Bengal to host post-puja Business Industry Conclave, 3,165 projects approved: Amit Mitra

The West Bengal government will organise a major Business Industry Conclave in Kolkata after Durga Puja to promote investment and industrial growth. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Chief Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister, Dr. Amit Mitra, during a press conference at Nabanna. The decision comes following a meeting of the State Level Investment Synergy Committee, where several industrial development plans were discussed and cleared.

In the last three months, the committee has approved a total of 3,165 industrial projects across various sectors. These include real estate, information technology, food processing, tourism, and other development-oriented industries. While the exact investment figure has not been disclosed, the high number of approvals reflects the scale of planned industrial activity. The committee meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, Finance Secretary Prabhat Kumar Mishra, and Industry Secretary Vandana Yadav.

Dr. Mitra stated that the conclave has been planned after detailed discussions with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He added that under her direction, the focus is on industries with high growth potential, job creation capacity, export value, and geographical or natural advantages. The conclave will cover both core and emerging sectors identified as priorities by the state.

The targeted sectors include steel, gems and jewellery, information technology, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, food processing, shrimp exports, fish and poultry production, religious and cultural tourism, hosiery, ready-made garments, leather and leather-based products, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. These sectors have been identified as key to the state’s industrial strategy based on their current performance and future potential.

According to Dr. Mitra, West Bengal’s leather industry alone exports goods worth approximately USD 700 million annually, accounting for about 50 percent of India’s total leather exports. He also mentioned that the state exported USD 20.5 million worth of medical devices and pharmaceutical products in the previous year. The upcoming conclave will include discussions and presentations on investment prospects in these and other focus sectors.