Kolkata: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee speaks during the inauguration of Jagodhatri Puja, at Posta in Kolkata.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Kolkata: Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced a slew of new policies including plans to double the state's exports, modernise its logistics and promote renewable energy manufacturing, while opening the Bengal Global Business Summit here.
Banerjee also announced a policy to promote bio-fuels and a new sub-sea cable landing station at the sea-resort of Digha to help improve internet connectivity in the eastern region.
The chief minister also said the state’s economy was growing at 8.41 per cent and would turn into USD 212 billion this fiscal.
She also told a star-studded gathering of business leaders including petro-chemicals to retail tycoon Mukesh Ambani, Energy baron Sanjeev Goenka and Wipro’s Rishad Premji, that four new industrial corridors would be set up including Dankuni-Kalyani, Tajpur port-Raghunathpur, Dankuni-Jhargram and Durgapur to Cooch Behar in north Bengal.
The Bengal Global Business Summit, an annual affair, is being attended by several hundred companies from 17 countries.
Highlighting the fact that the state was home to some 90 lakh MSME units employing 1.3 crore people, Banerjee pointed out that it also housed a large leather manufacturing complex which was being expanded to be the Asian continent’s biggest besides boasting of one of the largest IT hubs in the country.
The chief minister also claimed that her state was a model of tranquillity and good governance, though she also accused the opposition of running a campaign to smear the state’s image.