Proposed investment to create 3.5L jobs in Bengal: Amit Mitra

Howrah: There will be creation of 3.5 lakh job opportunities with proposed investment of Rs 12,000 crore in the synergy organised by the state Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise and Textiles (MSME) department in Howrah on Thursday.

State Industry and Finance minister Amit Mitra said: "There are more than 27,000 MSME units in Howrah and there are 37 clusters. Forty percent of the total production of MSME products in the state takes place in Howrah." More investment and job creation will take place following the synergy held on Thursday.

"The entrepreneurs here have officially declared that there will be investment of Rs 12,000 crore and it is the major outcome of today's synergy. It will ensure generation of more than 3.5 lakh job opportunities, including above 1 lakh direct employments," said Mitra, adding that the hosiery park at Jagadishpur in Howrah is the first of its kind in the country.

Infrastructure of the park is complete and at least four to five units are already functional. Many entrepreneurs who went to Tamil Nadu leaving Bengal have returned to the state, with development of necessary infrastructure for the hosiery industry.

The hosiery park at Jagadishpur sits on a plot of around 120 acres, where there will be investment of Rs 5,000 crore, ensuring creation of more than 1 lakh direct job opportunities. Mitra said that the hosiery park should come up as a major aspect in the forthcoming Bengal Global Business Summit that is scheduled to take place on December 15 and 16.

He further said that Howrah was once called the Sheffield of the east, but had lost its glory during the 34 year Left Front rule. "Now, with initiatives taken up by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a foundry park has come up in the district and it would play a crucial role in employment generation in the state," Mitra added.

"The world famous company ESR has set up a logistic hub in the district. Companies like Flipkart and Amazon are also investing. It is creating 6,000 job opportunities," he said.

Vandana Yadav, Secretary of Industry, Commerce and Enterprises and Rajesh Pandey, Principal Secretary of MSME, were also present in the programme.

In the same programme, 14.96 acres of acquired land was handed over to WB Hosiery Park Infra Ltd by West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation (WBSIDCL) and it has also been announced that loans were sanctioned to 200 MSMEs. The same was distributed among 20 MSME unit holders in the programme itself.