India's second financial hub to come up in WB

India's second financial hub will come up in West Bengal after Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla complex to house a cluster of banks, insurance companies and other financial intermediaries.

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while laying the foundation stone of the hub at Jyoti Basu Nagar near the metropolis here today, said "This will play a catalytic role in the development of the eastern and Northeastern region."

Keeping in tune with the Centre's Look East policy aimed at boosting trade and ties with the eastern and far eastern nations, Mukherjee said "The proposed hub will provide the necessary infrastructure for facilitating trade with these nations."

Mukherjee said, "With India's increasing trade imbalance with Europe, North America and Japan, the country will have to diversify export destinations to the east and far east."

He said that China, India along with other market economies like Indonesia and South Africa were contributing most to the global output.

The financial cluster, to be developed by Orion IT Tech, will be built at a cost of Rs 16,000 crore and provide direct and indirect employment to 3 lakh people.

Work on the hub will begin from December.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, state finance minister Asim Dasgupta and chairman of UCO Bank, UBI and Allahabad Bank were present on the occasion.