In January, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that her State had secured investment commitments of over ₹2.19 lakh crore in the 2018 edition of Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS).

But that was not the only major announcement she made. “Nearly 50 per cent of the commitments made in the previous global summit (2017) are underway,” she announced making it clear that the State has arrived on the country’s industrial scene.

For long considered the graveyard of industries because of its trade unionism and government apathy, Banerjee and her Cabinet colleagues have been painstakingly working to change the State’s image and perception, and, make it “investor-friendly”.

The efforts seem to be bearing fruit. At least, numbers say so.

For three years in a row (2015 to 2017), the State has attracted investments well above ₹2 lakh crore. In 2015, it drew investment commitments of ₹2.43 lakh crore; in 2016 it was around ₹2.5 lakh crore, and in 2017 it was ₹2.35 lakh crore.

Sectoral focus

For Banerjee, jobs matter. And as expected, manufacturing and infrastructure have emerged the top focus areas in these investor summits.

Nearly, 72 per cent of the commitments, or ₹1,56,811 crore, received in the 2018 global investors’ summit came from manufacturing and infra-development. MSMEs remained the second major draw with 24 per cent or ₹53,000 crore of the investment commitments.

“Nearly 20 lakh jobs will be created when these commitments (received in 2018) and MoUs materialise,” State Finance Minister Amit Mitra had said.

Major names

For Bengal, the major investment commitments received include a ₹5,000-crore promise by Mukesh Ambani towards expansion of petroleum outlets in Bengal; Sajjan Jindal, Chairman of JSW Group, committed to investments of ₹10,000 crore in paint, steel and cement sectors is still at the drawing board stage; Saroj Poddar, Chairman of the Adventz Group committed to investing ₹1,000 crore, and Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, committed to investing in the power business.

This apart, there was a ₹750- crore promise by Pranav Adani, Director of Adani Enterprises, over the next five years. The group has already invested a similar amount in the State over the last few years as capex in its edible oil refining and packaging unit. The group also wants to replicate its Mundra port project here.

FMCG major ITC Ltd is expected to set up a hotel under the Fortune brand in Andal on land belonging to Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd.

And, city-based industrialist Sanjay Budhia, MD, Patton Group, along with Embassy Industrial Parks (a JV of Warbug Pincus and the Embassy group) will develop industrial and logistics parks at an estimated cost of ₹1,000 crore. To start with, a 50-acre plot at Uluberia will be developed at ₹400 crore.

Logistics support provider, Tirupati Vessel, announced a ₹250-crore RoRo (roll-on-roll-off) service to be flagged off next month. It would move 500 trucks a day resulting in decongestion of city roads.

Even cab-hailing service Ola has committed to investing ₹300 crore (in phases) to provide vehicles to unemployed youth.

Repositioning Itself

But there is something more to the Bengal industrialisation story. No, it is not the subsidies or single window clearance or availability of land bank that the State is highlighting as its USP.

Rather, it is regional connectivity that has become its top draw. Across forums, Banerjee has termed Bengal as the gateway to South-East Asia and the North-East. According to her, her State enjoys proximity to many South-East Asian nations. With South-East Asia becoming a major trade (export) destination for Indian companies; Bengal has the potential to emerge open doors to the region. Better connectivity through Bengal will help companies access nearly 800 million people in South-East Asian and ASEAN nations.

Moreover, there is easy access to the North-East. Companies looking to tap the North-East States would do well if they have a manufacturing or logistics base in Bengal.

Today, businessmen who were once afraid of investing in the State admit that the journey towards industrialisaiton has begun. But these are yet baby steps. Intent and final outcome of the investment commitments will determine if Bengal can reclaim its glory days of the past and show the path for the country’s industrial drive.

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