Kolkata-based Chambers of Commerce come together to discuss 'Bengal - Accelerating Growth'

The forum included the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, CREDAI Bengal, the Howrah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Merchant’s Chamber of Commerce and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Dr. Amit Mitra, the state's Minister-in-Charge, Departments of Finance and Industry, Commerce & Enterprises, said, “This platform is the first time that six chambers have come together instead of competing with one another.”

He said, “Bengal’s GDP growth is higher than most parts of India. Bengal is the fourth largest economy in the country. Growth rate in real terms has increased by 12.02% in 2016-17. Bengal is also number one in the country in lending to small and medium enterprises.”

Some of the key features that were discussed included charting new territories with Bhor Sagar and Tajpur Deep Sea Ports, along with proposed minor private ports; the Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) expected to open up new investment opportunities; energy sector projects (solar and City Gas Distribution) and smart cities/ theme townships are attracting investor attention.

Bengal Chamber's President C.S. Ghosh said, “Being Chairman and Managing Director of Bandhan Bank , it gives me immense pride to state that Bandhan Bank has proved that Bengal can be a place of origin  of a financial institute and Bandhan Bank is the fastest growing bank in this country with 870 branches country wide out of which 348 are in Bengal and we are celebrating just two years of our launch.”

Dr. Partha Chatterjee, West Bengal's Minister-in-Charge, School Education, Higher Education, Parliamentary Affairs. Biotechnology, Science & Technology, said, “Our government is committed towards growth of economy and industry but not at cost of agriculture. We have created an environment for attracting investment and proved it with better roads , infrastructure, flights. We also have 13 universities and several ITIs polytechnics. ”

Other speakers at the session included Rajendra Khandelwal , President, Calcutta Chamber of Commerce;  Sitaram Sharma, Senior Vice President, Bharat Chamber of Commerce; Sankar Kumar Sanyal, President, Howrah Chamber of Commerce;  Hemant Bangur, President, Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce, Nandu Belani, President , CREDAI Bengal.

A special Plenary Session was moderated by Deb A Mukherjee , Vice President , Bengal Chamber and  MD Cenergist Energy Pvt Ltd. where Suresh G Menon (VP and GM, Eastern Region, Tata Consultancy Services Limited), Mr. Gyanesh Chaudhury (MD & CEO, Vikram Solar), Sagar Daryani (Co Founder & CEO, Wow Momo Foods Pvt. Ltd), Anup Sinha (Dean , IIM Ahmedabad and Director, Heritage Business School), Sunil Kajaria (CEO, Keventer, Fruits and Vegetables), Satyaki Ghosh (CEO, Domestic Textiles, Aditya Birla Group) spoke about their industry experiences and success stories.

The concluding address was given by Rajiva Sinha, IAS, Additional Chief secretary, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises & Textiles, Government  of West Bengal.

The state's Tourism Minister Goutam Deb, in his valedictory address said, “Bengal is endeavoring to put its remotest corner onto the tourist map. A tourism hub is coming up in Gajaldoba near Siliguri. This will have a bird sanctuary, the Farraka barrage on one side, water bodies, golf courses, hotels and ample scope for safari."