Author: AITC

A day after the announcement by Singapore`s Changhi group toraise stake in the Bengal project, the industrialization process in the stategot another boost on Saturday .

The Rs 8,000-crore Emami Group and Vikram Solar, UtkarshTubes and Shakambhari Gagan Ispat have announced Rs 1,600-crore freshinvestment proposal in the presence of the state commerce and industriesminister Amit Mitra at a meeting organized by the MCC Chamber of Commerce &Industry. Besides, Shyam Infra, Emami and UAL Industries have reiterated theircommitment to go ahead with their earlier announced projects worth Rs 3,000crore.

Emami Group director Manish Goenka said that it is planningto expand the Mukundapur facility of AMRI with an investment of Rs 150 crore.”We will double the number of beds there,” he added. Goenka also said it isgoing ahead with the Rs 500crore cement grinding unit in Raghunathpur and anintegrated hospital with nursing college in Rajarhat with an investment of Rs500 crore. “We have got 5 acres for the Rajarhat project. We will soon startwork on this. The group is in talks with a Singapore-based consultant fordesigning,” he added.

Shakambhari Ispat is investing Rs 850 crore in Purulia foran integrated steel and power plant. Deepak Kumar Agarwal, chairman and MD ofShakambhari, said it is buying 175 acres near its existing facility in Puruliafor the project. “The project should be completed by the end of 2016. We willset up a 37 MW power plant along with 600 tonne per day rolling mill and 200tonne per day pig iron plant. Our existing facility has abillet and sponge ironplant,” he said, adding that the group is also planning to set up a coalwashery there.

Gyanesh Chowdhary , director of Vikram Solar, said they areinvesting Rs 500 crore in next 2 years for expanding capacity in their Faltafacility.

The combined employment in these projects will be over2,500. Minister Amit Mitra said, “This shows that a lot is happening. In fact,Changhi of Singapore has rated our industry policy as the best among all Indianstates,” he added. Mitra again tried to allay fears of the industrialists onland and said that the state had over 3,000 acres to offer to industry inRagunathpur, Kharagpur and Panagarh.

Image: Bengal Leads Summit, 2013

An SOS from Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee to Union HealthMinister has helped restore all 1045 medical seats in Bengal that had earlierbeen scrapped by Medical Council of India citing inadequate infrastructure.

The relief came after the state government gave anundertaking that the colleges would meet MCI`s guidelines on infrastructure andfaculty within a year.

On June 14, the MCI had restored 400 seats in the state. On Saturday,it lifted the freeze on another 200. The rest will be reinstated within a week,MCI member from Bengal Sudipto Roy said.

The ice began to melt only after Ms. Banerjee took up thematter and wrote to the Union health minister seeking his intervention. She pointedout the plight of bright students whose careers were under threat despiteattaining high ranks in the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination.

MCI representative from West Bengal, Sudipta Roy, said: “TheCM`s letter to the Union health minister helped sort out the imbroglio.”

“We are really very happy that the MCI has cleared all theseats and this will give enough opportunity to the students who have clearedthe Joint Entrance Examination and are aspiring for medical career,“ Directorof Medical Education, Sushanta Banerjee said.

The West Bengal Finance Minister Dr Amit Mitra sends a message of industry-friendly environment in the State to investors.

Here is what he said:

• The Trinamool Congress Government has paid Rs 1 lakh crore as debt repayment and interest in three years.

• If the Centre had granted a moratorium or formulated a structural debt repayment plan, West Bengal would not have had so much of difficulty in repaying its debts.

• We need the Central government to write this off through financial instruments and this would save us Rs. 1 lakh crore [as debt repayment in the three years that the Trinamool Congress has been in power in the State].

• With this money [Rs 1 lakh crore], we could have made hospitals, schools, colleges, and roads. We hope that the legitimate demand of the people of West Bengal will be listened to by the Centre.

• The state`s tax revenue receipts in 2014-15 is expected to be Rs 45,413 crore against Rs 21,128 crore in 2010-11.

• West Bengal was identified as a debt-stressed State along with Kerala and Punjab. For the financial year 2013-14, Rs 28,000 crore was cut from our treasury as debt repayment and interest.

• When we came into office in 2011, we were faced with over Rs 2 lakh crore as debt that had accumulated since the previous government`s regime. In the first year, all our tax revenue had gone as debt repayment. This year, we will be paying more than Rs 45,000 crore as debt repayment.

• There are over 3,000 acres of land available under the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and the West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation.

• The financial consultant appointed for Singapore`s Changi Airport has declared Bengal`s industrial policy the best.

• Every department in the State government is collaborating with one another to boost industries.

• Direct investment worth Rs 3,200 crore has been brought in by this government.

• The Investment brought in generated 4,500 direct employments and 10,000 indirect employments.

• Our focus would be on reducing the documentation process required to start a new business to three pages. We have already brought down the required number of pages from 99 to seven. I am now pushing for three pages of documentation to start new businesses.

• An integrated financial management system is being planned to put in place a technology-backed mechanism to track monetary movements in government coffers.

• Industry wants ease of doing business and lowering of transaction costs. The integrated financial management system will be ready in three to four months and every rupee of the government will be caught in the system.

• Our government`s demand to get this central debt waived is legitimate.

• The Shakambhari Gagan Group will invest Rs 851.68 crore in Madandih, Purulia, under Shakambhari Ispat & Power, to set up an integrated steel plant and captive power plant. It has already acquired 175 acres and has applied for clearances under 14Y for holding land beyond the ceiling.

• UAL will set up an autoclaved aerated concrete block manufacturing unit in Bagnan, Howrah. The estimated cost of the project is close to Rs 96.47 crore.

• The Emami Group will invest Rs 500 crore each in a cement grinding and captive power unit in Raghunathpur, Purulia and a hospital and nursing college in Rajarhat.

• Shyam Infra, Vikram Solar and Utkarsh Tubes & Pipes plan to pump in Rs 2,000 crore, Rs 500 crore and Rs 152.67 crore, respectively.

Ahead of Chief Minister Ms. MamataBanerjee`s visit to Darjeeling Hills, a team of four ministers – LabourMinister Moloy  Ghatak, Food MinisterJyoti Priya Mallick, North Bengal Development Minister Gautam Deb and Ministerfor Judicial Department  ChandrimaBhattacharya – are all set to tour six closed tea plantations in the Dooars.

The Ministers are scheduled to visit fourtea plantations of Raipur, Surendranagar, Red Bank and Dharanipur in Jalpaigurion 15 July, while the next day they are supposed to visit two plantations ofDheklapara and Bandapani in the Dooars, Mr Deb said.

He said the ministers will also hold ameeting with authorities concerned at Uttarkanya, the branch secretariat, on 15July at 1 PM, after visiting the tea plantations. Notably, the labourdepartment has called a fourth tripartite meeting to settle tea workers` wagesat Uttarkanya on 16 July.

The team of ministers decided to go on sucha tour following instructions from the CM. Labour department officials havestarted processing government allowances of Rs 1,500 per month to each joblessworker in the four tea plantations of Red Bank, Dharanipur, Surendranagar andBandapani.

The West Bengal Government is planning to boosttourism along the river Ganga in a grand way. The Government plans to invest Rs100 Crore in the next three years for this project through private investment.The state transport department will hand over the maintenance of the riverjetties to private bodies, mostly nationalized organizations.

The232 km ride from Nabadwip to Gangasagar will attract a lot of tourists, feelofficials. The stretch of Ganga has a number of religious centres as well as historicalplaces – Nabadwip, Gangasagar, Halisahar, Dakshineshwar, Bandel, Chandannagar,Barrackpore among other tourism sites.

Sixtyghats and twenty four jetties have been initially identified for renovation.New jetties will be set up in the rest of the 36 ghats. Passenger safety willbe the prime focus in all the jetties. Most of the ghats in South 24 Parganas Districthave ferry services. Passenger safety will be beefed up in these places.

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms MamataBanerjee is expected to visit Singapore to rope in foreign investments, State IndustryMinister Dr Amit Mitra announced. Although the itinerary is yet to befinalised, Dr Mitra said the Chief Minister was “actively considering” a recentinvite from the Singapore foreign ministry.

“She is actively considering going there(Singapore) with a team of key officials and business delegates to exploreopportunities of getting investment for the state,” Mitra said on the sidelinesof a news conference at Nabanna witha joint delegation of Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL) and Singapore`sChangi Airports International.

 Earlier,the delegation met the Chief Minister to discuss the progress of the airportcity project in Bardhaman`s Andal. Senior Changi and BAPL officials describedthe meeting as “fruitful and helpful”.

The Chief Minister has been busy withadministrative meetings in the districts since the beginning of this month. Inthe past two weeks, she held meetings in Hooghly, Burdwan and Birbhum. She willvisit the two Medinipurs to inaugurate a cement plant in Salboni and holdadministrative meetings before leaving for north Bengal next week. She is alsoscheduled to address the annual “Martyrs` Day” rally in Kolkata on July 21.

The Bengal Chief Minister is expected tomeet Singapore ministers and senior officials besides top business leadersduring her visit. She plans to take along a battery of officials andbusinessmen from Bengal. She hopes in bringing foreign investment to the state.

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মুখ্যমন্ত্রী হওয়ার পর থেকে তাঁর কাছে বিভিন্ন সময়ে বিদেশ সফরের আমন্ত্রণ এসেছে। তাঁর মধ্যে কিছু আমন্ত্রণ তিনি গ্রহণ করলেও এখনও পর্যন্ত দেশের বাইরে কোথাও যাননি। এ বারে কিছুটা হলেও জোরালো হয়েছে মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের সিঙ্গাপুর সফরের সম্ভাবনা। উদ্দেশ্য, রাজ্যে শিল্পের জন্য লগ্নি টানা। মুখ্যমন্ত্রী সিঙ্গাপুর গেলে এটাই হবে তাঁর প্রথম বিদেশ যাত্রা।

সম্প্রতি সিঙ্গাপুর সরকার মুখ্যমন্ত্রীকে সে দেশে যাওয়ার আমন্ত্রণ জানিয়েছে। মূলত সিঙ্গাপুরের বিভিন্ন বণিকসভা এবং শিল্প গোষ্ঠীগুলির সঙ্গে মুখোমুখি আলোচনায় বসার জন্যই সে দেশের সরকারের তরফে এই আমন্ত্রণ বলে প্রশাসন সূত্রে খবর। মুখ্যমন্ত্রী বিষয়টি বিশেষ গুরুত্ব দিয়ে বিবেচনা করে দেখছেন বলে শুক্রবার নবান্নে জানিয়েছেন শিল্পমন্ত্রী অমিত মিত্র। তিনি জানান, সিঙ্গাপুরে যাওয়ার ব্যাপারে মুখ্যমন্ত্রী বিশেষ ভাবে আগ্রহী। বিষয়টি তিনি বিবেচনা করে দেখছেন।

সিঙ্গাপুরের বিদেশমন্ত্রীর পক্ষ থেকে নবান্নে আমন্ত্রণপত্রটি আসার পর থেকেই মুখ্যমন্ত্রী তাঁর ঘনিষ্ঠ মহলে এ ব্যাপারে আলোচনা করেছেন বলে প্রশাসন সূত্রে খবর।

ক্ষমতায় আসার পর রাজ্যে শিল্প লগ্নি টানতে মমতা দিল্লি, মুম্বই গিয়েছেন। সরকারি উদ্যোগে `বেঙ্গল লিডস` নামক অনুষ্ঠানের মাধ্যমে শিল্পপতিদের মন জয়ের চেষ্টা করেছেন তিনি। মুম্বইয়ে মুকেশ অম্বানী–র মতো একাধিক শিল্পপতি সেখানে হাজির ছিলেন।

শিল্পমন্ত্রী এ দিন বলেন, “মুখ্যমন্ত্রী সিঙ্গাপুরে গেলে তাঁর সঙ্গে সরকারের পদস্থ আধিকারিকদের পাশাপাশি রাজ্যের বণিকসভার সদস্যরাও যাবেন। এ রাজ্যে তাঁদের লগ্নির অভিজ্ঞতার কথা সেখানে গিয়ে বলবেন।” তিনি জানান, সিঙ্গাপুরে পৃথিবীর একাধিক বহুজাতিক সংস্থার সদর দফতর রয়েছে। মুখ্যমন্ত্রী গেলে ওই সংস্থাগুলির কর্তাদের সঙ্গে তাঁর বৈঠকের ব্যবস্থা করা হবে বলে জানা গিয়েছে। এ ব্যাপারে চাঙ্গি গোষ্ঠী–সহ সিঙ্গাপুর সরকারও চেষ্টা চালাবে বলে শিল্পমন্ত্রী এ দিন জানিয়েছেন।

এ দিন মমতার সঙ্গে দেখা করতে নবান্নে আসেন চাঙ্গি ইন্টারন্যাশনাল সংস্থার চেয়ারম্যান কি–সহ তাদের গোষ্ঠীর অন্যান্য কর্তারা। সিঙ্গাপুরের চাঙ্গি গোষ্ঠী এ রাজ্যে অন্ডালে বিমাননগরী তৈরি করতে বিপুল বিনিয়োগ করেছে। অন্ডালে ওই সংস্থাটি বিমাননগরী তৈরি করতে প্রথম ধাপে প্রায় এক হাজার কোটি টাকা লগ্নি করছে। চাঙ্গি গোষ্ঠীর চেয়ারম্যান বলেন, “এ বছরের শেষেই অন্ডাল বিমানবন্দর থেকে বিমান পরিষেবা আমরা শুরু করে দিতে পারব বলে আশা করছি।“

The Bengal government will write to theCentre demanding the “immediate release” of “due funds” worth Rs 8,000 crorefor projects in rural areas.

PanchayatMinister Mr Subrata Mukherjee siad that the funds would be required for ongoingprojects such as construction of rural roads and for the payment ofbeneficiaries under the 100-day job scheme.

“Wehave been demanding the release of funds for ongoing rural developmentprojects. We have not been able to complete many projects for lack of funds. Iwill write to the Union rural development ministry next week. There is aconspiracy to hurt us,” Mr Mukherjee said. “Several projects are lyingincomplete as we have not been able to pay contractors,” he added.

Thepanchayat minister said the state government had paid from its own coffers tocontinue some of the schemes. Criticising the Union budget, he said the Centrehad ignored the needs of rural India. “Allocations for all projects (for ruralareas) have been curtailed. Rural development will be hit badly by the Centre`sproposals. Funds allocated for schemes can only be utilised for pilotprojects,” the panchayat minister said.

Referringto the Centre`s plan to construct 8,000 km of rural roads in the country thisfiscal, Mr Mukherjee said that in Bengal alone, 12,000 km of such roads werebeing laid. “The hike in the allocation for the 100-day rural job scheme isonly Rs 1,000 crore. This is not going to be enough since Bengal alone wouldneed an additional Rs 2,500 crore this year,” the minister said.

MrMukherjee also criticised the Centre`s decision to create an Allahabad-Haldiawaterway for commercial navigation on the Ganga. “Kolkata port is dead andHaldia port is dying. Unless steps are taken to revive them, the plan will notsucceed,” he said.

Howrah is all set to become a mega city,the Urban Development Minister said in the State Assembly.

“From now on, Howrah`s growth will be in aplanned manner and the city will have urban facilities like Kolkata,” Mr FirhadHakim, the state Urban Development Minister said in the Assembly while replyingto a discussion prior to the passing of the Howrah Municipal Corporation(Amendment) Bill. “We`ll convert Howrah into a mega city,” he promised.

Howrahreceived a major boost, when Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee shifted thestate secretariat to the 15-storey Nabanna overlooking the Hooghly. “For the past30 years, Howrah has grown in an unplanned manner, resulting in water supply,road and conservation problems. Water logging is another huge problem becauseof a faulty drainage system. But this will change as we are preparing ablueprint for the city`s development,” he said.

“Thedevelopment programmes are being elaborately planned. Initially, problems ofdifferent areas of the city will be addressed. Water supply, drainage andsanitation, roads, street lights and other facilities will be brought on a parwith Calcutta,” Mr. Hakim said.

Accordingto Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Howrah`s population was about 3.2 millionafter the 2011 census and a city must have over 10 million residents, amongother things, to become a mega city. As a first step towards earning thatstatus, the Bally municipality area will be merged with the Howrah MunicipalCorporation to attract more funds.

 Newbuildings and civil construction work would be sanctioned keeping in mindenvironmental parameters, the Minister said. “Slum and traffic management willbe prime concerns,” he added.

Thecity`s two water treatment plants at Puddapukur were built to generate 70million gallon a day.

The Assembly passed a resolution to include some parts ofMaheshtala municipality, South 24-Parganas, in the KMC area. “Severalgeographical and logistical problems that stood in the way of the amalgamation.But these have been taken care of,” Mr. Hakim said.

The CAG has praised the Trinamool Congress ledWest Bengal Government for improving the fiscal situation in West Bengal. Thestate government has succeeded in improving the fiscal situation during2012-13. Revenue receipts grew at a rate of 16 per cent, while the growth ofrevenue expenditure was 12 per cent, the CAG said in its report tabled in thestate Assembly.

 Thestate`s own revenue generation which stood at around Rs 21,128 crore in 2010-11, is slated to grow to Rs 45,414 crore by the end of the current financialyear of 2014- 15.

The revenue receipt on this count increasedfrom virtually zero from the Left Front regime to Rs 1,283 crore as per theactual figures for 2012- 13,  Rs 1,436crore as the revised estimate figure of 2013- 14 and Rs 1,651 crore as per thebudget estimates of 2014- 15.

According to him the state`s debt to GrossState Domestic Product (GSDP) improved from 39.54% during 2010-11 which is thelast fiscal of the previous Left Front regime to 35.33% in 2013- 14.

Statement of Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Leader of the party in Lok Sabha:

English

Just like the UPA, the NDA too has alsochalked out a plan to sell the country. FDI in defence and insurance are dangerous… Is this a Budget for the BJPto run the party or is this a Budget to run the country? 

There was so much talkabout bringing back black money… in the election campaign… not a word aboutit in the Budget. Disgusting. 

The precious jute industry has been totallyignored. More than 2 crore people are directly involved. Jobs lost as plastic lobbiesprevail.

Bengali:

ইউপিএ সরকারের মত এই এনডিএ সরকারও দেশকে বিক্রি করে দেওয়ার পরিকল্পনা করছে। প্রতিরক্ষা ও ইনসিওরেন্স এ এফডিআই দেশের পক্ষে বিপজ্জনক।

এটা কি বিজেপির নিজের দল চালানোর বাজেট নাকি দেশ চালানোর?

নির্বচনী প্রচারের সময় কালো টাকা নিয়ে অনেক কথা বলা হয়েছিল, কিন্তু বাজেটে এর কোনও উল্লেখই নেই। এটা ন্যক্কারজনক।

পাটশিল্প যা দেশের ২ কোটি মানুষের জীবিকা নির্বাহের একমাত্র উপায়, সেই শিল্পকে সম্পূর্ণ উপেক্ষা করা হয়েছে। এটা প্লাস্টিক লবির জয়।