'This is the Bengal story, where businesses are nurtured, dreams are realised, and legacies are built.'
The 8th edition of the Bengal Business Global Summit kicked off on a strong footing in Kolkata on Wednesday with industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Sajjan Jindal, Sanjiv Goenka and Harsh Neotia announcing investment plans.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed investors to the "smartest" and "safest" state with promises galore. The investors, on their part, did not disappoint.
Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said when he first attended the summit in 2016, his company's investment stood below Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion).
"In less than a decade, our investment in Bengal has increased 20 times, and we have invested over Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion)," adding this would double by the end of this decade.
The investment would be primarily across Jio, retail, and new energy.
Jio, he said, was building the world's best artificial intelligence infrastructure in India.
"Data centres are at the heart of AI infrastructure."
The data centre in Kolkata has been modified to one that is state-of-the-art AI-ready and would be ready in nine months, Ambani added.
Reliance Retail operates over 1,300 stores in West Bengal, spanning over 8 million square feet across more than 400 cities.
The plan is to expand the network to 1,700 stores in three years, operating warehouses of 2.2 million square feet in the state.
Ambani said Reliance's new energy initiative would begin its operations at the end of 2025.
"In this, Reliance would like to contribute to West Bengal's green economy. Our motto is: Solar Bangla for Sonar Bangla."
JSW group Chairman Sajjan Jindal announced investment at Salboni, Paschim Medinipur, where the group has land. This includes a 2 X 800 Mw power plant with an investment outlay of Rs 16,000 crore (Rs 160 billion).
Jindal said the investment was not just about generating power but empowering West Bengal's future. "We are prepared to scale up whenever the state requires additional power. We will be ready to invest another Rs 16,000 crore to double the capacity to 3,200 Mw."
In addition, JSW will launch an industrial park in Salboni, spread over 2,000 acres.
He is also looking to invest in Durgapur airport, which, Jindal said, can become "a very large airport".
The tone for the summit was, however, set by companies and industrialists from the state.
ITC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri said being a pan-Indian company it had the option of investing anywhere. "But our largest investments are in the state and will continue to be so."
Hotels, agriculture and information technology were the primary areas of engagement.
In recent years, Puri said, ITC had invested Rs 7,500 crore (Rs 75 billion) in the state. ITC's latest investments are a global centre of excellence for AI and a facility for manufacturing FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods). It is looking to double its hotel footprint.
While making an impassioned plea to investors to come and experience the state, RPSG Group Chairman Sanjiv Goenka said: "Bengal is in business, Bengal means business".
The RPSG group had assets close to Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) in the state, and of that Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) was invested in the past few years. And another Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) in the pipeline was under implementation in the energy, health care, and education.
Harshavardhan Neotia, chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group, said: "Bengal has always been our home and our karmabhoomi."
He committed an investment of Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) over the next five years in health care, hospitality, tourism, residential and commercial real estate, and a golf-themed township.
Harsha V Agarwal, vice-chairman and managing director, Emami, recounted how it started as a Kolkata-based startup and was now a diversified conglomerate with a turnover of Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion).
"This is the Bengal story, where businesses are nurtured, dreams are realised, and legacies are built," he said.
Mamata Banerjee said she had a detailed discussion with Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran the previous evening, and he could not make it to the summit owing to certain exigencies. "He has assured (me) that they want to invest more and more in Bengal. And he will come to Bengal very soon and discuss in detail."
Banerjee has requested a direct flight connecting Kolkata and Europe.
The chief minister said the previous seven editions of the summit had generated investment proposals worth Rs 90.51 trillion.
Projects worth Rs 12 trillion have taken off and the rest is in various stages.
To facilitate further investment, the chief minister announced the formation of a state-level investment synergy committee chaired by the chief secretary. It will provide a one-stop time-bound clearance mechanism for investment projects.
"We care for the people, we dare the delays," she said.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Mahipal Soni/Rediff.com
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