Employment Opportunities for Women under SEZs -A Study in AP

The Special Economic Zones (SEZ) policy was announced in India in April 2000, which intended to make the SEZ an engine for economic growth with minimum possible regulations. The SEZ Act, 2005 and the SEZ Rules 2006 came into effect on 10 February 2006. The State of Andhra Pradesh (AP) has the maximum number of formally approved SEZs in the country (101), and a sizeable number (14) is promoted by the government itself. Brandix India Apparel City Ltd. (BIAC) is one of the eight SEZs in AP which have started exporting. Brandix Apparel India Ltd. (BAIL) is the first unit to come up in the Apparel City and has a predominantly women employment force. BIAC was allotted 1,000 acres of land in 2006 in Visakhapatnam district. As per the MoU, BIAC has to create 60,000 jobs by 2012. The study reveals that the land acquired by the APIIC about four years ago is mainly agricultural (85.38 per cent), which displaced about 600 families. The compensation package was more beneficial to the larger farmers than the smaller. About 20 per cent of the women from these displaced families could get employment in BAIL. As part of the 'decent employment' provisions, BAIL offers all basic amenities to its employees plus incentives. However, the wages paid to do not seem to be the 'minimum wages' applicable to this kind of skilled work, currently in vogue in the State of AP. The women who got employment are able to feel a positive difference in their lives.