Investment worth ₹4.40 lakh crore received during Bengal Business Summit, says WB CM

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the 2nd day of the 8th edition of the BGBS in Kolkata.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (February 6, 2025) said investment proposals worth ₹4.40 lakh crore were received during the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit, 2025, emphasising that the State remains the “safest and smartest” place to invest.

“We are extremely happy to share that We have received investment proposals worth ₹4,40,595 crore during this event,” the Chief Minister said at the concluding session of BGBS 2025.

Ms. Banerjee announced that a total of 212 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and letters of intent were signed across various sectors, highlighting the state’s thriving investment climate. She noted that approximately 5,000 delegates participated in the two-day business summit, which included 25 ambassadors and 200 foreign delegates from 40 countries, with representatives from 20 partner countries.

The Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) 2025, which began on Wednesday, saw the presence of top industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL); Sajjan Jindal, Chairman of JSW; Sanjiv Puri, Chairman of ITC; Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group; and Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, among others. These prominent business leaders pledged investments in the state and commended Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her efforts to promote investments in Eastern India.

The RIL Chairman announced a proposed investment of ₹50,000 crore in West Bengal by 2030, while the JSW Group revealed plans to invest ₹16,000 crore to develop a 1,600 MW power project at Salboni. The Ambuja Neotia Group proposed an investment of ₹15,000 crore, and the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group committed to investing ₹10,000 crore during the summit.

On the second day, the Chief Minister announced a significant oil exploration project by the ONGC in Ashoknagar, North 24 Parganas.

“We have given 15 acres of land at Re 1 to ONGC in Ashoknagar. They have successfully discovered oil and gas, which will be utilised commercially. We are supporting ONGC’s initiative and will be giving petroleum mining leases too. This will bring Bengal in the petroleum map of India,” Ms. Banerjee informed the gathering.

Throughout the summit, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee emphasized the social sector initiatives of her government. On Thursday, she highlighted the state’s social progress, noting that her government has lifted 1.72 crore people out of poverty in West Bengal. She also mentioned that, in addition to cash incentive schemes, her government provides cycles to Class IX students and tablets to Class XI students in schools.

The Trinamool Congress government, led by Chief Minister Banerjee, has been in power in West Bengal for the past 13 years and has organized eight editions of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), including the one that concluded on Thursday.

The Chief Minister also spoke about the investments proposed in the previous summits, stating that over the last seven BGBS editions, investments worth ₹19 lakh crore have been made, out of which work for ₹13 lakh crore has rolled out in the ground.

In the last edition of BGBS in 2023, investment proposals valued at ₹3.76 lakh crore were received, demonstrating the steady growth of the state’s economy.