Bengal has received investment proposals amounting to Rs 2,19,925 crore that is expected to fructify into 20 lakh jobs, said chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Addressing industrialists at the concluding session of the fourth Bengal Global Business Summit, Miss Banerjee said that 50 per cent of the proposals that were received last year are in the process. “We maintain the best relationship with industrialists so our state is ‘Best Bengal’. Ours is a friendly government and we’ll extend all support. We talk less and work more”, Miss Banerjee said.

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Giving a sector-wise break-up of the investment, state finance minister Amit Mitra later said that the highest investment proposals have once again been received from the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors that jointly bagged 1,56,811 crore. This was followed by MSME that received 52,952 crore investment proposals. The hospital and tourism sectors got 1,483 crore investment proposals, IT and ITES got 1,146 crore, animal resource development, food processing and horticulture sectors received 1,518 crore and health, education and skill development received 6,015 crore investment proposals.

A host of policies namely Logistics Park Development and Promotion Policy, Export Promotion Policy and RORO Operation Promotion Policy were announced on the occasion.

According to Mr Mitra, the major job providers include Kanpur leather company that will recruit one lakh people while another one lakh will be employed by Uber and Ola.

Speaking at the concluding session, Miss Banerjee said “Without vision the world cannot survive. Our vision is our third eye, our innovation and it gives us strength.

Miss Banerjee rued that despite being an old state Bengal had to face so many legacies due to the 32 years of Leftists regime. “But our intention is clear and our sincerity and credibility are our strength,” she said.

Addressing the industrialists, Miss Banerjee said that their presence is the government’s strength and asset.

She said that the state is industry friendly with a political stability, good economic strength and skilled and talented labour. The connectivity within the state will be improved immensely once metros roll in by one to two years. There is a state land bank with a land use policy, she added.

She said the state is culminating into an industrial hub being the number one in agriculture, skill development, MSME, e-tendering e-governance and ease of doing business. The state government is revising the format of the summit from next year.