Kolkata: The West Bengal government has announced a massive drive to attract investment in the state from foreign players.
The announcement was made at an administrative meeting on Friday where it was decided that officials from Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) would be sent to 19 countries over the six months.
State secretariat sources told News18 that the CM was 'desperate to bring investment'.
"Last year, she visited Germany but that trip failed to bring any noticeable investment in Bengal. This time she wants to move forward aggressively on this matter. She has already had a detailed meeting with IDC officials and prepared a blue print on land bank, tax slab, rebate etc,” sources added.
The CM, during the meeting, asked IDC officials to meet potential foreign investors on a monthly basis.
Industry associations like Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) are helping IDC. Over the next six months, IDC officials are set to visit Australia, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Japan, USA, Italy, Bangladesh, Taiwan, China, etc.
The IDC will write monthly reports on the progress made, which will be submitted directly to Mamata.
The CM has already come in the line of fire from the opposition leaders for failing to woo investors in Bengal.
According to Confederation for British Industry (CBI) and the UK India Business Council around 1.96 million jobs have been created directly by FDI from 2000 to 2015. During these years, Bengal got only 3% of its share in terms of FDI.
However, states like Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka got a FDI shares of 36%, 29% and 13% respectively.
This year, during Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), representatives from 29 countries participated. A total investment of Rs 2.35 lakh crore was committed by the representatives in areas like transnational waterways, coastal zonal infrastructure, civil defence, transport, sports, heavy industry, electricity generation, and other sectors.
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