Sanjiv Goenka Group, Bharti to pump in ₹14,000 cr into Bengal

R P Sanjiv Goenka Group and Bharti Enterprises on Friday announced an investment commitment of up to Rs 14,000 crore in West Bengal over the next few years at the 3rd Bengal Global Business Summit. "I am committing an investment of Rs 10,000 crore in the FMCG sector in the state over the next few years," R P Sanjiv Goenka Group Chairman Sanjiv Goenka said at the inauguration of the 2-day global business summit.

Stating that West Bengal is an investor-friendly state, Goenka said, "There is transparency in deals. There is no hitch, no delay... West Bengal means business."

Investors should come forward and invest as the government "makes things happen without any fuss", he said. Bharti Enterprises Vice-Chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal said the Bharti Group has pumped in about Rs 30,000 crore in the state so far. "We want to partner with the state government further. The Bharti Group will invest about Rs 3,000-4,000 crore in the state in the next 2-3 years," he said.

Future Group's Kishore Biyani and Hero Group CMD Pankaj Munjal spoke about their ongoing projects in the state but did not commit any investment at the event. "Bengal is not janmabhoomi, but karmabhoomi for us. It is here we started our business. The state has enabled us to do business much better than other places in India. Whenever we launch a new business, we start from West Bengal," Biyani said.

The group has already invested in the state to expand its food and fashion segment. It is planning to create a hub in 2 lakh square feet by 2021, he added. Pankaj Munjal announced set up an electric bi-cycle production unit.

However, Yogendra Kumar Modi, the Chairman and Managing Director of Great Eastern energy Corporation Limited (GEECL) hinted to invest Rs 7000 crore for the production of Coalbed methane (CBM).

Chairman of the Chatterjee Group, Purnendu Chatterjee also pledged to invest Rs 1000 crore in his two refineries at Haldia Petrochemicals Limited and Mitsubishi Chemical. He also said that the company would continue to invest in the state.