Special Economic Zones in India : Lessons from China

China set up four SEZs in the late 1970s on experimental basis to attract foreign capital, technology and managerial expertise. This was part of Chinese model of export-led growth. Many in India believe that SEZs will create thousands of skilled and semi-skilled jobs in export-oriented industries and services and ensure double-digit growth rate in the future. The recent initiative of the Government of India to set up SEZs on the pattern of China is a welcome change in the strategy for economic development and export promotion. The move is a bold departure in the basic approach to development efforts. It is an acknowledgement of the potential of export-led development strategy. This book describes and examines the policy initiatives pertaining to SEZs in India. It also presents a comparative view of the economies of India and China with focus on SEZs as vehicles of faster economic development.