The Bengal Global Business Summit is the most prestigious industrial event the Trinamool-steered government in West Bengal has been organising since 2015. While the state government pitches it as a platform for investors interested in exploring opportunities in Bengal, political opponents, primarily the BJP, fail to see any results on the ground.
“It is a festival for the industry,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday, as the summit concluded. The CM said that remarkable success was achieved.
There were 4,300 participants, including over 500 international delegates from 42 countries. During the summit, 137 MoUs and letters of intent were signed concerning infrastructure, logistics, capacity-building and other domains.
The investment proposals received are worth Rs 3,42,375 crore. These could generate employment for 40 lakh people.
The CM added that a reason why Bengal was able to create more jobs, whereas nationally a dip was observed, was primarily due to the strong MSME sector in the state. The next summit will take place during 1-3 February, 2023.
The summit had begun in 2015, with participation from 20 countries and regions. The business announcements, exchanges, expressions of interest and investment proposals received, that year, were worth Rs 2,43,100 crore. In 2016, investment proposals stood at Rs 2,50,253.74 crore.
The third edition of the summit in 2017 (the Trinamool returned to power for a second term in 2016) registered investment proposals worth Rs 2,35,290.03 crore. In 2018, investment proposals worth Rs 2,19,925 were received, and in 2019, the 5th summit and the last summit before the pandemic recorded proposals worth Rs 2,84,288.33 crore.
After adjustments, the government data suggests that the earlier five editions drew business proposals amounting to Rs 12,35,578 crore. For the government, these proposals are in process, and results are coming up.
Political opponents, primarily the BJP, think the effort is inconsequential. “In Silicon valley, cattle are straying among the bushes of Hogla. This is nothing but treachery with the people of WB. Only the taxpayers money is being wasted at the Bengal Global Business Summit,” Dilip Ghosh, BJP national vice president, posted on Twitter, referring to a plot of land earmarked for a proposed tech-hub.
“The government website mentions MoUs worth over Rs 12.35 lakh crore, since the year 2015. But how much is being invested no one is saying. Why investment is not happening with summits happening 5-6 times… no one trusts this government,” Ghosh said in a press conference on Wednesday.
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