Page 78 - West Bengal

WB receives investment proposals worth Rs 3.76 trillion: CM Mamata Banerjee

Addressing the valedictory session, Banerjee said that 188 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and letters of intent (LoIs) had been signed

Uber to start bus service in Kolkata for office-goers by March 2024

Ride-hailing app Uber on Wednesday announced that it will soon start a bus service in Kolkata for office-goers. By March next year, Uber Shuttle will have 60 air-conditioned buses on predefined routes, connecting business districts with residential areas of the city, it said in a statement. Uber will invest USD 10 million in the state by 2025, and create about 50,000 livelihood opportunities over the next five years, it added. For the bus service, Uber signed an agreement with the state Transport Department at the Bengal Global Business Summit. Like cabs, passengers can pre-book seats up to a week in advance for Uber Shuttle, track live location and route, and receive real-time estimated time of arrival (ETA) through the Uber app. Uber Shuttle will offer commuters a seamless and convenient travel experience, the statement said. The service will also provide cashless payment options, round-the-clock safety support and a comfortable ride with air-conditioned buses running from 6 am

Merlin Group signs MoU with World Trade Centers at Bengal business summit

The Kolkata-based Merlin Group announced on Wednesday that the company has signed an MoU with several World Trade Centers in the country to explore opportunities for enhancing trade and investment. The pact was inked during the Bengal Global Business Summit here. "We signed MoUs with WTC Bangalore, WTC Mumbai, and WTC Noida at the investment summit for mutual support in various activities, promoting businesses and members in each other's states," Sushil Mohta, chairman of WTC NDITA said. The Rs 1500 WTC which is likely to create 30,000 job opportunities is coming up at Salt Lake's Sector 5 area, the municipal services of which are looked after by Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA). This WTC "will also focus on strengthening global trade, with a particular emphasis on promoting exports from West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala", Mohta said. The partnership with other WTCs aims at exploring opportunities for enhancing trade and investment

Rs 400 cr investment in Bengal's hosiery parks expected by FY24-25: WBHA

The West Bengal Hosiery Association (WBHA) on Wednesday said that an investment of Rs 400 crore in capacity building of hosiery parks in the state is expected by the next fiscal year. Addressing a session on manufacturing industries with a focus on MSMEs and textiles at the seventh Bengal Global Business Summit, WBHA secretary Pradeep Arora said, "This investment aims to add a sprawling 20 lakh sq ft of operational area to the hosiery parks." Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi, in his address, underscored the importance of Medium and Small Scale Industries (MSMEs) in the rural hinterlands, while stressing the need for robust support mechanisms such as enhanced access to credit, simplified compliance obligations, and swift project approvals. Acknowledging the challenges faced by MSMEs, Dwivedi said the state government was taking a proactive approach by regularly organising stakeholder consultation meetings at the district level, often in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and .

NSE ties up with Bengal govt to facilitate fund raising for SMEs in state

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday said it has collaborated with the West Bengal government to spread awareness amongst MSMEs in the state regarding fundraising through IPO mechanism using the bourse's SME platform. As part of the pact, NSE with the support of West Bengal government will conduct awareness drives through seminars, MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)camps, knowledge sessions, road shows, workshops to guide corporates across the state for fundraising on its SME platform, Emerge, and handhold companies in the listing process, the bourse said in a statement. "Today at the Bengal Global Business Summit, we have signed a MoU with the NSE to encourage and support the MSMEs of our state to pursue the capital market for growth opportunities. "Listing on the capital market shall help them raise capital to fuel their growth story. This shall provide an opportunity to showcase their business to a larger set of investors through NSE Emerge platform," Rajesh ...

KPMG expands operations, opens new global delivery centre in Kolkata

KPMG LLP, a multinational audit, tax and advisory firm, has further expanded its presence in India with the opening of a new global delivery centre office in Kolkata. The new office, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and collaboration spaces, will accommodate a growing team of professionals, a statement said. KPMG currently has over 250 professionals in Kolkata and has ambitious plans to double its workforce by FY'25, it added. This expansion reflects the firm's recognition of Kolkata's vibrant talent pool and its strategic importance to KPMG's growth strategy, the firm said. "The professionals in Kolkata are joining a team of individuals developing critical skills that support the audit today and the more data-driven audit we are driving towards," said KPMG U.S. national managing partner (audit operations) Tim Walsh. Global delivery centres play a crucial role in KPMG's global audit strategy, providing audit and assurance support, audit technology, and risk management ...

Reliance Industries to pump Rs 20K cr more into Bengal, says Mukesh Ambani

Mamata invites industry to participate in Tajpur port tender

Reliance to invest additional Rs 20k cr in Bengal in 3 years: Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Industries chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday announced an additional Rs 20,000-crore investment for West Bengal over the next three years. Ambani said the fresh investment will be in the areas of digital life solutions, retail and bio-energy. "We plan to invest an additional Rs 20,000 crore in Bengal in the next three years for enhancing digital life solutions, augmenting Reliance Retail footprint and on bio-energy," he said at the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) here. The Reliance Industries has invested close to Rs 45,000 crore in the last few years in the state, Ambani said. "Reliance will leave no stone unturned to accelerate Bengal's growth," he asserted. The Reliance Foundation will also take up the task of renovating and restoring the iconic Kalighat Temple in Kolkata to regain its "original glory", Ambani added.

WB's marquee biz summit begins today, leaders from 28 nations to take part

Business leaders from 28 countries, a host of prominent figures of corporate India as well as political dignitaries are expected to take part in the seventh edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) which will begin on Tuesday, officials said. The participating countries include the US, UK, Japan, Poland, France, Australia, Germany, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Fiji, they said. Corporate bigwigs such as Reliance Industries, ITC, Ambuja Neotia and the Hiranandani Group are also likely to attend the state's marquee business summit. The focus sectors at the two-day BGBS 2023 are MSME, textiles, engineering, energy, transport and urban infrastructure, real estate, agriculture, tourism and international trade and logistics, officials said. Over 250 international delegates, including senior representatives from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, are expected to participate in the event, they said. "Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani is expected to attend

UK firms ready to help Bengal develop green public transport system: Envoy

The British delegation for the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) has several companies with expertise in running trams and other modes of green public transport, and they would like to help in developing such a system in West Bengal, a UK envoy said on Monday. BGBS, West Bengal's marquee business summit, begins here on Tuesday. Trams are still running in many cities in the UK and also in South London, UK Deputy High Commissioner to East and Northeast India, Andrew Fleming, pointed out. "We are happy that our delegation for the BGBS has many companies with expertise in running trams and other modes of green public transport. They would be ready to help in the movement of people in cities and towns of West Bengal," Fleming said. Trams are an iconic feature and a heritage symbol of Kolkata, he said before riding a special tram operated by the West Bengal Transport Department from Tollygunge to Ballygunge, a distance of around 5 km in the southern part of the city. The British ...

Committee formed to prepare Bengali plaque on Unesco honour to Santiniketan

Visva Bharati University on Monday said a committee has been formed to finalise the new Bengali plaque in place of the earlier one on UNESCO recognition to Santiniketan as a heritage site. The committee will also look through the already prepared Hindi and English texts of the new plaque to see that it is according to the instructions of the union education ministry, spokesperson of the central university, Mahua Banerjee said in an official statement. She said the acting Vice-chancellor Sanjoy Kumar Mallick has been advised that the installation of the official text of the UNESCO statement recognizing Santiniketan as a heritage site is of "immediate priority" and the ministry was assured that the university has no intention for unnecessary delay in carrying out the work. The ministry was informed that soon after the receipt of the draft statement, a committee was formed to finalise the Bengali version of the text of the plaque and to look through the texts for those in Hindi and ...

Over 25 nations' leaders to join Bengal Global Business Summit from Tue

Business leaders from more than 25 countries, a host of prominent figures of corporate India as well as political dignitaries are expected to take part in the seventh edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) that will begin on Tuesday, officials said. The participating countries include the US, UK, Japan, Poland, France, Australia, Germany, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Fiji, they said. Corporate honchos from India's Reliance Industries, ITC, Ambuja Neotia and the Hiranandani Group are also likely to attend the state's marquee business summit. The focus sectors at the two-day BGBS 2023 are MSME, textiles, engineering, energy, transport & urban infrastructure, real estate, agri, tourism and international trade & logistics, officials said. Over 250 international delegates are expected to participate, including senior representatives from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, they said. "Reliance Industries Chairman & MD Mukesh Ambani is expected to attend this

Cyclone 'Midhili' to bring rainfall in coastal West Bengal, Odisha on alert

The deep depression over the Bay of Bengal on Friday intensified into a cyclonic storm and will graze past the Sunderbans before making landfall on Bangladesh coast with a maximum wind speed of 80 kmph, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a bulletin. The cyclonic storm named 'Midhili' will cross the Bangladesh coast during November 17 night or early hours of November 18, it said. The system over the Bay of Bengal lay centered at 5.30 am on Friday at about 190 km east of Paradip (Odisha), 200 km south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal) and 220 km southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh), the national weather agency said. "It is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and cross Bangladesh coast close to Khepupara with wind speed of 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph during November 17 night or early hours of November 18," the IMD said. The name 'Midhili' was given by the Maldives. Countries affected by the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal cyclones rotationally give names of cyclon

Centre tells Visva Bharati to replace controversial plaques at Santiniketan

The Centre has asked Visva Bharati University to replace the controversial plaques commemorating UNESCO's award of World Heritage Site to Santiniketan, a varsity source said on Thursday. The Union education ministry has told the university to remove the plaques and replace them with ones having Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's name, the source added. Visva Bharati spokesperson Mahua Bandyopadhyay told PTI, "We cannot confirm anything about the plaques unless we have a written communique from the Union education ministry." Days after Santiniketan got the UNESCO tag on September 17, three plaques commemorating the honour came up in different parts of the campus having the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former VB vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty but did not mention Tagore's name, the founder of Santiniketan and Visva Bharati. This triggered an uproar from students, faculty and political parties. On October 26, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked Visva ..

Amid cash-for-query case, Mahua gets organisational responsibilities in TMC

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, currently facing recommendations for expulsion from Lok Sabha in a cash-for-query row, was tasked with strengthening the party's organisation in West Bengal's Nadia district ahead of the 2024 general elections, in a clear message of support from the TMC. On Monday, the TMC announced a revised list of district presidents for the state's 35 organisational districts. Moitra, who was the district president in Krishnanagar a few years ago before being removed in a prior reshuffle, has now been reinstated as the district president of Krishnanagar (Nadia North) organisational district. Expressing her gratitude on social media, Moitra stated, "Thank you @MamataOfficial and @AITCofficial for appointing me District President of Krishnanagar (Nadia North). Will always work with the party for the people of Krishnanagar." The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, headed by Chairman Vinod Kumar Sonkar, submitted its report on the 'cash-for-query' allegation against Moit

Local Trinamool Congress leader shot dead in West Bengal, assailant lynched

A local Trinamool Congress leader was shot dead at Joynagar in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Monday morning, prompting a group of people to lynch an alleged assailant, officials said. Saifuddin Laskar, TMC area president of Bamungachi in Joynagar was shot dead near his house by some miscreants, an official said. Supporters of Laskar, whose wife is a panchayat pradhan, caught one of the alleged assailants and beat him to death, according to locals. Local TMC leaders alleged that CPI(M) supporters were behind the killing of Laskar. CPI(M) supporters in nearby areas claimed that supporters of Laskar ransacked their houses and set fire to some after the incident. Stating that every death is unfortunate, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said that the police must conduct a proper investigation to nab the killers and unravel the conspiracy. "The murder of Saifuddin Laskar is the result of internal strife within the TMC, it is no use blaming the CPI(M)," he

West Bengal to reduce intrastate e-way bill threshold to Rs 50,000

West Bengal will reduce the intrastate e-way bill threshold from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50,000 from December to bring parity with the rest of the country and prevent GST slippage. A recent West Bengal GST notification said that an e-way bill will be required for the movement of goods valued at over Rs 50,000 within the state. The provision will also apply to job work goods. State GST commissioner Khalid Anwar told PTI that there are two main reasons for tweaking the e-way bill threshold. "One is to bring parity with the rest of the country, which is already Rs 50,000 for interstate movement of goods. The Rs one lakh threshold for the intrastate movement was often misinterpreted as applying to interstate movement of goods and traders were penalised," he said. The second reason is that unscrupulous traders are taking advantage of the higher threshold and as a result there is tax slippage. A reduced threshold will help protect tax revenues, he said. Anwar said that the state had initially k

Markets in Kolkata witness huge crowd on Diwali, festive spirit in air

Customers thronged the Dakshindari Diya Bazar for festive shopping late on Saturday night

Security beefed up across West Bengal in view of Kali Puja, Diwali

Security was tightened across West Bengal on Sunday in view of Kali Puja and Diwali, officials said. In state capital Kolkata, over 5,000 police personnel were deployed to maintain the law and order situation and also keep a vigil on celebrations with illegal firecrackers, they said. Police personnel were deployed at strategic locations in the city, besides shopping malls, markets, religious places, railway stations and jetties, they said. Twenty-one police officers of deputy commissioner rank were on duty, besides 35 assistant commissioners, they added. Security was also beefed up in nearby Barasat and Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas district where thousands of people hit the streets to visit the community Kali Puja pandals, they added. Similar was the security situation in other major cities of the state, including Siliguri, Asansol, Durgapur and Kalyani, officials said. "We have taken all precautionary measures in view of Kali Puja and Diwali celebrations. Our officers will .

Bharti Airtel expands 5G coverage in all 23 districts of West Bengal

Leading telecom service provider Bharti Airtel Thursday said it has expanded its 5G network to all 23 districts of West Bengal, which will bring the high-speed technology to its 1.6 million customers. This marks a significant milestone for Airtel as the company has achieved 5G coverage across all districts and union territories in the country within a year of the launch of the service, the company said. Airtel boasts of about 22.5 million total customer base in Kolkata and West Bengal circles out of which 1.6 million is already on 5G. The adoption of 5G network is happening very fast, its officials said. "We were the first telecom operator to deploy high-speed 5G technology in West Bengal and we are committed to connecting lives across the state," Airtel CEO (West Bengal) Ayan Sarkar said. The telecom major's expansive network now covers areas ranging from the tranquil tea gardens of Darjeeling to the colonial town of Chandannagar, the iconic Eden Gardens cricket stadium in the ci