The Hindu Business Line : `East must take advantage of natural resources'

THE States of eastern India, including West Bengal, "have to carve out a space for themselves in manufacturing by making full use of their natural advantages like abundant availability of natural resources and skilled labour," said Mr Harsh K. Jha, Managing Director of Tata Metaliks Ltd.

Investments have to come in areas such as manufacturing, as sectors like IT, real estate and biotechnology can provide high visibility but not the required number of jobs for young graduates.

Making a presentation on `Manufacturing in India: Is East losing out?' at an interactive session organised by CII here, Mr Jhasaid, "East has already lost out, and if the priorities are not set right soon, it may lose out permanently."

There is no great competitive advantage to the State of West Bengal through these investments in IT, real estate and chemical industries, which are somewhat akin to wearing a badge on our shoulders, he said.

Mr Jha said States need to nurture the vision that manufacturing alone can help in wealth creation, and "the governments need to own, accept and translate that vision into reality."

There has to be unrestricted flow of resources, and capital has to be assured of security by enlightened managements, he added.

The other important issue, which is hindering investments into a State like West Bengal, according to him, is the problem of image, perception and mindset.

Mr Jha cautioned against this growing disconnect between central and State leadership, which does not send the right signal to the potential investor.

Manufacturing could well be the answer for the West Bengal of tomorrow. According to Mr Deepak Tandon, President, Birla Tyres, who was presenting the Orissa perspective, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa together had the potential to emerge as major manufacturing hubs, given the availability of resources such as minerals in these States.

Orissa, Mr Tandon said, had a major advantage in terms of metals, mining and manufacturing, and "has the potential to attract international investment, as already evidenced by the proposed Pohang steel project. Pointing out that all was still not lost for manufacturing in the eastern States, Mr Aslok Mukherjee, former Chairman of Flakt India, said there were still some centres of excellence in these States, and these should be made full use of for the process of revival.

He, however, admitted that in the context of Kolkata, aesthetics (in terms of physical infrastructure) still played a part for attracting investments into Bengal, as the initial impression has to be good.

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