The government has approved Micron Semiconductor’s Rs 13,000 crore proposal to set up its special economic zone (SEZ) facility at Sanand in Gujarat.
The Board of Approval for SEZs also approved a Rs 100 crore proposal of Hubballi Durable Goods Cluster Private (Aequs Group) to set up an SEZ for electronic components in Dharwad in Karnataka.
Micron will establish its SEZ facility over an area of 37.64 hectares while Aequs will establish its SEZ over an area of 11.55 hectares, a statement by the ministry of commerce and industry said.
The approval for both the proposals followed changes in SEZs rules on June 3 which provided a special dispensation to address the specialised needs of semiconductor and electronics component manufacturing sectors which are highly capital intensive, import dependent and involve longer gestation periods.
After amendments in the rules, an SEZ set up exclusively for the manufacturing of semiconductors or electronic components will require a minimum contiguous land area of only 10 hectares, reduced from the earlier requirement of 50 hectares.
Other amendments allowed the Board of Approval for SEZs to relax the condition requiring SEZ land to be encumbrance-free in cases where it is mortgaged or leased to the Central or state government or their authorised agencies.
The amended rules will allow the value of goods received and supplied on a free-of-cost basis to be included in Net Foreign Exchange (NFE) calculations and assessed using applicable customs valuation rules.
Changes have also been made in other rules to allow SEZ units in semiconductor as well as electronics component manufacturing sector to also supply domestically into the Domestic Tariff Area after payment of applicable duties.
The amendments will boost high-tech manufacturing in the country, spur growth of semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem and create high skilled jobs in the country, a ministry’s statement said.