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Kolkata , Sept 8

IN a recent "Business Perception Survey: West Bengal 2003" carried out by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), among a cross section of 60 captains of industry, corporate CEOs and opinion makers in the State's business circle, some 55 per cent of the respondents believe that West Bengal has a satisfactory business environment.

On prevalence of corrupt practices in the State, some 69 per cent of the CEOs believe it is less compared to other States.

Equally, some 51 per cent think the regulatory framework and the bureaucracy was inefficient. On whether West Bengal has actually missed the bus in terms of industrial growth since 1991 (when the country embarked on economic reforms), while some 45 per cent felt it was initially slow to respond to reforms, some 31 per cent of those quizzed said though the State was a late starter, it has demonstrated scope for improvement.

On the ubiquitous bandhs, rallies and strikes which have become a major irritant for day to day living in Bengal, and how should the State Government tackle this problem, some 67 per cent said the political parties must exercise restraint and not call bandhs.

Some 43 per cent of the industrialists favoured a token gesture, like wearing of a black armband or 5-10 minute bandhs, so that mandays are not lost, and yet the protest will have been registered.

According to the Chamber president, Mr Vikram Thapar, the survey findings have clearly pinpointed the areas where changes have to be effected to improve investment prospects, and what must be done to aggressively market the State both within and outside.

A direct feedback from business and industry is critical, and would help the State Government to consider appropriate policy choices, he pointed out. The chamber will soon forward the results of the survey to the Government for their consideration.

He said the survey has thrown interesting light on the views and trends about West Bengal's economy and the business community's perception about the State Government's attitudes, policies, their implementation effects on the well being of the people and business environment in the State.

Perception is reality, when investments are considered, and on many counts, the perception about West Bengal is far worse than the objective reality, and that affects investment prospects, said Mr Thapar. He said there were constraints in infrastructure, labour and attitudes, "but the verdict is that things are changing for the better".

While some 55 per cent said there has been a marginal improvement in the investment climate in the last three years, some 27 per cent see no change at the ground level.

As per the findings released by ICC, while some 29 per cent feel there is need for significant improvement, 17 per cent said the environment was good. And on the areas of future growth, a whopping 72 per cent named knowledge-based industries, with 68 per cent opting for healthcare.

Tourism and the SME sectors got 38 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.

Asked on infrastructure aspects, which needed immediate attention, a huge 88 per cent of CEOs cited improvement of roads as the first priority for government, while some 69 per cent said suburban environment too required immediate attention.

Some 57 per cent thought transport sector has to improve in a big way. Improvements in ports, power and telecom were cited by 52 per cent, 36 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

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