| Abstract: |
Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been a central instrument of India's export-oriented industrial policy since the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005. National evaluations document large gains in exports, investment and employment, yet they also record uneven geography, land conflict, fiscal leakage and weak spillovers. Madhya Pradesh is a strategically important inland manufacturing case. The state hosts India's first greenfield multi-product SEZ at Pithampur and a compact information-technology cluster in Indore, but it accounts for only about five operational zones roughly two per cent of India's operational stock. This review research paper undertakes a structured narrative meta-analysis of past work in order to evaluate Special Economic Zones in Madhya Pradesh in depth. It synthesises peer-reviewed studies, official Ministry of Commerce series, committee reports and zone-level evidence for 2005–2025, coding findings along seven dimensions: exports, employment and human development, investment and infrastructure, land and location, fiscal design, spatial spillovers, and Madhya Pradesh-specific evidence. The synthesis reveals a dual-track pattern. Pithampur merchandise exports reached Rs. 14,265 crore in 2023–24, while Indore's IT SEZs contributed Rs. 3,782 crore in software and services. Conversion from approval to operations, however, remains below the national average, land utilisation has been modest, and peer-reviewed causal evaluation of Madhya Pradesh zones is almost absent. The paper concludes that the state's SEZ record is one of concentrated corridor success rather than statewide transformation, and that forthcoming DESH-era reforms will matter only if they restore fiscal predictability, ease domestic-market access and deepen manufacturing beyond the Indore Pithampur belt. |
