2-day Bengal Global Business Summit from today
The seventh edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), the flagship business summit of the Bengal government, is scheduled to start today. It will be a two-day event spread over three venues.
The inauguration will be done by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre (BBCC) in New Town. The valedictory session will be held at the Dhana Dhanya Auditorium in Alipore, which will also be attended by her.
Various sectoral sessions will be held at Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan opposite Science City on November 21. The manufacturing and industries session—which will include MSME, textiles and engineering, plastics and chemicals—will be held at Dhana Dhanya Auditorium.
As per the official website of BGBS, the sectors which have been identified as focus sectors for the summit are: Manufacturing and Industries including MSME & Textiles and Engineering, Plastics and Chemicals; Infrastructure including Energy, Transport and Urban infrastructure and Real Estate; Agri and allied sectors; Health; Education and Technical Education; Tourism; International Trade and Logistics; IT & ITeS; Creative economy; and Inclusive Economy.
Bengal has been rapidly transforming itself into an economic powerhouse. According to a note on the official website, the state “is among the leading exporters with 12% of the country’s leather and 10% of iron & steel exports”. Further, “MSMEs form the vital base of the industrial pyramid”, with “the country’s second highest number of MSMEs (about 90 lakh units) which accounts for 14% of India’s MSMEs” being in Bengal.
Delving further into the industrialisation efforts of the state, the website states: “Amongst the upcoming flagship projects in the state, Jangal Sundari Karmnagari Industrial Township is being setup over 4,000 acres in Purulia. Mining operations at Deocha-Pachami-Dewanganj- Harinsigha, the second largest coal block in the world is expected to start soon. We have ready-to-Invest Industrial Infrastructure with 200+ Industrial Parks/ Estates spread over an area of around 10,000 acres. A 200-acre IT and Electronics Park (Silicon Valley) is being set up at Rajarhat. Three Industrial Growth Corridors are being developed at: Dankuni- Raghunathpur; Dankuni-Kalyani; Dankuni-Haldia to augment the pace of industrialization in Bengal. The state has two large container and bulk handling ports at Kolkata and Haldia and a new deep-sea port is coming up at Tajpur.”
