Comeback after Singur: Tata Chairman Chandrasekaran calls on Mamata

Tata group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran on Wednesday called on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the secretariat to explore opportunities in the state. 

In a post on X, the Trinamool Congress, the party Banerjee leads, said she hosted Chandrasekaran for a dialogue on West Bengal’s industrial growth. 

The meeting reflected the state’s commitment to fostering public-private partnerships that drive innovation, investment, and inclusive development, it added. 

The ruling party also said their conversation centred on deepening the Tata group’s presence in the state.  ALSO READ: Tata AutoComp, Skoda form joint venture to enter rail components business 

This meeting is a first between a Tata group chairman and Banerjee as chief minister. 

 

In 2008, Banerjee, then in the Opposition, led a sustained movement against Tata Motors’ Nano project in Singur, south West Bengal. The project later moved to Gujarat. 

At the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), held in February, Banerjee had said in her speech the Tata group chairman could not make it to the summit owing to certain exigencies. 

Banerjee had a detailed discussion with him on the eve of the summit. “He has assured (me) that they want to invest more and more in Bengal. And he will come to Bengal very soon and discuss (things) in detail,” she had said then. 

Banerjee had even requested a direct flight connecting Kolkata with Europe.   

It is widely believed that the Singur episode influenced the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2011, when the Trinamool Congress swept to power, ending 34 years of Left Front rule. 

The Tata group, however, continued with its businesses in West Bengal such as those of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Steel, and Tata Hitachi.  TCS, which has a significant presence in New Town, Rajarhat, has taken up 20 acres at the Bengal Silicon Valley, the upcoming tech hub. 

Banerjee had posted on X that the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) had sanctioned the Phase-I building plan for the TCS office campus at the Bengal Silicon Valley. 

In the first phase 900,000 square feet of “world-class infrastructure”, including an 11-storey office tower, will be developed, creating employment for 5,000 people. 

The second phase will add another 1.5 million square feet, generating 20,000 more jobs, she had posted on X.