India was one of the first countries in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) model in promoting exports, with Asia's first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965.
In order to overcome the shortcomings experienced on account of the multiplicity of controls and clearances; absence of world-class infrastructure, and an unstable fiscal regime and with a view to attract larger foreign investments in India, the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy was announced in April 2000.
Usually, the goal of a structure is to increase foreign direct investment by foreign investors, typically an international business or a Multi National Corporation (MNC).
In December 2022, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha informed that Special Economic Zones have exported software worth Rs 5.3 lakh crore in 2021–22.
[1][2] A list of functional Special Economic Zones in India has been published.