WB received Rs 2.84 lakh cr biz proposals from summit: Mamata

The fifth edition of 'Bengal Global Business Summit' has generated investment proposals of Rs 2.84 lakh crore, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Friday.

Terming the state's showpiece annual industry event as a "remarkable success", Banerjee said that West Bengal was the safest and warmest place to invest in the country.

"The outcome is fantastic. This is reflected by the amount of investment proposals we received," she said.

During the previous edition of the summit, the state had received investment proposals of around Rs 2.19 lakh crore.

As many as 140 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed across sectors, while 45 B2C (business to consumer) and 1,200 B2B (business to business) meetings were held during the two-day summit that concluded today.

The state government expects 8-10 lakh jobs to be created from the investment proposals.

"There is no strike, no suspension of work and no workers' unrest. While two crore jobs got reduced due to demonetisation and GST (Goods and Services Tax) in India, Bengal has been able to reduce unemployment by 40 per cent. We need to create jobs," she said.

Banerjee added that the next edition of the summit would be held in end-January or early February 2020.

State finance minister Amit Mitra said furniture and accessories giant IKEA has shown interest to open store in the state after Hyderabad.