West Bengal received investment proposals worth over ₹3.76 lakh crore at the seventh Bengal Global Business Summit, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Speaking at the valedictory session, Ms. Banerjee said a total of 188 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and Letters of Intent (LoIs) were signed.
5,000 delegates
The Chief Minister said it was a true global event with about 5,000 delegates and 400 international delegates from 17 partner countries, business and official delegations from nearly 40 countries and 15 Ambassadors and High Commissioners taking part.
Ms. Banerjee also spoke about central investigating agencies and said they are breathing down the necks of industrialists. She said that industrialists should not have to put up with harassment by these agencies.
During the second and final day of the BGBS, multi-business conglomerate ITC launched the ITCMAARS (Metamarket for Advanced Agriculture and Rural Services), the company’s pioneering super app and ‘phygital’ ecosystem, in West Bengal.
ITC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri, who was co-chair of agriculture and allied sector for the summit, said 93 MoUs were signed between the state government and the private players in the agriculture and allied sector. These investment proposals were worth Rs 1,314 crore.
Uber Shuttle
About 25 LOIs ( Letter of Intent) were signed in the healthcare sector amounting to proposals of around Rs 7,933 crore. The IT & ITeS sector received five MoUs with investment proposals of around Rs 4,000 crore.
The other highlights of the business summit include Coca-Cola India signing an MoU with tea major Luxmi Tea to enter the world of ready-to-drink tea beverages and provide consumers with wider beverage options.
Ridesharing app Uber and the Transport Department, government of West Bengal, signed an MoU to launch ‘Uber Shuttle’ - a bus service for daily commute in Kolkata. “As part of this MoU, Uber proposes to invest $10 million by 2025 in the state and create approximately 50,000 livelihood opportunities in Kolkata in the next 5 years,” the company said. By March, 2024, Uber is planning to run around 60 air-conditioned buses on predefined routes, connecting business districts with residential areas in Kolkata.
The West Bengal government also received investment proposals for school education and higher education worth Rs 1,676 crore and ₹360 crore respectively.
