West Bengal to host ‘Business and Industry’ Conclave: Event likely later this year; things to know

The West Bengal government will host a ‘Business and Industry Conclave’ later this year, Amit Mitra, chief financial adviser to CM Mamata Banerjee, announced on Tuesday. The initiative is being viewed as a push to accelerate industrialisation in the state. Mitra said the conclave would be organised after the Puja festivities to give further momentum to West Bengal’s industrial development. “There will be a Business and Industry conclave after the Pujas. To take this conclave forward, the state-level investment and synergy committee has been tasked to prepare the roadmap for the conclave,” said Mitra, who is also the former finance minister of the state. He said that the decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Banerjee, which was also attended by chief secretary Manoj Pant and other senior officials. This year, Durga Puja will be celebrated in the last week of September, while Diwali falls in the third week of October. According to Mitra, the roadmap for the conclave will focus on factors such as growth potential, employment intensity, export prospects, the state’s national advantage and revenue generation. He added that after the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), a key development was the formation of the state-level investment and synergy committee to create a single-point interface for industrial proposals. “The committee, chaired by the chief secretary, meets twice a month. In the last three months, it has cleared proposals to establish 3,165 projects,” Mitra said. These projects span a range of sectors, including real estate, information technology, food processing and tourism, according to a source in the state secretariat. While the total potential investment in these projects has not yet been revealed, Mitra said the figures are quite significant. He also confirmed that the Bengal Global Business Summit will continue as usual next year.