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Residents of Singur may not have taken kindly to factories coming up in their backyard, but NRI business tycoon Lord Swraj Paul suggested that industrialisation is key to improving economic prosperity of locals.
"I do not think that there is any other option, but to industrialise... We will have to industrialise and work for a better world," he said after visiting Tata Motors and Caparo Engineering's plants in Singur.
Singur, he said, was a good beginning for the industrialisation process of West Bengal. "The car project will be beneficial for the local people as it would generate employment," he said.
Caparo Engineering India, the Indian subsidiary of Caparo Group of UK, is putting up an auto component plant near the main plant of Tata Motors.
Caparo would manufacture the body structure for Tata Motors' Nano, which would roll out from the Singur plant. Lord Paul said that work at Singur was progressing satisfactorily.
The Caparo plant was expected to start production at the same time when Tata Motors does, which will be sometime in the second half of this calendar year.
Protests had flared up in this town last year against Tata Motors' car factory, with anti-project activists organising demonstrations against land acquisition by the company. Tata Motors' has since completed acquisition of land and construction of the plant in going on as scheduled.
He further added that per capita growth was more relevant as a tool for measuring progress compared to the system of using Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
"Time has come for India to think on per capita growth," Lord Paul said during an interactive session with members of city-based think-tank 'Bengal Initiative' at the state assembly.
He said nine per cent growth rate alone was not enough and there should be proper per capita growth for a vibrant economy. Citing an example, Lord Paul said "immigration contributed six billion pounds in the British economy in the last five years, but per capita contribution declined."
Praising the West Bengal government's industrial efforts, Lord Paul said the state has the third highest economy in India. He congratulated State Industry Minister Nirupam Sen for taking the lead in this regard and said poverty alleviation programmes would have to be taken up in a vigorous manner to take the fruits of industrialisation to every nook and corner of the state.
Lord Paul, who heads a 4-member Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (UK branch) here, said he would return with the impression "how West Bengal has been advancing industrially".