Bengal products on China shelves

Bengal products will now be found in Chinese markets -courtesy an MoU between Biswa Bangla Corporation and Haohong Logistics Corporation, a unit of the billion Yuan Haohong Group.

Two way trade

Biswa Bangla Corporation, developed by the Mamata Banerjee government, will have a permanent stall at Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, to showcase Bengal products.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Yunnan governor Chen Hao, union minister of state for external affairs and Bengal finance and industries minister Amit Mitra. The Haohong Group has allotted a 100 sq m area in its industrial park.

Dr Mitra said: “Bengal handicrafts will now be available in China. This is a major step.”

Boost to tourism

The West Bengal tourism department also expects better inflow of Chinese tourists to Bengal following an MoU with the Yunnan provincial tourism corporation. The agreement was signed after chairman of West Bengal chapter, Indian Tour Operators Association, Debajit Dutta made a presentation on Bengal tourism.

Stronger ties between sister cities

 

Another MOU was signed between MSME Technology Centre and Kunming SME financial transaction service, which will act as the backbone for SME infrastructure in Bengal, said state MSME secretary Rajiva Sinha.

Earlier Kunming governor expressed interest in setting up an industrial park in Bengal which he feels should strengthen relationship with Yunnan.

Dr Mitra later said that the Yunnan governor has agreed to send an investors’ delegation to the next Bengal business summit. Mitra urged Yunnan investors to invest in the upcoming Bengal townships, one of the pet projects of chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

“We are building 22 smart cities on private-public partnership. I would request Chinese companies to invest here. Yunnan is very strong in food processing and cold storage infrastructure. We would require investment in these sectors as well,” he added.

Investment Bengal

Projects worth Rs 91000 Cr started in Bengal in 2015: Amit Mitra

Rejecting the opposition’s allegations of deteriorating and slow industrial growth in the state, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra Monday said projects worth Rs 91,230 crore have been started in the four months of 2015.

Of the total projects initiated, Rs 32,000 crore is in power sector and Rs 47,000 crore in manufacturing and transport, Mitra informed the Assembly during his reply for approval of grants for Commerce and Industry department.

The projects had started within four months of the Global Bengal Summit where MoUs worth Rs 2.34 lakh crore were signed, he added.

Informing the House on the ongoing previously announced projects, he said 435 industrial projects had been either implemented or under implementation.

He added that 224 investment proposals are in the pipeline, entailing an investment of Rs 1.14 lakh crore.

Opposition members of the House had leveled allegations of slow industrial progress under the current government, contradicting industrial output data besides charging the government of being a mute spectator to closing of jute mills and tea gardens, among others.

Critical care in Govt hospitals to be upgraded in Bengal with Singapore tie-up

The West Bengal Government is all set to sign an agreement with its Singapore counterpart to upgrade critical care services in the public health care system in Bengal.

Critical care services are specialized and prompt treatment facilities are made available in a hospital’s critical care unit (CCU). A CCU provides patients in critical condition who require close and constant monitoring with specialized medical equipment to restore their normal bodily functions. CCUs have trained doctors and nurses available round the clock.

At the recently concluded Global Bengal Business Summit, the State health department had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Singapore Government in order to upgrade critical care services in state-run medical colleges and hospitals. An agreement between Bengal and Singapore will be signed soon. Officials from the State health department will visit Singapore to finalise the agreement. A team of officials from the Singapore national health services government has already visited different medical colleges in Kolkata to discuss the issue.

According to the proposed agreement, around 100 specialist doctors and nurses associated with different state-run medical colleges and hospitals will undergo training programmes in critical care treatment in top hospitals run by the Singapore government in different phases. The critical care specialists from Singapore will also come to Kolkata to share their expertise with these 100 doctors and nurses. The entire training programme will span over three years.