 "West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (third from right) greets Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (right) at the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata on Friday")
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday made an impassioned plea to industry at the Bengal Global Business Summit to invest in the state. In a far cry from her days in the Opposition when she led an agitation against the Tata Group's Nano project, which ultimately led to its pullout, Banerjee said: "I want you to be the employer and we will be the employees." Her call was, in spirit, matched by investors, who termed her the 'right' chief minister.
The summit turned out to be a massive show of strength for the state government. Business personalities from outside the state included the who's who of India Inc. Among those present were Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Mukesh Ambani, JSW Group CMD Sajjan Jindal, Hiranandani Group
Co-founder and MD Niranjan Hiranandani, Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra, Bharti Enterprises Vice-Chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal and Bharat Hotels CMD Jyotsna Suri.
But there was a greater demonstration of bonhomie between the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre and the Banerjee government. Four key ministers from the Centre, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of State for Coal, Power and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal, Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu were present.
And Banerjee was endorsed by all. "If we are not in position to attract investment, we will be destined to a course what happened in West Bengal three and a half decades back. Governments across the country are realising we have to devise policies. Summits of this kind help demonstrate a clear intention of a break from the past, where there was an increasing realisation that economy would work only if large businesses come to the state," said Jaitley.
The first day of the Summit, however, was more about commitments. In terms of investment proposals, there were not very many as most of them were already in the pipeline. When Banerjee rose to say the time for West Bengal had come, it didn't seem completely misplaced. She made a strong pitch for Bengal; the selling points: cheap labour, surplus power and land. "West Bengal is ahead in all development parameters, in terms of gross value added, industrial growth and per capita income. In four years, revenue generation has doubled, we have 5,000 acres in industrial park and we are power surplus," she said.
While Goyal said "only 22 villages in Bengal are left to be electrified; 99 per cent electrification has been achieved", Prabhu said they "will fast track metro projects in Kolkata". Gadkari added the Inland Waterways Authority of India was planning to set up a modern hub at Haldia to attract more investment in the state.
What is the secret of the government's success? The chief minister's office is in constant touch in the districts even at the block level, said Banerjee.
Realising there could some apprehension among investors about the assembly elections in April-May in the wake of a possible change of government, Banerjee said: "Election is coming but you don't worry, democracy will prevail. This elected government will come back. We should not waste time, we have to work."
Her plea seemed to work. "The summit has exceeded my expectations. Events such as these are transformative moments in the history of a state…," Ambani said. He didn't stop at that. "Based on my own experience, I have no hesitation in recommending West Bengal as an ideal investment destination to my fellow investors from India and all over the world," he continued.
In the past three years, Reliance has invested more than Rs 5,000 crore in creating next generation digital broadband infrastructure spanning 12,500 km of optic fibre over 6,000 towers in 1,059 towns and 24,339 of the 40,000 villages. "We have assured the chief minister we will cover all the villages by the end of 2017," said Ambani.
Over the next 24 months, Reliance will connect every single rural and urban school with high-speed internet, all 2,800 colleges and hospitals at the tertiary, secondary and primary level, including all health care centres. "For a glorious and digital West Bengal, you can always count on us," is how Ambani finally signed off.
Others like Hiranandani and Jindal spoke about their experiences. Hiranandani recounted how apprehensive he was about investing in the state, but was proved otherwise. "We love you all too much and from the west of India we might migrate here very soon," he announced.
Jindal narrated his recent experience at the foundation stone laying ceremony for a cement plant at Salboni in West Medinipur. In her effort to bring down expectations, Banerjee had urged land losers at Salboni not to implore for jobs, as the company would be ramping up in phases. "I have never seen a chief minister tell her voters not to interfere, not to create trouble and not to expect jobs from the management. This is, in the true sense, ease of doing business. We are not going to stop at this. Please invest more and more in West Bengal, you have the right environment, right CM and the right kind of bureaucracy. It is one of the best states to invest in," he said.
ITC Chairman, Y C Deveshwar, who was also present at the event, spoke about the reforms under the leadership of Banerjee. "She has a slight frame and is a barefoot chief minister. But, she has a heart of gold and nerves of steel," he said. At present, ITC has Rs 4,500 crore of investment in process and is also undertaking a 3.5 mn sq ft project of ITC Infotech and related service infrastructure.
Mittal said that in the next three years, Airtel would be investing Rs 3,500 crore, while Chandra's Essel Group has committed investment of Rs 4,000 crore.
One of the strongest endorsements, however, came from TCG's Purnendu Chatterjee, who has just bought out part of the government's stake in Haldia Petrochemicals, a joint venture with the state government. "The Centre and state collaborated to solve the Haldia problem and the state exchequer got Rs 653 crore and the shares were transferred. It actually revitalised and brought to life a Rs 20,000-crore asset. Take it from me, there is an attitude to solve problems," said Chatterjee. At some point, TCG could also explore setting up a feedstock refinery entailing an investment of Rs 20,000 crore.
Haldia Petrochemicals happens to be a prime example of how the Centre extended a helping hand to the state government to resolve a long-pending impasse. It recently exempted the company from a tax demand in excess of Rs 2,000 crore, paving the way for the share transfer between Chatterjee and the government.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who went to the summit to do his bit for Banerjee, said: "Mamata didi is a great leader. I appeal to everyone to invest in Bengal." Towards the end of his speech, however, Delhi found a place in his appeal for investment.
BENGAL BUGLE
"The strength of India is its federal polity. Despite political differences, we cooperate with each other. West Bengal contributes 6-7% of India's national GDP. A strong West Bengal is going to add to the country's GDP"
Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister
"West Bengal is a hub of railway operations. We will fast track metro projects in Kolkata"
Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister
"It was Mamata didi who helped me navigate the logjam in Parliament after 200-odd coal block allocations were cancelled"
Piyush Goyal, Power Minister
"I assure you Reliance will be a reliable partner in the realisation of your vision. For a glorious and digital West Bengal, you can always count on us"
Mukesh Ambani, CMD, RIL
