Government of West Bengal organized the 7th edition of Bengal Global Business Summit which was held from November21 to 22, 2023 in Kolkata, West Bengal. The summit aimed to bring together business leaders, academia, entrepreneurs and think tanks across the globe with the objective of making strategic and business alliances about industrial ecosystem and business friendly initiatives of state.
Key Participants: The Summit hosted business leaders from more than 25 countries. The participating countries include The U.S., U.K., Japan, France, Australia and Germany to name a few.
Focus Sectors of the Summit are:
- Manufacturing and Industries including MSME and Textiles and Engineering, Plastic and Chemicals.
- Infrastructure including Energy, Transport and Urban Infrastructure and Real estate
- Agriculture and Allied
- Health
- Tourism
- International Trade and Logistics
- IT and ITes
- Creative Economy
- Inclusive Economy
Key Highlights of the Summit are:
i.Signing of 188 MoUs, Letter of Intent (LoI) in different sectors
During the 7th edition of Bengal Global Business summit, Mamta Bannerjee (Chief Minister, West Bengal) announced that West Bengal attracted investment worth Rs3.76 Lakh crore which includes signing of 188 MoUs and Letter of Intent (LoI) in different sectors.
- Some of the major investments announced at the Summit are:
i.Investment of Rs 4000 crore in IT sector.
ii.Agri and allied sectors draws the investment of Rs 1314 crore.
iii.It is proposed to invest Rs 7983 crore in health sector over three years and Rs 1000 crore for a phosphatic fertilizer.
ii.Reliance Industries pledge to invest Rs20000 crore in West Bengal
While addressing the summit, Mukesh Ambani (Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited) announced that his company plans to invest Rs20000 crore in next three years in West Begal. Earlier, the Reliance Company invested about Rs45000 crores in West Bengal.
Key Points:
- The investment will make in three main areas such as: Digital Life Solutions, Retail and Bio Energy.
- He highlighted that Reliance has become largest bio-energy producer in India. It plans to establish 100 Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants in the next three years. It will help to consume 5.5 million tonnes of agricultural residue and organic waste and further help to reduce 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
- He announced to set up CBG plants in West Bengal that will help farmers to increase their incomes.
- He mentioned that Reliance Retail is set to expand in the state from 1000 retail stores to 1200 in next 2 years.
- Reliance Foundation will help in renovation of famous Kalighat temple in Kokata, West Bengal.
iii.ITC(India Tobacco Company) Limited launched the ITCMAARS App
Sanjiv Puri (Chairman, ITC) launched the ITCMAARS (Metamarket for Advanced Agriculture and Rural Services) app at the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata, West Bengal on November22, 2023.
- This app will provide crop advisory, market access and financial services to farmers of West Bengal.
- The services on app would be available in Bengali language. The application in partnership with some of the prominent figures from agri-sector, banks and institutes would provide world class technologies and services to farmers.
- It would enable farmers to adopt latest climate smart practices which will help to enhance their incomes.
iv.NSE and West Bengal signed a MoU to raise fundraising for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises)
National Stock Exchange (NSE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of West Bengal in Kolkata, West Bengal. MoU was signed between Debashish Bandhyapadhyay (Special Secretary, MSME and Textiles, Government of West Bengal) and Sriram Krishnan (Chief Business Development Officer, NSE).
- The objective of the MoU is to raise awareness among MSMEs (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) about fundraising through IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) on the NSE Emerge SME platform.
- The initiative includes seminars, MSME camps and workshops to aid and support state corporate in the fundraising and listing process on NSE.
About: NSE’s SME Emerge Platform: This platform listed about 396 companies from various sectors. Till date, The Platform raised total funds about Rs 7800 crore. The platform has 16 companies listed from West Bengal on the SME Emerge platform and have collectively raised Rs224.43 crore.
v.WTC-NDITA signed MoU with WTC of 5 Metro Cities
World Trade Centre (WTC)-NDITA has signed a MoU with the World Trade Centres of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi and Noida at the Urban Infrastructure Session at Biswabanga Mela Program of Bengal Global Business Summit 2023 in Kolkata, West Bengal.
- The sole objective of the MoU is to give boost and promote trade and investment in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Delhi.
- The World Trade Centre Association (WTCA) has collaborated with Merlin Group for developing a world trade centre in India.
- WTC-NDITA (Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority) is 1st WTC in Eastern India and is being developed at Nabadiganta Area, Salt Lake, West Bengal. It is being built with an investment of Rs 15000 crore.
vi.Uber inks MoU with West Bengal Government for Bus Shuttle Service
Department of Transport, West Bengal signed a MoU with Uber to launch Uber Shuttle bus services in Kolkata, West Bengal on Nonember22, 2023 at Bengal Global Business Summit.
- According to the MoU, Uber has proposed to invest USD10 million by 2025 in West Bengal. It is estimated to create nearly 50000 job opportunities in the next 5 years.
- It is estimated that Uber will run approximately 60-air-conditioned buses on predefined routes by March 2024. It will connect business districts with residential areas in Kolkata, West Bengal.
- The MoU was signed by Dr. Saumitra Mohan (Secretary of State Transport Department, West Bengal) and Shiv Shailendran (Director-Operations, Uber India and South Asia).
vii.Amazon and WBIDC join hands to boost Exports from Bengal
West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) has signed a MoU with Amazon India at the 7th edition of Bengal Global Business Summit. The main aim of the MoU is to educate MSMEs through through trainings and workshops to export their products on e-commerce platform.
Additional Information:
About: West Bengal
Capital: Kolkata
Chief Minister: Mamta Bannerjee
Governor: C.V. Ananda Bose
National Parks: Sunder bans National Park, Singalila National Park, Jaldapara National Park
Airport: Netaji Subash Chandra Bose International Airport, Bagdogra International Airport
About: NSE(National Stock Exchange)
It is the largest financial market in India.
Established: 1992
Chairman: Girish Chandra Chaturvedi
Headquarter: Mumbai, Maharashtra
