Parliament Question: Special Economic Zones

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3810 ANSWERED ON 11/08/2026 SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES 3810. PROF. SOUGATA RAY: Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री) be pleased to state: (a) the total number of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) approved, notified, operational and non-operational in the country, State/UT-wise; (b) the total investment, exports and employment generated by SEZs during each of the last five years, year-wise; (c) whether the Government has undertaken any review of the performance of existing SEZs, including underutilised and non-operational SEZs, and if so, the details and findings thereof; (d) whether the Government proposes to revive, repurpose or denotify non- performing SEZs and simplify the regulatory framework to improve investment and exports, and if so, the details thereof; and (e) the steps taken by the Government to enhance competitiveness of SEZs in view of changing global trade patterns, implementation of Free Trade Agreements, and the proposed Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs (DESH) framework? ANSWER वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्यमंत्री (श्री णिणिन प्रसाद) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA) (a) Special Economic Zones (SEZs) set up under the SEZ Act, 2005 and SEZ Rules, 2006 are primarily private investment driven initiatives. An SEZ may be set up either jointly or severally by the Central Government, State Government or any person for manufacture of goods or rendering services or for both or as a free trade warehousing zone. The State/Union Territory (UT)-wise details of the number of SEZs approved, notified, operational and non-operational are at Annexure-I. (b) The total investment, exports and employment generated by SEZs during each of the last five years, year-wise are at Annexure-II. (c): The time taken in operationalizing SEZs could be due to several reasons including time taken for getting approvals from the Statutory/State Government bodies, adverse business climate due to shifts in global economic scenario, changes in fiscal incentives, 1etc. Under the overall supervision of Department of Commerce, the office of jurisdictional Development Commissioner reviews the status of all SEZs on a regular basis by engaging State Governments and Developers to provide necessary facilitation, as and when required. (d): With a view to ensuring the effectiveness, and reviving and improving investment and exports from SEZs, the Government undertakes various measures, including de- notification of SEZs, from time to time to remove operational challenges in SEZs in consultation with different stakeholders. Such measures or reforms including policy initiatives are continuous process and introduced in the administration of SEZs as and when needed. (e): The Government periodically takes steps to enhance competitiveness of SEZs in view of changing global trade patterns. The SEZ Act, 2005 and SEZ Rules, 2006 have been amended from time to time to promote simplified regulatory regime, greater operational flexibility, enhanced integration with the domestic economy thereby creating an enabling ecosystem for investment, technology adoption, innovation and value addition in SEZs. The Free Trade Agreements with trading partners complement the SEZ framework in terms of expanded market access, deeper integration with global value chains and enhanced export opportunity. ***** 2Annexure-I referred to in reply to Part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3810 for answer on 11.08.2026 State-wise distribution of SEZs (As on 31.07.2026) States/UTs Total Approved Total Notified Total Non- SEZs SEZs Operational Operational SEZs SEZs Andhra Pradesh 36 31 25 6 Arunachal Pradesh 1 1 0 1 Bihar 2 2 0 2 Chandigarh 2 2 2 0 Chhattisgarh 4 3 1 2 Delhi 2 0 0 0 Goa 7 3 0 3 Gujarat 32 28 22 6 Haryana 25 22 8 14 Jharkhand 2 2 1 1 Karnataka 60 49 38 11 Kerala 24 20 19 1 Madhya Pradesh 13 8 6 2 Maharashtra 47 41 36 5 Manipur 1 1 0 1 Nagaland 2 2 0 2 Odisha 8 6 5 1 Puducherry 3 2 0 2 Punjab 5 3 3 0 Rajasthan 7 6 3 3 Sikkim 1 0 0 0 Tamil Nadu 60 58 49 9 Telangana 55 50 38 12 Tripura 1 1 0 1 Uttar Pradesh 26 23 14 9 West Bengal 10 8 7 1 GRAND TOTAL 436 372 277 95 3Annexure-II referred to in reply to Part (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3810 for answer on 11.08.2026 Investment, exports and employment from SEZs during the last 5 years Financial Years Investment* Exports Employment* (Rs. Crore) (Rs. Crore) (persons) 2021-22 6,49,705 9,90,747 26,96,180 2022-23 6,60,184 12,63,578 28,95,612 2023-24 7,07,342 13,55,220 31,94,104 2024-25 7,82,192 14,63,669 31,77,893 2025-26 7,59,870 16,36,192 32,61,147 Note: *Calculated on cumulative basis 4