Tag: Amit Mitra

MSME capital fund to come up in December

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The venture capital fund for micro, small and medium enterprises, which was proposed in the last State budget, will start functioning from next month.

The fund will come up with a corpus of Rs 200 crore. State commerce and industries Minister Dr Amit Mitra said that his department has started the process to identify bankable projects for funding. “We hope to start allocation for micro, small and medium scale enterprises from this fund from next month,“ he said. The fund will also offer seed capital to budding entrepreneurs for starting business.

Dr Mitra spoke on the venture capital fund while addressing the annual general meeting of MCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Bengal was marching ahead compared to many other states in the MSME sector. The MSME facilitation and technology centre has been functioning for the last few months.

Dr Mitra added that 56,872 new MSME units have registered in Bengal between May 2011 and October 2015. “This clearly shows the growth in MSME in Bengal during our regime,“ he added. He pointed out that there has been a five-fold increase in the number of MSME clusters during the regime of the Trinamool government. “Only 48 clusters were created in the four years before 2011. But in next four years since 2011, 183 clusters have been created,“ he added.

Dr Mitra also said that total bank credit to MSME during the four years of Mamata regime was Rs 74,437 crore compared to Rs 32,000 crore in the last four years of the Left Front government.

The State government is planning 341 rural marketing hubs for MSME and agro products. “We shall invest Rs 3 crore in each hub and the total allocation will be to the tune of more than Rs 900 crore,“ he added.

 

WB Govt allocates Rs 100 Cr for the welfare of tea garden workers

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A group of ministers (GoM) formed by chief minister Mamata Banerjee has decided to extend a series of benefits in the areas of food, health, power and education for the employees of not only closed or abandoned tea gardens but also of the stressed ones.

The GoM has decided to allocate a Rs 100 crore Tea Garden Employees’ Welfare Fund (formed in early 2015) as corpus for the benefit of the ailing tea garden workers.

The GoM headed by finance and industries minister Dr Amit Mitra had an hourlong meeting with the officials of education, food, health, PHE and power departments on Friday to discuss the strategy and modalities.

The other members of GoM also include power minister Manish Gupta, rural development minister Subrata Mukherjee, education minister Partha Chatterjee, north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb, labour minister Moloy Ghatak and agriculture minister Purnendu Bose.

It was decided that a task force will be formed under the district magistrates of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar to oversee the implementation of the relief measures on a day-to-day basis. The state government has set a deadline of seven days to supply power directly to the workers houses in all the 234 Dooars gardens.

Besides free power, the state is organising a free kitchen in over 30 stressed gardens in Dooars.

WB CM to hold meeting with Chinese delegation on November 5

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A Chinese delegation comprising senior ministers and dignitaries will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee on 5 November and explore the potential for Chinese investment in the state.

Earlier, this year, State industry minister Dr Amit Mitra visited China and showcased the development in infrastructure and power situation of the state which is necessary for investment. A Chinese delegation may attend the Bengal Business Summit in January 2016.

The Chief Minister is going on a three-day tour to North Bengal starting from 2 November and on her return from North Bengal on 5 November, she would meet the Chinese delegation. She would go to Mal, Cooch Behar and Jaigoan – to hold meetings on public distribution system and will also hold administrative meetings in Jaigoan, near Bhutan border.

Recently a seven-member team from Singapore met state urban development officials and showed interest in various smart city projects, especially that of New Town.

The State Government has asked the delegation to see if they could form a consortium to assist the government for the smart city projects. The state is also planning to stage a road show in Singapore to promote the smart city projects.

Before going to North Bengal, the Chief Minister would visit Junglemahal for three days starting from 28 November. Her regular visits to the Hills and Junglemahal have helped to restore peace in the areas.’

The West Bengal Chief Minister had earlier said that she would begin her dream project “Sabuj Sathi’ distribution of cycles to all school children.”I will start the pilot project from Bandowan in Purulia just before the Jaggadhatri Puja. Earlier, we used to distribute cycles to minority, schedule caste and schedule tribe girl students but now the cycles will be distributed to all students,’ she added.

State Cabinet clears Group D Recruitment Board, early salaries before Pujas

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A meeting held by the State Cabinet on Wednesday decided that a Recruitment Board to incorporate 70,000 Group D staffs will be formed. A retired IAS officer may head the Board.

The meeting, chaired by State Finance & Industry Minister, Dr Amit Mitra decided that the salary of all the Government employees for the month of October will be released by October 17, as all the Government offices will be closed till October 28 due to Puja vacations. There has been precedence in doing so in past years.

The cabinet also decided to allot Rs 731 crore in the Integrated Power Development for development in power supply in urban areas of the State.

WB Industry Minister holds meeting on smart cities with Bengaluru capatains of industries

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The West Bengal government’s plans for six theme-based greenfield townships received a welcome boost as WB Finance and Industries Minister Dr Amit Mitra met technology biggies at the IT capital of India and chalked out a formula to bring in a synergy with smarter solutions for the developers.

“Town-makers and developers want smarter solutions to their big projects, while IT majors wish to get involved with the new townships. We, the government, would tell them to work together and create real smart and thematic townships–futuristic cities with sustainable solutions,“ Dr Mitra said.

Dr Mitra on Tuesday met tech honchos of 24 companies, such as Cisco, HP, PwC, Accenture and 3M, at the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangalore. Cisco is claimed to have evinced interest in investing in e-schooling, eHealth and street lighting in the theme-based township projects.

The six townships, Agnibina, Sports City , Teesta, Uttam City, Gitabitan and Samriddhi, will be put on the block through e-auction and global tendering process. A consortium of developers rom the UK, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and some private equi y players firms are interested in nvesting in intelligent and lowcost housing. “Almost all will go to Global Bengal Summit,“ Dr Mitra said. The developers’ consortium, represented by S Yasir Rizvi of Canopy and Ricardo Gontijo of Directional, told they would hold a recce during the Summit.

Dr Mitra said 250-odd entrepreneurs attended the meetings on Tuesday. He said 70 Karnataka firms and others will discuss investing in Bengal in the next few months and at the summit.

T V Mohandas Pai roped in by WB Govt to draft startup policies

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Infosys co-founder and IT industry stalwart T V Mohandas Pai will take the leading role in drafting a policy to encourage build and nurture a conducive environment for startups and entrepreneurs in the sector in Bengal.

Pai has proposed a target of building as many as 10,000 startups in the state in 10 years, generating around $50 billion business. Latching onto Pai’s pitch, state finance, industry, commerce and IT minister Dr Amit Mitra requested him to take charge and formulate a comprehensive startup policy for Bengal.

On the sidelines of the Investment Roadshow for the Bengal Global Business Summit in Bengaluru, Pai, “I will wait for the Bengal government’s next proactive step. We have to sit with the government and other authorities. Let them come up with some concrete measures and I will definitely pitch in with ideas.“

At the roadshow organized by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Dr Mitra said, “The government has always encouraged technocrats and industry experts to take lead. And, I wish Mohan Bhai to take the leadership. I am assuring him that the government will do its best to fulfil the target by five years. Mr Pai will send us a draft policy on the startup soon.“ He promised to make Bengal the startup capital of the country. According to Pai, startup will be the most vibrant and buzzing sector of the economy. “By 2025, there will be one hundred thousand startups operating in India, generating a business of a staggering $500 billon. West Bengal, with its 93 million people–most of them making a talent pool–can’t lag behind in the race. Imagine the number of jobs that would be created, if you count 35 peoples’ employment involved with one startup,“ said Pai, who is currently the chairman of Manipal Global Education Services.

Pai also urged the state IT minister to come up with or arrange for initial funding for the budding startup space: “The state government needs to set up Rs 1,000 crore angel fund for the seed capital.“ Replying to it, the state finance minister said in the last state budget, the government earmarked Rs 200 crore for the fresh entrepreneurs.

According to Pai, who has become a pioneer in investing, advising and nurturing startups in India and across the globe, startups do not mean something dealing in pure IT jobs only. “They can work in life science, 3D printing, stem cells, and robotics. So, high-quality, Wi-fi equipped digital infrastructure for the common man and a policy to back vibrant enterprises are the need of the hour. Kolkata, once called the east of London, is moving towards it. The road map lies there,“ Pai signed off.

Taking a cue from Pai, Dr Mitra announced that the government would organize Startup Bengal Global Summit this year under the umbrella of Bengal Global Summit, January 8-9. “We needed a mentor, such as Mr Pai, to push us to a new frontier,“ he said.

WB Govt to tap 1 lakh acres of government land for industry

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West Bengal is planning to tap over one lakh acres of land available with the government in a bid to woo investors to the state.

State Finance, Industries and Commerce Minister Dr Amit Mitra said: “We are pro-poor and pro-business. Bengal is one case where reality is significantly better than perception. The question of land acquisition doesn’t arise. The government and its various departments have over one lakh acres of ready land, which we have decided to give to business houses to set up industries.“

Dr Mitra was in Mumbai for a road show to promote ‘Bengal Global Business Summit 2016’ to be held in Kolkata in January 2016.

“Land will not be a problem in West Bengal. WBIDC has 4,400 acres of ready land under its possession for industrial development. This is apart from the land for 6 townships in the state. Another 4000 acres of land will be made available soon,” the finance minister said.

The rest of its land bank is available with various government departments spread all over the state.

“Come and make money, come where the rising curve is happening,” said Dr Mitra, highlighting the growth benefits of investing in the state.

Among the key features offered to investors include land for greenfield projects, industrial parks and smart public administration.

Group of Ministers constituted to identify and reclaim closed industry land

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The West Bengal Government has decided to step up its efforts to reclaim 285 acres of land acquired by public sector firm Cycle Corporation of India, at Asansol.

The decision was taken at the third meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to identify and reclaim land acquired by closed industrial units.

As per the findings of the GoM, of the 49,000 acres of land acquired by closed industrial units in Bengal, only about 7,500 acres are deemed non-litigant (not mired in litigations) by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR).

As per preliminary findings of the panel, the land held by the Cycle Corporation of India does appear to be litigation-free.However, to be absolutely certain that the piece of land in question isn’t mired in litigation problems, the GoM, today (Thursday), set up a separate panel comprising directors, commissioners or joint secretaries of five state government departments, namely law, land, industrial reconstruction, agriculture and labour.

The panel will probe the current status of the land held by the Cycle Corporation of India and submit its report (to the GoM) on September 29, 2015,” the cabinet member said.

 

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‘Deemed clearance’ for conversion & mutation of land for Industry to be given: Dr Amit Mitra

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The West Bengal Government will give `deemed clearance’ for conversion and mutation of land for industry if the department concerned fails to submit the report within the time frame.

State commerce and industries Minister Dr Amit Mitra told that CM Mamata Banerjee has taken this step to “further ease the process of doing business in Bengal“. “Earlier, it used to take 5-6 months for conversion and mutation of land but now in some cases, it is happening in 7-10 days. Conversion and mutation of land will be electronically linked,“ he said.

Earlier, addressing the annual general meeting of Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Dr Mitra said that apart from environment clearance from West Bengal Pollution Control Board, all the other clearances related to industry will be `deemed’.

To make business easier in Bengal and boost investors’ confidence, fire safety licences will now be issued online to those willing to set up new units. Fire services minister Javed Ahmed Khan said, “We have hired a company to create a dedicated portal for this. It’s expected to be operational by the end of the year.“

In June, the West Bengal Chief MinIster had declared she would move to the `next level’ of smoothing out the process of doing business here. This included 30 days for land conversion and 21 days for mutation of land. The state has already empowered industry promotion bodies like West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), Webel, WBIIDC and WBSIDC to sanction building plans for industrial purposes.

On the second Bengal Global Business Summit, Mitra said out of Rs 2.43 lakh crore proposed investment in the state, processing has started for Rs 91,000 crore.“We have started road shows. The one in Delhi was very encouraging. Industrialists have said experience of doing business in Bengal is better than in other states,“ the Minister added.

“Capital expenditure has grown by 601% in the last four years since our government took over. It was Rs 2,225 crore in 2010-11 and it went up to Rs 13,375 crore in 2014-15. The growth of physical infrastructure was also more than 330%,“ Dr Mitra pointed out.

WB CM forms 9-member committee to free land of closed industrial units

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The Mamata Banerjee government has formed a group of ministers (GoM) to find out ways to free land of closed industrial units in areas near Calcutta so that fresh investments can be invited.

“The nine-member GoM will look into different aspects of the closed industries in the state. But the primary objective will be to free land of closed industrial units and invite fresh investments on the prime plots,” a minister told reporters.

Senior officials said the chief minister was trying to pave the way for new industries before the Assembly elections next year as she could face questions on the lack of investments in Bengal.

The committee would include Dr Amit Mitra (Finance & Industries), Firhad Hakim (Urban Development), Partha Chatterjee (Education), Chandrima Bhattacharya (Law), Manish Gupta (Power), Subrata Mukherjee (Panchayat), Malay Ghatak (Labour), Purnendu Bose (Agriculture) and Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar (Environment).

The government had recently freed nearly 200 acres in Nadia’s Kalyani from 11 closed units.