Tatas to set up factory in Bengal, shut unit in Jamshedpur: Mamata

Reiterating that the MSME sector is all set to employ over 41 lakh people in the next few years, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced a major investment by Tata Hitachi which is shutting down its unit at Jamshedpur and is shifting to Kharagpur in West Midnapore.

“This is a big industry for Bengal. Tata Hitachi is associated with the manufacture of machinery. Metro coaches and wagon manufacturing is also being done in Bengal. So, there is potential for huge employment,” Banerjee said chairing the meeting of the West Bengal Industrial Promotion Board on Wednesday at Nabanna Sabhaghar.

Tata Hitachi is a joint venture company between Tata Motors and Hitachi Construction Machinery of Japan. The Tata group already has three major investments in the state that includes Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at Salt Lake Sector V, a unit each of Tata Metaliks and Tata Hitachi at Kharagpur.

The Chief Minister maintained that lending in the MSME sector has been to the tune of Rs 1,14,000 crore and as per estimates it will create employment of 41 lakh people in the years to come.

“More than one crore people are already employed in the MSME sector in the state and the Bantala Leather Complex being a major contributor,” she added.

Banerjee on Wednesday also announced the dates for the seventh edition of Bengal Global Business Summit 2023, which will be held from November 21 to 23.

She said that the state will host five roadshows in different parts of the country to woo investors in Bengal. The meetings will be held in Mumbai, Chennai, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Delhi.

She assigned responsibilities to chambers like CII, FICCI and ICC to make arrangements for holding such roadshows and said that she will personally attend as many such programmes as possible.

“You chalk out a programme for these meetings between June and July, and it should be on working days, preferably on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” she added.

Banerjee said that World Trade Centre is opening its branch office in Kolkata and MoU in this regard will be signed on March 21. There will be employment for at least 30,000 people.

Rs 1500 crore investment in the World Trade centre project in Kolkata.

She asked the state IT as well as the Industry department to take steps so that the data research centre can come up at Silicon Valley Hub in New Town.

”Identify land parcels that have been kept idle for a long time at Silicon Valley Hub. Tell them that if they want to set up their project, they should do so or else we should resume that land and seek new investment,“ she added. The Chief Minister also asked the state Tourism department to engage actor Dev as the brand ambassador and asked director Gautam Ghosh to take the responsibility of preparation of a documentary to promote Bengal tourism with Dev.

“Shah Rukh Khan has been our brand ambassador. We had also done a video with him for the promotion of tourism. But he is presently not being able to give time from his busy schedule,” Banerjee said.

Banerjee formed a team of women ministers and bureaucrats that includes state Industry and Commerce minister Shashi Panja, state Finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharjee, state Industry secretary Vandana Yadav and state Land and Land Reforms secretary Smaraki Mahapatra to monitor the setting up of flexes and hoardings of various industrial projects that are coming up in the three proposed economic and industrial corridors in the state for promotion.

About 8,000 acres of unused land have been identified for setting up industries.