Bengal Global Summit begins today; Mamata to showcase high growth story

Zee Media Bureau

Kolkata/New Delhi: In a bid to give an image makeover to the state, the West Bengal Government is all set to start the third edition of Bengal Global Business Summit on Friday.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already welcomed investors from the country and abroad to exploit the opportunities offered by her government at the two-day Bengal Global Summit 2016.

Business delegates from a host of countries including the US, Britain, Japan, China, South Korea among others would participate in the summit that focuses on emerging areas like start-ups, design, intelligent cities, IT/ITes, financial hub and industrial infrastructure.

Besides Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu and Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari are expected to be present at the gala event.

Bangladesh commerce minister Tofail Ahmed and British Minister of State for Employment Priti Patel are also scheduled to attend the summit.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad have also been invited by Banerjee. Kejriwal would be present at the inauguration ceremony, according to official sources.

Her hands-off policy on acquiring land for industries, and widespread allegations of thriving extortion rackets have turned away prospective investors. Consequently, heads of India Inc's big guns like the Tatas, Birlas and the Ambanis - regulars at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Meet - have so far given a miss to the Bengal summit.

However, Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani attended Banerjee's investment meet in Mumbai in 2013, and speculation is rife that he may be the star attraction in the summit.

State Finance Minister Amit Mitra who was camping in Mumbai to woo the country's top industry mandarins, asserted the investment commitments in the coming summit would surpass last year's figure of Rs 2.43 lakh crore.

The summit will focus on emerging areas such as start-ups, smart cities, growth of IT and financial hubs, development of industrial infrastructure, skills and services and cluster leadership for MSME sectors which are expected to drive growth in the coming years.

With Agency Inputs