How much do you know about the Special Economic Zones of India?
A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area with distinct business and trade laws. SEZs are placed within a country's national borders, and its goals include improving the trade balance, raising investment, creating jobs, and ensuring efficient administration. Take this quiz to test your knowledge about them.
Q1. Which country was the first to set up an Export Processing Zone in Asia?
(a) India
(b) Sri Lanka
(c) Australia
(d) Bhutan
Q2. When was the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act passed in India?
(a) August 15, 1947
(b) January 26, 1950
(c) June 23, 2005
(d) December 10, 2008
Q3. Which kind of zones are included as part of the Special Economic Zones in India?
(a) Free Trade Zones
(b) Export Processing Zones
(c) Free Economic Zones
(d) All of the above
Q4. Which of these are the main objectives of a Special Economic Zone Act?
(a) Generation of additional economic activity
(b) Promotion of exports of goods and services
(c) Creation of employment opportunities
(d) All of the above
Q5. Which state in India has the maximum number of operational Special Economic Zones?
(a) Tamil Nadu
(b) Telangana
(c) Karnataka
(d) Maharashtra
Q6. Which committee was constituted by the Ministry of Commerce to study the existing SEZ policy?
(a) Ranganathan Committee
(b) Panchi Committee
(c) Baba Kalyani Committee
(d) Swaran Singh Committee
Q7. How many central government Special Economic Zones (SEZs) existed in India before enactment of the Special Economic Zones Act 2005?
(a) 5
(b) 6
(c) 8
(d) 7
ANSWERS
Q1. (a)
With Asia's first Export Processing Zone (EPZ) established in Kandla, Gujarat, in 1965, India was one of the first countries in Asia to identify the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) model in promoting exports.
Q2. (c)
The Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act 2005 was passed by the Parliament of India in May 2005 which received Presidential assent on June 23, 2005.
Q3. (d)
Free Trade Zones (FTZ), export processing zones (EPZ), free economic zones (FEZ), industrial estates (IE), free ports, and urban enterprise zones all fall under the umbrella term, Special Economic Zone.
Q4. (d)
The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act 2005 includes all the objectives as listed above: generation of additional economic activity, promotion of exports of goods and services and creation of employment opportunities for the masses.
Q5. (a)
Tamil Nadu has 40 operational SEZs in India, the maximum in any Indian state so far. Some of them include Coimbatore Hitech Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.; Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT); Mahindra World City Developers Limited; MEPZ Special Economic Zone; Nokia Telecom SEZ and Estancia IT Park.
Q6. (c)
In June 2018, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry formed a committee led by Baba Kalyani, chairman of Bharat Forge, to make India's Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy compliant with the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s global trade rules. The committee is named after Babasaheb Neelkanth Kalyani, an Indian industrialist who was the chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge, an Indian multinational corporation active in forging, automotives, construction, energy, mining, and railways, among other things.
Q7. (d)
There were 7 central government Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in India prior to the enactment of the Special Economic Zones Act 2005. Presently, 378 SEZs are notified, out of which 265 are operational.