videocon is a respected indian company competing with multinational in the very competitive area of electronics.

but when videocon chairman talks about sez, then i guess, he is competing against himself in trying to convince his own self.

as per him and i quote him " Special economic zones (SEZs) are not a land-grabbing game, as the cost of land in any industrial project is only 10 per cent, and bulk of the expenditure is incurred on plant towards machinery and human capital."

that's news to lot of people :). if the land cost is only 10%, then why on earth does big companies ranging from tata to reliance running after very cheap means to acquire by force thousands and thousands of acres.

why does indian companies that are 'developing' india want these lands at very cheap and throwaway prices.

why is real estate projects being planned almost in majority of sez's if land is not a factor.

why is lands closer to urban areas (outskirts of bangalore, delhi, mumbai) being lusted after.

and his partner in crime mr.saraf (outgoing chamber of merchant's chamber of commerce) turns real funny when he says "Quoting a recent Goldman Sachs report, Mr Saraf said labour was nearly four times more productive in industry and six times more productive in the service sectors. “As such, any fear of loss of livelihood by the land-losers is totally misplaced.”

how can farmers who have tilled the land for generation be suddenly wearing ties, coats and become service industry people and how can these farmers who are violently thrown away from their own lands be rehabilitated with industrial jobs when industries are rapidly automating and cutting out manual work in order to increase competitiveness. how can somebody be trained just like that in a new area and that too after bulldozing his family.

in india anything is possible i guess, loose talk by captains of industries included, to justify fake development that lines only the pocket of the rich.