West Bengal expects to woo investment proposals of over Rs 3.5 lakh cr at global biz summit Mitra

Mumbai, Aug 29 (PTI) West Bengal is expecting to attract investment proposals of more than Rs 3.5 lakh crore at the Bengal Global Business Summit in November this year, state chief minister's Principal Chief Advisor Amit Mitra said on Tuesday.
    Addressing the media after an interactive session with industry stakeholders here, Mitra also said that the state's GDP this year is expected to be Rs 17-lakh crore this year.
    The 7th edition of the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) is scheduled to commence on November 21 in Kolkata.
    As a prelude to the Summit, a roadshow was organised in association with CII to deliberate on the trade and investment opportunities in the state and further strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation.
    Last time (2022 Summitt) around Rs 3-3.5 lakh crore investment was offered and the state is looking forward to more of it at this year's Summit, Mitra said.
     He said that as much as 50 per cent of the investment from the global business summits in the last five years is already under operation.
    According to him, it usually takes 2-3 years for the entire investment proposal to get materialised completely.
    The Mamata Banerjee Government is focussed on growth in a structured manner, Mitra said.
    West Bengal is the fourth largest economy in the country, as per an RBI report, he said and that the state's GDP is expected to stand at Rs 17-lakh crore this year from close to Rs 16-lakh crore last year.
    He said the state is growing at a very fast pace relative to the base, adding that there is a groundswell of manufacturing which is happening in West Bengal.
    "All around I see many structures of manufacturing emerging in West Bengal, which are sustainable, long-term and have all the input requirements that it needs," he said.
    West Bengal is way up (compared to other states) in terms of infrastructure with surplus water and an intensive road network, among others, coupled with industrial parks, which are growing at a rapid pace, he said.
    The automobile sector is one area where the state is looking to attract higher investment as there are other manufacturing which are one or the other way connected to this sector, he said.
    He said that one of the major auto companies was looking at a state where they could get land near a port and contacted the West Bengal Government as well.
    “But we have to see, we cannot make commitments,” he added.
    As far as electric vehicles are concerned, we have done the biggest bus conversion that to our knowledge in the country, he stated.
    To a question on the electric vehicle segment and Tesla's plans to get into India, he said that the global business summit is meant to invite people.
    "Now, I cannot say specifically about Tesla," he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)