This refers to the editorial "West Bengal needs more than a summit" (January 9). It is easy to believe that hard things such as land and capital alone can make growth happen. But the "soft" issues are more important. People have to feel confident about tomorrow in order to continue to live and invest in a place. They have to believe that their children will get good education, women will have protection and the elderly, good medical care.
Industry has to be confident about being able to do projects quickly and cost-effectively without being blackmailed by syndicates, unions and politicians, and can work 24x7 without transport or general strikes. The government has to work on delivering these social goods, without which low cost of labour or land means nothing.
P Datta Kolkata
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