Bengal Beckons

It was a strong pitch that was made by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to attract investments into the eastern state when she addressed a packed house of 45 leaders of India Inc at a meet which was aptly titled ‘Bengal Beckons’.
From promising 10,000 acres ready for investment to starting an “African safari” in Sundarbans and a new Goa in the Bay of Bengal, the Trinamool Congress leader is said to have charmed CEOs and chairmen of leading companies and banks, who are now chalking out fresh investments in the state. The closed door meeting was attended by the who’s who of India Inc, including Mukesh Ambani, Ashok Hinduja, Sajjan Jindal, Adi Godrej, Y C Deveshwar, Chanda Kochhar, N Chandrasekaran, Nitin Paranjpe, Uday Kotak, Madhur Bajaj, Harsh Neotia and V N Dhoot.
Describing West Bengal as the “gateway” to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, and steering clear from any political standing, Banerjee wowed one and all. “It was a very good meet we had with Mumbai’s business leaders. They are also very happy to invest in West Bengal. Mukesh Ambani called our state ‘a goldmine for the industry’,” an elated Banerjee told mediapersons after the meet.
Ambani is said to have told the CM, “After a big victory in the Panchayat polls, you have come back to Mumbai. This is a message that you are quite serious about investments.” Ambani, who is investing in 4G in West Bengal, had a private meeting with the chief minister after the meeting.
The CM, said industry sources, was unique in the manner in which she asked CEOs to step up investments in Bengal.She is said to have quite literally commanded Sajjan Jindal of JSW Group to start work on his 10-million steel project in the state which was earlier stalled.