‘Bengal receives investment of over Rs 18K cr in 1st two months of 2024’
Kolkata: Bengal has received an unprecedented investment of more than Rs 18,000 crore in the first two months of 2024 in various segments like steel, aluminum, ductile iron, steel casting and steel processing breaking the state’s record in heavy industries in any year in last one decade, said the data available with the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Contrary to the disparaging claims made by the BJP leaders that Bengal is lagging on several parameters, including industrial growth and investment opportunities, Bengal appears to be surging ahead of other states with an exponential increase in investments from the last year.
In 2023, Bengal had received an investment of Rs 6,486 crore but in the current year the figure has crossed Rs 18,000 crore only in two months. There has been an attempt by the Opposition parties to attribute the “anti-industry and anti-growth” tag to Bengal but in reality, the situation has remarkably changed in the state in the past couple of years with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee emphasising on the conducive atmosphere for the industries to thrive. The Central government statistics are now showing how the industrial growth curve in Bengal has reached a different trajectory in the past few years.
The data said that in 2022 the state had received an investment of Rs 4,532 crore and Rs 5,535 crore in 2021. Even in 2020 when the entire country was hit by Covid, Bengal managed to secure an investment of Rs 9,552 crore in that year.
According to the Central government data, the Bengal government had received an investment of Rs 16,261 crore only in the month of January that would create nearly around 5,000 employment. The sectors that directly benefited from investment in January are steel, aluminium, and sulphur. In February, the State got Rs 2,269 crores of investments in the sectors, including steel casting, industrial insulation, steel processing, clothing, ductile iron pipe, and railway carriage industries paving a job opportunity for over 11,000 people. Cumulatively, the total investments in the state in January and February reached up to worth Rs 18,530 crore. The Union Ministry of Commerce said that the amount of investment that has come to Bengal in the first two months of 2024 is unmatchable.
S Roy, Deputy Director General, MCCI said: “A State with attractive industrial policies, industry-favorable land settlement and allotment laws, conducive logistics policies, and a sound administrative system is always the best place for attracting investment. Under the leadership of our Hon’ble Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, the Department of Industry, Commerce and Enterprises, Govt. of West Bengal is continuously connecting with the industries and Ease of Doing Business has improved in the State.”
