Bengal receives investment proposals worth Rs 4.4 trn: CM Mamata Banerjee

The 8th edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) generated investment pledges worth Rs 4.4 trillion, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on the concluding day of the conclave, dubbing it a “remarkable success.”

 

Banerjee said investment proposals worth Rs 4,40,595 crore had been received. “I am extremely happy,” she said.

 

On Wednesday, industrialists Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani, JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal, RPSG Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka, and Ambuja Neotia Group chairman Harshavardhan Neotia announced investment plans.

 

Ambani topped the chart with an additional investment of Rs 50,000 crore by the end of the decade.

 

 

Jindal announced an investment of Rs 16,000 crore in a 1,600 MW power plant at Salboni in Paschim Medinipur and an industrial park. He also expressed interest in picking up a stake in the Andal airport project.

 

The RPSG Group said it had Rs 10,000 crore in the pipeline, while the Ambuja Neotia Group is looking at an investment of Rs 15,000 crore over the next five years.

 

While addressing the valedictory session on Thursday, Banerjee said, “Yesterday, captains of industry assured big projects here. After the inaugural session of the Bengal Global Business Summit (on Wednesday), I met Mukesh Ambani ji and Sajjan Jindal ji individually, and they have assured us of many other things that they are going to do for Bengal.”

 

Banerjee mentioned the oil exploration project at Ashoknagar in North 24 Parganas and said, “We have given 15 acres of land at Rs 1 to ONGC in Ashoknagar. They have successfully discovered oil and gas, which will be exploited commercially. We are supporting ONGC and will be giving a petroleum mining lease also.”

 

This will put Bengal on the petroleum map of India, Banerjee added.

 

There were 20 partner countries for this edition of the BGBS, and the chief minister said they had worked “tirelessly.” More than 5,000 investor delegates attended.

 

Across multiple sectors, 212 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and letters of intent were signed during the summit.

 

As the BGBS concluded, Banerjee pitched the state as not only the “safest” and “smartest” but also highlighted social harmony. “We don’t divide people; we unite people. All festivals are our festivals. Bengal is the cultural capital of India; we must not forget that,” she said.

 

The mission was to create more employment and eliminate poverty. About 1.72 crore individuals have been brought out of poverty in West Bengal, she said.

 

She signed off by saying, “Let us create jobs for unemployed youth.”