| Abstract: |
Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were conceived as extra-territorial industrial enclaves intended to accelerate exports, attract investment and generate employment. Madhya Pradesh, a late industrialiser, hosts six operational SEZs clustered around the Indore–Pithampur belt. This paper evaluates those zones over 2016–17 to 2024–25 using secondary data from the Ministry of Commerce, the Development Commissioner of Indore SEZ and the Comptroller and Auditor General. The evidence reveals a dual structure. The multi-product Indore SEZ at Pithampur, India’s first green-field SEZ, remains the merchandise-export engine, shipping ₹14,265 crore in 2023–24 before a 9.23 per cent contraction to ₹12,948 crore in 2024–25 driven by weaker pharmaceutical demand. Concurrently, five information-technology SEZs in Indore Crystal IT Park, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Impetus Infotech and Yash Technologies raised software exports from ₹1,161 crore in 2020–21 to ₹4,038.6 crore in 2024–25. Tata Consultancy Services alone accounted for nearly forty-six per cent of IT-SEZ shipments. Despite these gains, the six operational zones constitute barely two per cent of India’s operational SEZ stock. Conversion of approvals into working parks is incomplete; spatial concentration around Indore has left the rest of the state untouched; and employment and investment continue to lag developer projections. The paper concludes that SEZs in Madhya Pradesh have delivered measurable export growth but have not yet become a statewide instrument of industrial transformation. Policy must address land utilisation, diversification beyond pharmaceuticals and information technology, and operationalisation of pending notifications if the zones are to fulfil the SEZ Act, 2005. |
