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West Bengal, once known for industrial disruption, is a changed land. The days of strikes are over; today, the State is getting known for its speedy clearances and approvals, say West Bengal officials who visited Chennai seeking investments into the State.
“Labour and industrial ecosystem have totally changed; interact with the people who invested there, and your hesitation will be gone,” said Onkar Singh Meena, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Govt. of West Bengal, at Bengal Global Business Summit, 2023, which was held here on Tuesday.
Speaking over a virtual video call, Amit Mitra, Principal Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister and Finance Department, Government of West Bengal, noted that the State was the 4th largest economy in the country, on the basis of net value addition. In the past decade, West Bengal’s GDP has quadrupled, with effective control over revenue and fiscal deficits, he said.
Wooing investors
Talking about the IT sector, Mitra added that TCS employs 55,000 people in Bengal and is on track to surpass Bengaluru. “We invite Chennai’s IT hub to join Bengal’s Silicon Valley and explore opportunities at the Bengal Global Business Summit,” said Mitra. Silicon Valley is a technology centre currently in the process of being built in the State.
Calling businessmen to invest in the State, Meena said, “West Bengal is a leading State in food production and food security, particularly in fish and shrimp.” He said that the State was open to supporting agriculture, retail markets, retail chains, logistics hubs, and collaboration in poultry and meat processing, with potential in North Bengal’s spice production and Darjeeling Hills for spices.
During the summit, various speakers highlighted West Bengal’s extended geographic reach through its proximity to neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Additionally, the Siliguri corridor in West Bengal serves as a vital link to the entire Northeast region.
Health is an area where Bengal is looking for huge investment from other States. We anticipate an investment of ₹10-12,000 crores at the Global Business Summit in healthcare, said Rupak Barua, Director & Group CEO, AMRI Hospitals Ltd. Barua added that addressing the healthcare demand-supply gap is our goal, reducing the need for patients to travel outside Bengal.
West Bengal will conduct its Bengal Global Summit 2023 from November 21–23 in Kolkata. The Bengal Global Business Summit 2022’s sixth edition took place from April 20 to 21, 2022, and saw the participation of 4,300 attendees hailing from 42 different nations.
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