West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra.In a letter written to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra has said the state government’s flagship business conclave Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) has helped improve the state’s GDP and enhance investor perception.
The letter, written on September 24, was released to media on Wednesday.
It was sent after the Governor had last month sought details about the amount spent in holding BGBS, investment received and jobs created.
“You are aware that when we took office in 2011, our government inherited a massive debt burden. The economy was in the doldrums, and an unprecedented capital flight had taken place from our state. Within a few years, we were able to put the economy back on the track, the Debt-GDP ratio was brought down steadily, and green shoots of new investments in Small, Medium and Large Industries had begun, thereby bringing in government revenue buoyancy and employment, as well,” the finance minister wrote in his letter.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at NITI Aayog, where he expressed happiness over states organising business summit, Mitra said that BGBS had received accolades both nationally and globally for its unique innovative approach in attracting investments from various parts of the country and the world.
Mitra said investments proposals worth Rs 12,32,603 had been received in the five editions of the conclave since its inception in 2015.
“Around 50.27 per cent investment proposals between BGBS, 2015 and BGBS, 2018 went into implementation mode. For BGBS 2019, already Rs 71,646 crore is under implementation. The employment generated through these investments is to the tune of 28 lakh already,” Mitra wrote.
The finance minister added, “Results of the developmental policies of the state government along with the impact of the BGBS have led the growth of the state’s GDP from Rs 4.6 lakh crore in 2010-11 to Rs 12.5 lakh crore in 2019-20.”
“Similarly, tax collection has grown from Rs 21,228 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 65,806 crores in 2019-20. The debt-GDP ratio has been brought down from 40.65 per cent in 2011 to 33.3 per cent in 2019-20,” Mitra said.
The next edition of BGBS is scheduled to be held from December 15 to 17.
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