VOLUME 29, NUMBER 4 LEADERS 183 Rich in Human and Material
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Rich in Human and Material Resources A 30-Million-Ton Player by 2015 The Honorable Shri Buddhadeb B Muthuraman, Managing Director, Bhattacharjee, Chief Minister, Government of Tata Steel Limited, Kolkata West Bengal, Kolkata 185 195 West Bengal’s Competitive Advantages Tea-licious! The Honorable Shri Nirupam Sen, Aditya Khaitan, Managing Director, Minister of Commerce & Industry, McLeod Russel India Limited, Kolkata Government of West Bengal, Kolkata 188 196 Poised for the Service Revolution Committed to Action Rathin Datta, Amit Kiran Deb, Chief Secretary, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Government of West Bengal, Kolkata PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata 190 199 The Power Behind the Power Grand Palaces Await You Sunil Mitra, Principal Secretary, Ajoy K. Misra, Department of Power and Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, Mumbai Government of West Bengal, Kolkata 191 201 Attracting IT Companies A Power Storage Pioneer Debanjan Datta, Managing Director and Satya Brata Ganguly, Chief Executive Officer, West Bengal Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Electronics Industry Development Exide Industries Limited, Kolkata Corporation Limited, Kolkata 192 202 VOLUME 29, NUMBER 4 POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. LEADERS 183 Rich in Human and Material Resources An Interview with The Honorable Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Chief Minister, Government of West Bengal, Kolkata dence, our state enjoyed a preeminent vision for West Bengal, and how do position in the field of industry. West Ben- you see that vision evolving in com- gal is now regarded as one of the top five ing years? states of India in respect of industrial The electorate of my constituency investment. gave an unequivocal verdict. The percent- West Bengal is also internationally age of votes polled in my favor was more reputed as a seat of culture. The world- than 61. In the recent elections to the renowned poet Rabindranath Tagore and state legislative assembly, the Left Front the film maestro Satyajit Ray were born made a very impressive performance by and bred in Kolkata, the cultural nerve winning 235 out of 294 seats. center of Bengal. The state has to its We make it clear to our people that credit five Nobel laureates. Professor the state government will continue to do Amartya Sen, a son of West Bengal, won its best to live up to their expectations. the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998. The Left Front government has been in West Bengal has emerged as one power since 1977. During our first few of the most preferred investment terms, we concentrated on improving destinations in India, and the whole conditions in the rural sector. We laid The Hon. Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee of Southeast Asia. What factors have stress on implementing land reform and contributed to your state’s recent rural development programs. Following EDITORS’ NOTE With a B.A. honors success in attracting investment from our success in the rural sector, we have degree in Bengali from Presidency Col- a sizeable number of multinational been making efforts to accelerate the pace lege in Kolkata, Shri Buddhadeb Bhat- corporations? of industrial growth in the state. Our aim tacharjee joined the Communist Party of West Bengal is endowed with vast is to make West Bengal a more dynamic India (Marxist) in 1966. He was elected agricultural and industrial resources, a and forward-looking state. The quest for as a member of West Bengal’s legislative large pool of skilled manpower, and new knowledge is one of the basic fea- assembly for the first time in 1977, and relatively developed social and physical tures of the 21st century. Our young men the same year joined the West Bengal infrastructure. The state government’s and women are striving to acquire this cabinet as Minister-in-Charge at the industrial policy of 1994 recognizes the new knowledge for the common good. I Department of Information and Public important role of the private sector in our am sure that they will succeed. Relations (subsequently the Department economy. The policy emphasizes the You are proud of the fact that of Information and Cultural Affairs). need for the induction of foreign technol- multinationals such as IBM, During his distinguished political career, ogy and investment on mutually advanta- Mitsubishi, Cognizant, Frito Lay, The he has also served as Minister-in-Charge geous terms. In the present economic Salim Group of Companies, ITC, Tata at the Department of Local, Urban, and system of our country, the public sector, Group, Exide Industries, Price Metropolitan Development; Minister-in- the private sector, and the joint sector waterhouseCoopers, foreign banks Charge at the Department of Urban have to operate in close cooperation. like Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, and Development and Municipal Affairs; West Bengal offers vast opportunities IT companies are enlarging their in- Minster-in-Charge of the Home (Police) for investment in areas such as iron and vestments in West Bengal. What do Department; and Minister-in-Charge at steel, petrochemicals and chemicals, IT you think is responsible for this trend? the Department of Information Technol- and IT-enabled services, leather, engineer- The industry-friendly environment of ogy. Bhattacharjee took over as Chief ing, agribusiness, biotechnology, infra- the state attracts these multinationals. Minister in November 2000 and was structure, gems and jewelry, and tourism. One reason they are expanding their returned to that position in the general We are inviting foreign direct investment operations in West Bengal is its sociopolit- elections of May 2001. He was reelected in both industry and infrastructure. ical stability. The advantages of West Ben- in 2006. Domestic and international companies are gal include the availability of raw materi- contributing to the economic growth of als, a good communications network, the What would you most like our read- our state. low cost of operations, a sound agricul- ers to know about West Bengal, and You stunned political prognosti- tural base, a large and concentrated mar- why? cators by receiving more than 75 per- ket, and a good pool of human capital and West Bengal is well known as one of cent of the vote in your constituency skills. the most vibrant states in India. The state in the recent elections for the legis- One of your primary concerns is rich in human and material resources. lative assembly. What did you share has been to improve standards of ed- Before and after the country’s indepen- with your constituents about your ucation in West Bengal. What steps VOLUME 29, NUMBER 4 POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. LEADERS 185 The state government is taking time-bound steps to develop the infrastructure sector. are you taking to achieve this? out with distinct success. The state is pro- foreign tie-ups to implement such pro- The state government is earnestly gressing steadily. jects are being worked out. We have trying to raise academic standards further. You plan to modernize the in- already received collaboration offers from A mass literacy program in West Bengal is frastructure of Kolkata and the rest various companies based in Japan, China, being implemented with success – 70 per- of West Bengal in coming years. the United States, the United Kingdom, cent literacy has been achieved. Our gov- Could you elaborate on specific in- Indonesia, Singapore, Italy, and a few ernment is taking effective steps to bring frastructure needs that will require other countries for some of our ambitious all the children in the state under the foreign investment, and the opportu- schemes. ambit of elementary education. Emphasis nities that will be available to in- You are a cinema buff and an au- is being placed on extending technical vestors for these projects? thor, and you love reading and writ- education schemes and vocational train- The state government is taking time- ing literature. Is it fair to say that you ing programs. The universities in West bound steps to develop the infrastructure are endeavoring to reinforce West Bengal are introducing some job-oriented sector. Now, the power position in the Bengal’s status as the cultural center courses. The West Bengal National Univer- state is stable. Additional capacity to the of India, with all of its diversity and sity of Juridical Sciences and other univer- tune of 3,500 megawatts is expected to be secularism intact? sities of special orientation, such as Bid- created during the 11th five-year plan West Bengal’s reputation as a cultur- han Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Uttar period. A number of bridges and flyovers ally advanced state has to be maintained. Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, the West have been built in different parts of West Our cultural ethos, based on unity in Bengal University of Technology, the West Bengal. New industrial growth centers and diversity and secularism, is being enriched Bengal University of Health Sciences, the new townships are being set up. Kolkata is by the fusion of tradition and modernity. West Bengal University of Animal and passing through a process of renewal. At the same time, our efforts are now Fishery Sciences, and Ramakrishna Mis- For the whole of West Bengal, we are being directed toward building West Ben- sion Vivekananda Education and Research drawing up plans to set up seaports, air- gal as a modern industrial and commercial Institute are meeting the needs of a large ports, an elevated mass transport system, hub. We will work for the all-around number of students. Computer education expressways, and other facilities. Some development of the state.• is being provided with various modern facilities. We are setting up some centers of excellence at the higher education level to raise the quality of education. West Bengal has suffered a “brain drain” of its best and brightest students to countries abroad over the past few decades, perhaps more than any other Indian state.