Bengal sets out to drum up investments through marquee summit amid Covid-induced slowdown

Kolkata, Apr 19 (PTI) As the country limps back from a Covid-induced economic slowdown, West Bengal, whose industrial glory started fading out in the 1970s, is trying to drum up investments by holding its big-ticket Bengal Global Business Summit after a hiatus of two years, from Wednesday.

Although no one is quite sure of the big industrialists from abroad who may be coming to Kolkata's two day-day summit, a largish British contingent consisting mostly of Indian representatives of UK firms besides a Russian delegation, as well Indian business tycoons and CEOs such as Adani group chief Gautam Adani, ITC chief Sanjiv Puri, Tata Steel’s T V Narendran, Bajaj Auto's Sanjiv Bajaj, Kirloskar group's Vikram Kirloskar and Sunitha Reddy of Apollo Hospital, are slated to make an appearance.

The state government has claimed that in the earlier five editions of BGBS, investments to the tune of Rs 12,35,578 crore were committed.

However, the chink in the armour remains the actual investments made as against promises.

The challenge for West Bengal, as well as for most states, is to translate the promises into money on the table given the fact that the Indian economy has been stressed from even before the Covid pandemic struck. The downturn induced by the pandemic has only made industrial investments more scarce.

Credit growth to large industries grew by just 0.5 per cent in February this year, according to RBI data. The situation of course was far worse last year when there was a negative growth.

Nevertheless, any attempt to showcase a state as an investment destination is necessary if it is to be sold as one, pointed out experts.

"Organising such an event holds importance. The state will be able to showcase itself as a preferred investment destination among industry doyens, particularly when the global supply chain has been disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic, and industries are trying to diversify their operations in the post-Covid era," economist and Jadavpur University Professor Ajitava Raychaudhuri told PTI.

"According to private investment data for large industries, West Bengal is at around 10th position or below among the states. However, a reversal of the trend in terms of investments has been noticed in the last decade. Still, it is not among the top five investment destinations. Overall, private investment trend in the country shows a stagnating picture in the manufacturing sector and our state is no exception," Raychaudhuri said. The summit will have plenary sessions, sectoral sessions, business-to-government and business-to-business interactions, apart from providing digital space for exhibitions and networking. The focus sectors are infrastructure, agriculture & allied activities, industries including micro, small, medium enterprises, and services such as health and education, tourism, IT& ITeS.

Another economist and former professor of economics at Presidency University Debnarayan Sarkar told PTI that "if we see IEMs data, which cover only large-scale investment, not of small and medium enterprises, then big investments worth Rs 14,297 crore were reported implemented in West Bengal between 2017 and 2021." However, the state's ranking "has been improving" in recent years as compared to what was in the erstwhile Left rule, he said. According to the latest data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, 812 Industrial Entrepreneurs' Memoranda with a total proposed investment of Rs 3,47,978 crore in 2021 have been reported implemented across states, he said.

Of the total IEMs implemented across states in the last year, actual investment reported was just Rs 1,967 crore for West Bengal, as compared to Gujarat (Rs 1,04,968 crore), followed by Odisha (Rs 89,167 core) and Maharashtra (Rs 45,855 crore), Sarkar said.

Sanjiv Paul, chairman - CII Eastern Regional Council and vice-president, Safety, Health and Sustainability - Tata Steel Ltd, added: “It is heartening to note that West Bengal is first off the blocks for conducting a global investment programme in 2022… With the state’s Gross State Domestic Product placed at around Rs 14.44 trillion and the average annual GSDP growth rate pegged at 12.62 per cent between 2015-16 and 2020-21, it has enormous opportunities as being the leading investment and growth destination for business to consider setting up operations.PTI BDC RBT BSM JRC JRC JRC