Government Offers to Set Up Enclave for Swedish Companies

NEW DELHI: The government has offered to set up an exclusive enclave for Swedish companies and expatriates, complete with hospitals and educational institutions, as it seeks to woo investors from the European nation to boost the Make-in-India and startup initiatives.

The issue was discussed during the India-Sweden joint economic commission meeting last week, with commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal suggesting the government was willing to offer land for setting up an “Investment Enclave” with plug-and-play infrastructure. The choice of location has been left to the Swedish government and companies, although there were suggestions that the Bengaluru-Chennai industrial corridor may be a preferred destination, if the proposal is accepted.

Goyal said the number of Swedish companies operating in India has topped 200, compared to 170 just a few months ago. With more companies expected to set up shop in the country, the government made the proposal for an investment enclave.

A similar experiment has been tried with Japan with a “Japanese Zone” near Neemrana set up a few years ago. The 1,100-acre enclave, set up in partnership with Rajasthan Industrial Development and Investment Corporation, now has around 40 Japanese companies operating from the zone with its hotels coming up catering to Japanese tastes and needs. While a “Korean City” is also scheduled to come up in the neighbourhood, not much progress has been made, although land has been allotted for the project, sources said.

Source: ToI

Image Courtesy: The Local Sweden