Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Overall, before the end of the day, thirty-two companies joined this Swat Valley Special Economic Zone, ranging from fruit jam companies, which were the majority, to fruit juice companies, fruit extract companies, preservatives companies, sweet makers, canning factories, syrup makers, etc. By the end of the day, all over the empire, thousands of companies rushed into the Special Economic Zones, unable to resist the allure of the various benefits provided.

Companies producing vinegar, soaps, perfumes, essential oils, herbal shampoos, and other apple-based products rushed to Sopore — Kashyapamar (Kashmir + Jammu + LAC + HP).

Woodworking companies, incense stick companies, furniture manufacturers, woodcraft artisans, natural resin producers, and fragrance oil distilleries rushed to Ballari — Vijayanagara (Karnataka), the sandalwood Special Economic Zone.

Glassmakers, lens makers, mirror makers, window manufacturers, chandelier artisans, optical instrument makers, stained-glass designers, and gemstone polishers rushed into Trincomalee — Anuradha Puri (Sri Lanka), the glass-making and gem-making Special Economic Zone.

Food companies, hair oil companies, beverage companies, soap companies, Ayurvedic product manufacturers, coconut milk extractors, desiccated coconut processors, virgin coconut oil units, and coir product manufacturers all rushed to the coconut Special Economic Zone situated on the outskirts of Kozhikode — Chera Nadu (Kerala).

And this was not happening in only a few states; it was happening in each and every state. Any company that was even remotely connected to the product of the Special Economic Zone tried to gain the full benefits of the SEZ.

Soap, shampoo, detergent, incense, and perfume companies were notorious for this kind of operation. One of the largest soap companies in the empire, Lakshmi Radiance, opened factories in seven to eight Special Economic Zones, each focusing on a different soap. It may be a fruit soap, a spice-related soap, heck, they even opened a factory in the coal Special Economic Zone for a carbon soap.

The land area preliminarily delegated to the Special Economic Zones was small. It was only ten kilometres at the maximum and two kilometres at the minimum, so the space was filled up fairly quickly. Not to mention, for the companies that first chose to settle, even though they only bought a small area of land, the management offices of the Special Economic Zone did not sell the land around their land, taking into account the expansion needs of the company in the future. Although this did gain gratitude from the smaller companies who chose to settle, the land area was quickly filled up, especially with the large companies purchasing thousands of acres of land at a time.

And this phenomenon became even fiercer when news broke out that the next batch of Kesari engines will be given priority to the companies that are located in Special Economic Zones. Hearing the news, the companies that have already seen the benefits of the Kesari engine couldn't stay still.

"Is the news serious?" Aakarsh asked with a grave expression.

The subordinate looked hesitant, but he still nodded his head, "It should be the truth, Sir. Although it has not been made public through the newspapers, all the Special Economic Zones our people have gone to have the poster in the office that says so."

"Since the Special Economic Zones are a direct undertaking of the central government, it should be credible."

Akarsh got annoyed, "Damn it, I just ordered for the construction of a factory in Gangapuri."

Without wasting any time, Akarsh called for an executive meeting and gave orders. "Contact the construction company and ask them to immediately stop the construction." " I remember that the company that was being built is in close proximity to the Rourkela Iron Special Economic Zone. The company I had planned is quite big, so see if there is any large company willing to take over the project. This way we can avoid the liquidated damages to the construction company."

Thinking about it, he added, "Contact His Majesty's Iron and Steel Company first and see if they are interested, even if the price is a little less, we can sell it to His Majesty directly."

"Contact the commissioner at Paithan SEZ and immediately apply for land in the Economic Zone for at least 1,000 acres, and if possible, reserve five hundred acres more for expansion in the future."

"The three military Conglomerates have all started to construct massive factories, completely abandoning the use of water wheels. I am looking to do the same, so let's make it massive. We will invest in gigantic factories capable of producing all the bicycles in one place. The investment will be 50 million varaha. contact various banks for the loans."

All the executive managers were shocked by the decisive decision taken by their boss, but their boss, very much like the Emperor, had a very good track record in making the right decisions. So even though they felt like it was very risky to manufacture all the bicycles their company produced in a single location, they still dutifully carried out the orders.

Akarsh was not the only one who acted so decisively. Others who had bought steam engines and were about to construct factories elsewhere decisively abandoned the project or sold it to other interested parties at a cheap price and shifted their focus to the SEZs as well.

---

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed...

The excitement brought by the economic growth models slowly calmed down among the civilians, but for those who were behind the scenes and for those who actually worked in the factories, they were seeing earthshaking changes every day.

Krunal Pandya is one such person who noticed the trend very keenly. The factory he worked at was lucky enough to procure 5 Kesari engines, and he was the one managing the production line. Experiencing the absolute monster that the steam engine is for the productivity of the company, he immediately realised that the world would never be the same.

After working with the steam engine, he immediately realised that if a manufacturing-based company is not transforming its production model from waterwheel-based to steam-based, then it would be ruthlessly left behind by the times, forgotten like the flowing clouds in the eternal river of history.

Thankfully, he was working for Swastik Enterprises Limited, a large tool manufacturer, and even more thankfully, his boss had the foresight to send him to the Special Economic Zone, where the company had bought a large plot of land for the construction of a factory.

Rourkela, Gangapuri

"Krrr!"

A carriage came to a halt.

Krunal got down from the carriage with anticipation and excitement. He looked at the plot of land his company had bought from the Rourkela Special Economic Zone, and he couldn't help but be shocked. The pillars had already been laid, and the brick walls were already coming up well. He was amazed at the construction speed shown by the Kalyan Construction Company.

"That's one of the five largest construction companies for you, " He commented in admiration.

However, what shocked him was not the speed of construction. Instead, it was the facilities available at the plot bought by the factory. He was originally worried that there would not be enough water for the needs of the company, especially since their company is a large-scale heavy industrial company that gobbles up water for a lot of things. But he was completely mistaken, because not only was there a water line flowing directly at the end of the plot of land connected to the nearby reservoir, there was even a drainage line clearly marked and made visible.

The slight worry he had in his heart started to disappear, confidence filled his heart, and he immediately wrote back to the headquarters.

"Boss, everything is looking very good here. All the infrastructure that is needed to run our company is readily present, be it the patent offices, police stations, human resources, water, drainage, and many other things. Also, I just got information that Raya Iron and Steel, His Majesty's own company, has purchased a large project abandoned by Aakarsh Carriages. Rumours are that a large-scale iron and steel plant, the biggest in the empire, would be built in that place. So the biggest problem we had previously, the supply of raw materials, is no longer a problem."

"Boss, I suggest you send more employees here. In a few months, the factory will be constructed and we can start the work immediately."

There were several people like Krunal Pandya who had travelled to the SEZ and noticed favourable conditions and recommended that the headquarters assign more people to help.

This created a situation where the high-quality talents, who were mostly concentrated in the southern part of the empire, slowly began to be assigned to the north.

Every day, several thousand engineers travelled to the Special Economic Zones and acted as anchors, pulling more people into the SEZ.

Unknown to a lot of people, the industrial heart of the Bharatiya Empire began to shift from the southern part of the nation to the central and northern parts. Only a few perceptive individuals noticed this change, like the politicians, leading economists, and Emperor Vijay himself, but due to the movement being extremely slow, it did not raise any attention in society.

It was not until many months later, when Abhijeet Kumar Sen, one of the most prominent economists of the empire, came up with an article titled *The Migration of the Industry*, did the public get to know about what was happening.

The reactions from the people were intense, but that's a story for a later date.