumbai itself. They are Hiranandani Builders' 31 acres proposed information technology (IT) zone at Powai, Royal Palms India's 24 acres (IT) in the heart of Aarey Milk Colony in Goregaon (east) and another 24 acres for a gems and jewellery SEZ in the same region, Chiplun Infrastructure's 99 acres (location not given) for a warehousing zone, Bombay Industrial Corporation's IT SEZ on 30 acres in Mahul and Ferrani Hotels Private Ltd/Ozone Developers 69 acres for a IT zone in Malad.