State industry body eyeing foreign funds

Kolkata: In a notable stride to bring in foreign investments in Bengal, the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) will now travel overseas every month to hold meetings with potential investors. The WBIDC prepared a schedule till November marking the foreign destinations to which they will venture.

“We will be holding meetings with industry bodies and potential investors of three countries in a month and will point out before them why Bengal should be the destination. The ease of doing business, the single window system of issuing clearances, the infrastructural boost and most importantly, Bengal as the gateway to eastern India will be highlighted,” a top WBIDC official said.

Industry associations like Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) are lending their support to the industry department in this respect. The report of the meetings will be presented before chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) 2017 had witnessed participation from 29 countries and an investment proposal of Rs 2. 35 lakh crore was committed. Investments were promised in transactional waterways, coastal zonal infrastructure, civil defence, transport, sports, heavy industry, electricity generation, non-renewable energy, food processing, health, education, information technology, urban infrastructure, hospitality, tourism and some other sectors.

“The chief minister has instructed us to follow up the investment proposals to make things happen,” the official added. The chief minister is clearly serious about wooing foreign investment, given she visited Germany and met leading industrialists last year. Prior to that, she had visited London and Singapore.