When Mamata Banerjee took over charge at Writers&rsquo; Building, she was greeted by untidy stacks of files. Seeing the cluttered look of the offices, a visibly angry chief minister had described the government departments as &lsquo;ghugur basa&rsquo; (den of corruption).

Writers' Building gets a makeover ahead of Hillary Clinton`s visit

Business Standard

Call it an image makeover for a moving slice of history, or a blueprint for revival, Calcutta Tramways Corporation (CTC), the operator of Asia&rsquo;s oldest functional tram services, is set to soon introduce &ldquo;cafeteria trams&rdquo; in Kolkata.

Kolkata may soon get cafeteria trams

She might be the messiah of common man by rolling back prices and holding back policy decisions at the Centre, but West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is again gearing up to take some unpopular decisions in her terrain.

Mamata gives nod to power tariff hike, mulls VRS for transport workers

After three years into construction, Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation&rsquo;s (KMRC) East-West corridor project may see a change in the proposed route. The West Bengal government has decided to rope in RITES to carry out a feasibility study for the new route, which envisages to cover an additional distance of 1.5 Km in central part of the city.

Govt mulls change of route in East-West metro

After making several unsuccessful attempts to revive the Sahaganj plant in West Bengal, Pawan Kumar Ruia is now shifting focus to Dunlop's Tamil Nadu unit. While the beleaguered tyre maker is fighting a wind-up petition from unsecured creditors in Calcutta High court, Ruia is penning down a restructuring plan for ailing Ambattur factory to keep the company afloat.

Pawan Ruia plans restructuring of Tamil Nadu plant

China&rsquo;s two largest state-owned train makers that manufacture the longest high-speed rail system in the world have submitted bids in the first ever global tender by the Indian Railways to manufacture rakes for Kolkata Metro.

China's train makers bid for Kolkata Metro rakes

India might welcome one of the world's top selling highway-capable electric car in the coming years, as the Japanese carmaker Nissan is looking into the possiblity intoducing its electric vehicle, Leaf, into the Indian market.

Nissan mulls to launch its top-selling electric car in India

West Bengal Commerce and Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee has a difficult task of wooing investors to a state that has developed an anti-industry image over the years. As the Mamata Banerjee-led government completes one year in office, Chatterjee claims the new government has been able to restore investors&rsquo; confidence.

The govt is there to provide all kinds of support to industry: Partha Chatterjee

After the famous Indo-US &ldquo;Harley for Indian mango&rdquo; deal in 2007, the American icon Harley-Davidson announced its entry through a wholly owned subsidiary &mdash; Harley-Davidson Motor Company India. Following an extensive study of the market, the iconic brand finally hit the Indian roads in July 2010. Anoop Prakash, who is spearheading the Indian operation of the company, tells Probal Basak the 18-month journey has been &ldquo;more than satisfying&rdquo;.

Most of our customers are upgrading from Royal Enfield: Anoop Prakash 

While automakers have gone ahead and increased prices to offset the hike in excise duties proposed in the budget, the auto component industry is in a bind over passing on the burden &ndash; especially in the aftermarket or replacement market &ndash; owing to intense competition from both unorganised players and imports.

Auto parts makers in a bind over passing on excise hike

India's largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki plans to export a large share of production from its proposed Gujarat plant as according to the company estimate the proximity of Mundra port will save as much as Rs 4,000 per car on logistics cost.

Export from Maruti&#39;s proposed Gujarat plant to save logistic cost

Kolkata's long wait for a modern world-class airport is soon to end. The new terminal at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at Dum Dum here, built at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore, is expected to welcome travellers from June.

World class, but global takers slip away

The entire nation &mdash; from the business community to common man &mdash; may be anxiously awaiting his budget speech on March 16, but Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, has already set the tone for celebration at Jangipur, his constituency.

Pranab builds new house in Jangipur, land prices soar

About a week from now, minister Dinesh Trivedi will be presenting the Railway Budget, the script for which is expected to come from his predecessor and party chief, Mamata Banerjee. Only, he might have to rethink the &lsquo;job-for-land&rsquo; policy formulated by her.

Mamata's policy derailed

In a week from now, Union Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi will be presenting&nbsp; the Railway Budget, the script for which is expected to come from his predecessor and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee. But before Trivedi announces new railway projects in the budget, he might have to rethink over the 'job-for-land' policy formulated by Banerjee.

Trivedi stuck over Rly Budget as Didi's pet scheme flops

While tyre major Ceat has started scouting for local partners for its proposed manufacturing plant in Bangladesh, the flagship company of Harsh Goenka-controlled RPG Group has planned its next step: look beyond SAARC countries for further expansion.

Ceat looks for partner for Bangladesh factory

July, 2011: Minister of State in Railway, Mukul Roy openly defied Prime Minister&rsquo;s directive to visit a train accident site in Assam, and instead chose to accompany his party chief, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee to Jangalmahal.

Newsmaker: Mukul Roy

Given her impressive recent cinema performances, film critics feel that Vidya Balan has the Midas touch. Every role she touches turns to gold. After Kahaani, however, this golden touch has had a far-reaching effect, and it is not just the film&rsquo;s success. It has, in fact, changed the stars of the hitherto obscure Monalisa Guest House.

Star chamber

In a major jolt to the Kolkata Port, its board of trustees decided on Friday scrap the proposed port facility at Sagar island in South 24 Parganas district citing &quot;lack of funds and non-viability&quot;. The project had figured in Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&rsquo;s budget speech in Februray 2010, when he promised to provide funds.

Kolkata Port Trust scraps Sagar island project

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is a populist, but her political acts show she does not always do what she preaches. While she has made it her business to oppose every move of the central government in keeping with her Ma Mati Manush plank, she has not shied away from allowing price increases in her state.

Volte-face: Mamata bites the bullet in Bengal

If the number of times a Trinamool Congress (TMC) functionary mentions Mamata Banerjee&rsquo;s name at a public speech is an yardstick for loyalty, next railway minister, Mukul Roy, is undoubtedly the most loyal soldier of the TMC chief.

Probal Basak