Bengal pitches for CII summit 2006

The West Bengal government has firmed up plans of setting up a Health City near Kolkata and invited foreign investment from health tourism and other service sectors.

"At present we are trying to attract investment in the health sector and my government has invited private companies to set up hospitals, health clinics, and health centers," said the chief minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, while addressing the valedictory session of the CII Partnership Summit 2005 in Kolkata today.

The chief minister also invited CII to hold the summit in Kolkata next year.

"West Bengal is changing and changing for better. We are not complacent and would like to attract investment from foreign countries," Bhattacharya added.

The chief minister also said that he and his colleagues met a number of delegations from the USA, China, European Union, Middle East, and Singapore.

"This has opened up new possibilities in segments like iron and steel, petrochemical, chemical, plastic, agribusiness, horticulture, food processing, cement, leather and IT," he added.

Bhattacharya also invited investment in infrastructure like roads and bridges, social segment and the power sector through its private public partnership policy.

Talking about globalisation Bhattacharya said no country or state can afford to disassociate with globalisation. "It was only that developing countries want some time to be able to compete and would like to have a level playing field.

Talking about agri-processing Bhattacharya said, "West Bengal cannot afford to provide large chunk of lands to companies intending to set up processing units in the state because 72 per cent of the land belonged to small holding small plots of land. We however have found a way out. The panchayats along with the farmers would make sure that these companies which have set up units get a regular supply of raw materials."

Bhattacharjee had been advocating the FDI mantra during the summit.

Chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee batted for private investment, including foreign investment in the state, summed up his address at the 'East is rising' at Thursday's session of the summit with the punchline "Left is right."

One of the many areas that the state government was looking at bringing in foreign and private investment was infrastructure. Bhattacharjee said, "We are not fools. We will not pursue obsolete ideas."

The state government has approached the central finance minister for incentives to boost investment in the six north Bengal districts, in the lines of the investments offered to the north-eastern states.

The primary incentives that the state government was seeking were excise and other tax concessions. Bhattacharjee said that West Bengal did not have any policy to bring international investment into its small businesses.

"We are talking to big industrial houses to support the expansion of the small sector in machine tools and electronics through ancillarisation. We don't have a policy on attracting international investment for this and have to chalk out a plan" he said.

Bhattacharjee also said that as part of the central government's "Look East" policy, West Bengal government was looking forward to doing business with the south east Asian countries.

He also said that said that Marxists were changing with the world and his government was open to all kinds of foreign and private investments to develop the infrastructure.

"We are talking to big industrial houses to support the expansion of the small sector in machine tools and electronics through ancillarisation. We don't have a policy on attracting international investment for this and have to chalk out a plan," he added.

However, of late, small Italian companies have shown interest in investing in leather sector and three agreements have already been signed between the Indian and Italian businessmen. Italian companies, Bhattacharjee said, had also invested in the gem and jewellery park.

To a query, he said there were shortcomings in the state's industrial and social infrastructure, but efforts were on to remove these.

"The power position is satisfactory though we have plans to step it up to meet the future demand," he added.

Bhattacharjee also said business with south Asian countries was increasing and the state would have to improve its ports, airports and roads for which it was ready to join any foreign investor.