Author: AITC

Veteran painter and AITC Rajya Sabha MPJogen Chowdhury has been invited by the President of India to be India's first 'ArtistIn Residence' at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for two weeks in August.

The 'In-Residence' programme aims atproviding writers and artists an opportunity to stay in Rashtrapati Bhavan for aperiod of time and be a part of the life of Rashtrapati Bhavan. The initiativeis an attempt to encourage young and upcoming writers and artists byfacilitating them stay close to nature in the picturesque and serenesurroundings of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Programme seeks to provide anenvironment which will inspire creative thinking and rejuvenate artisticimpulses. Various activities like reading sessions, exhibitions of works of artand interaction with the residents of Rashtrapati Bhavan, etc. are also to beorganized in consultation with the selected writers/artists under the scheme.

Jogen Chowdhury is an eminent painter ofinternational repute. His crosshatches and lines are renowned globally. He hasalso exhibited globally and earned laurels. His selection as the first 'Artist InResidence' is indeed a matter of pride.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) Sector in Bengal is now No. 1 in the country with more than 35,000 newunits having been set up with employment of nearly 3 lakh 20 thousand peopleand highest credit disbursement worth Rs 35,000 crore over the last three yearsin the state. Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee posted this information on herFacebook page.

“We have been organizing SYNERGY sinceSeptember, 2013 to provide more customized solutions to the MSME entrepreneursthrough hand holding support and personalized guidance. Nearly 40,000entrepreneurs visited the clinics, help desks and technology pavilions and bankloan worth hundreds of crores were sanctioned to nearly 1800 enterprises inthis first-ever state level conclave,” she said.

“In 2014 we adopted the strategy of takingSynergy closer to the field level and accordingly we organized the firstregional Synergy at Siliguri in February this year. The second regional Synergywas held at Howrah on 1-2 August, 2014. Loans worth Rs 1000 crore weresanctioned and investment proposals close to Rs 5000 crore were received in theSynergy at Howrah,” the Chief Minister added.

Diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd iscarrying out projects worth of Rs 3,500crore in West Bengal.

It was disclosed in the 103rd AGM by thecompany's Chairman Mr YC Deveshwar that West Bengal has a high share of ITC'sforthcoming projects with an outlay of Rs 3,500 crore, encouraged by conducive policies of the State.

The ITC chairman praised the West Bengal governmentfor supporting the company's projects in the state. He said that ITC is gettinga lot of assistance from the state government, even to solve otherwiseseemingly intractable problems. The company was implementing projects like anIT arm, food processing unit, logistics parks in the state involving aninvestment of Rs 3,500 crore.

There has been considerable change in theapproach of the government from the past, the conglomerate Chairman said. Therehas been an industrial boost in the State, brought about by West Bengal ChiefMinister Ms Mamata Banerjee, he added.

West Bengal is now among the top three Statesof India in the power sector. West Bengal has been adjudged the secondbest State in the category “Most Progressive Power State” by IPPAI.Additionally, the Purulia Pump Storage Project (PSPS) has been selected as theMost Innovative Operation in Power Sector by the IPPAI. The awards will begiven on August 2, 2014 at Goa.

WestBengal is committed to providing good quality, uninterrupted power supply toall its people at affordable rates. It is also committed to establishingcommercial viability in the power sector so that the necessary investment needsof the sector can be met to cater to increasing demand for acceleratingeconomic growth in West Bengal.

WestBengal Power Minister Mr Manish Gupta had earlier announced that all villagesin the State will be electrified by 2015. Incidentally, the earlier Governmentcompleted only 30% of the rural electrification work, although they beganelectrification drive in 1985. After coming to power the Trinamool Governmenthas already completed 70% of the rural electrification project.

Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee today formally launched 48 'Karma Tirtha' hubs across thestate that will be a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs to market their productsdirectly to the consumers in rural areas. 

A total of 229 such hubs have beensanctioned and 48 of them were flagged off by the CM today at BeliatorSchool Ground in Bankura. The government plans to set up at least one 'Karma Tirtha' in every Block of the state.

Creatingjob and self-employment opportunities have always been a priority for theTrinamool government. During last 3 years, lakhs of jobs have been created andpeople of the State have got employment as engineers, doctors, officers, teachers,nurses, technicians, assistants and in many other sectors.

West Bengal has tremendous scope in ruralbusinesses, given the abundance of natural resources and the availability of askilled workforce. To strike a synergy between the two and move towardssuccessful and sustainable entrepreneurship, the Government launched the uniquebusiness hub 'Karma Tirtha'. It willbe a one-stop shop where entrepreneurs will market their products directly tobuyers.

The  government is providing all support to set upthe infrastructure, provide training, finance and create market linkages withprospective buyers, so that doing business in Bengal for the youth will receivea new thrust and a new dimension.

Individuals, self-help groups, co-operativeenterprises, particularly women, artisans, weavers, minority community and SC,ST, OBC youth entrepreneurs availing self-employment schemes of the governmentwill benefit significantly under this scheme.

Thegovernment has been giving much stress on developing the micro, small andmedium scale industries in the state to create more job opportunities forentrepreneurs, particularly women. Already 152 new MSME clusters have been setup across the state where entrepreneurs and women self-help groups are beingbenefitted by setting up business on their own. 

The 'Karma Tirtha' hubs will further help entrepreneurs in the ruralareas of the state to come in contact with consumers directly. The governmenthas already set up a few outlets to promote the Biswa Bangla Brand with its handicrafts, handlooms and otherproducts.

In a significant development, Korean andTaiwanese entrepreneurs are showing interest in investing in manufacture ofComputer Hardware & Electronics in West Bengal. West Bengal Chief MinisterMs Mamata Banerjee posted this on her Facebook page earlier today.

Korean and Taiwanese companies are worldleaders in the hardware and electronics domain. This would usher in investmentand major job opportunities for youth of our State, which is endowed withintellectually rich human resources for cutting edge electronic manufacturing.

On visiting Hardware Park coming up atNaihati, the Korean team became highly optimistic about Bengal, as futuredestination of the Korean hardware investments. Koreans are looking at Bengalas the gateway of export of electronic and hardware items to Bangladesh,Mayanmar, China and other major ASEAN countries.

On her Facebook page, the CM posted: “Withthe advent of the world class players like Korea and Taiwan, our State is targetingto improve its market share in hardware and electronic goods significantly. Iam happy to inform all of you about these developments.

I am also happy to share with you thattoday, I have inaugurated a new facility of a major industrial group at Barjorain Bankura, which will manufacture Dielectric (Capacitor) Film, a uniqueproduct in the country.”

Bengal continues to move ahead, she added.