Bengal is No. 2 in ease of doing business: Centre

Update: 2019-08-26 18:58 GMT

Kolkata: According to a survey conducted by the Centre, Bengal has ranked second only after Gujarat in the ease of doing business. Rajasthan and Haryana jointly occupy the third spot. Bengal had ranked 10th in 2018.

The Centre will check the financial reforms that have been carried out by the Bengal government in the past few years. The senior officials, however, are confident that the Centre will not be able to spot any discrepancies in the claims made by the state government.

The Centre is giving special importance to the rank given by the World Bank in terms of foreign investment. In 2015, India's rank was 142 while in the next three years it got elevated to the ranks of 130, 100 and 77 respectively. The Centre wants India to occupy its position among the first 50 countries and with the improvement in position, the possibility of foreign investment in India will also shoot up.

To reach the achievement it is mandatory for the states to perform well and improve their business investments. The Centre has decided to hold competitions among the states in terms of possible investment destinations.

Initially, it had fixed the last date for the evaluation of the states to be March 31, 2019, but later, it was extended to August 14.

It was learnt that the Centre has expressed satisfaction over the Bengal government's initiative to bring about administrative transparency and e-governance.

It may be mentioned that after coming to power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced a slew of measures to improve the investment scenario in Bengal which included the banning of industrial strikes and protests. This resulted in bringing loss of man-days to zero. The state government also set up a land bank from where industrialists can buy plots at market price. The improved law and order situation has also helped to woo the investors.

The state government has constructed two convention centres at New Town and in the coastal town of Digha. The Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town is the biggest of its kind in the country. The Dighashree Bengal International Convention Centre was inaugurated by Mamata Banerjee last week. The state government holds the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) to woo investors all over the world. The next edition of the BGBS will be held in 2021.

Bengal is coming up as a major IT hub in the country. The state government has allotted 200 acres of land at New Town where IT parks will come up. Infosys has already started construction of its office complex on 50 acres of land and Wipro is also coming soon.

At the Bantala Leather Complex, the tannery units are likely to generate jobs for 6 lakh people. The MSME industries have given a major boost to the state's economy.

Along with industry, the state government has also laid considerable emphasis on horticulture, floriculture and fish culture to help the rural folk become financially strong. 

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