A reader of this book would have by now noticed the critical differences between the international development of the SEZs and the way they have evolved in India. We have already touched on this aspect in the first two chapters.

The second concerns the SEZs as a business model for corporate India. Related to that is the topic of how the stakes involved in the SEZ business for developers compares with that of the units which set up shop in those zones.

In this chapter, we will try to give a synoptic view to these subjects. We have mentioned earlier that these zones are by far the most ambitious of all the economic models that India has experimented with so far. They have the potential, if handled well, to alter the contours of the Indian economy fundamentally in the next 10–15 years.

The SEZs as a Business Model

What sort of a business model are the SEZs for India? An examination of the available literature shows that there are no models to emulate for this business in India. As the previous chapters have shown, the Indian plan has been pretty unique, with no precedence to rely upon.

There are, therefore, three aspects with respect to which one can try to understand the business of the SEZs. The first concerns the question of economic viability of the zone. This is a tricky issue. For various reasons, the SEZ business in India has become identified with the real estate businesses.