On December 16, 2019 the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has announced the setting up of 1st Special Economic Zone(SEZ) in Tripura at an estimated cost of Rs 1550 crores. The SEZ is being set up in Paschim Jalefa, Sabroom of South Tripura District and is 130kilometers away from Agartala, the capital city. The SEZ will be a boost for Agro-Based Food Processing.
SEZ in Tripura:
- The developer of SEZ in Tripura will be Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) Ltd.
- Job creation: Through this SEZ, 12,000 skilled jobs will be generated.
- Industries in SEZ: Under this SEZ, Rubber based industries, textile and Apparel Industries, bamboo and Agri-food Processing Industries will be set up.
- Boost to private investment: Setting up of the SEZ in Sabroom will attract private investment considering the proximity of the Chittagong Port, Bangladesh and construction of the bridge across Feni River in South Tripura which is underway.
- Once set up, 100% Income Tax(IT) exemption will be provided on export income for SEZ units under Section 10AA of the Income Tax Act 1961 for the first 5 years.
- 50% exemption will also be provided for the next 5 years and 50% of the ploughed back export profit for another 5 years.
Special Economic Zone:
i.SEZ: A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. They are located in national borders of the country.
ii.Aim: SEZs’ aims include increased trade balance, employment, increased investment, job creation and effective administration.
iii.Act: The SEZ comes under Special Economic Zone Act 2005, with effect from 10th February, 2006.
iv.As of Now, TamilNadu has maximum no. of SEZ in India. It has 40 SEZ in the state. TN was followed by Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place respectively.
About Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI):
Headquarters- New Delhi.
Union Minister- Piyush Goyal. (Constituency: Maharashtra)
Minister of State(MoS)- Som Prakash. (Constituency: Hoshiarpur, Punjab)
MoS Independent Charge(IC)- Hardeep Singh Puri. (Constituency- Uttar Pradesh)
