Kolkata (West Bengal): Reliance Industries Limited Chairperson Mukesh Ambani heaped praise on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Bengal Global Business Summit on Tuesday, saying that she is the “Agni Kanya” as late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee called her, adding that she is making “Shonar Bangla” shine brighter.
“As the Late Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee ji described you, you are truly Agni Kanya. The agni of struggles and sacrifices has made your golden character shine brighter. And now you are making Shonar Bangla shine brighter,” Ambani said on the opening day of the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Ambani said the state Gross Domestic Product stands at 11.5 per cent, much higher than the national average and the tax revenue has trebled.
“The rate of growth of the state’s GDP is 11.5 per cent, much higher than the national average. Your tax revenue has trebled. And so have IT exports from the state. Capital expenditure on agriculture and allied sectors has risen nearly seven times,” Ambani said.
“The number of medium and small industry clusters have gone up ten times. Bengal is poised to become the logistics hub of the East, which will attract new domestic and international investments,” he added.
Ambani said the cost of doing business in West Bengal is one of the lowest in India and the state is now celebrating its power of entrepreneurship.
Further, in his address at the Bengal Global Business Summit, Ambani said he is committed to investing an additional Rs 20,000 crores in the next three years in the state.
“Reliance has invested close to Rs 45,000 crores in West Bengal. Today, I am happy to announce that we plan to invest an additional Rs 20,000 crores in the next three years,” Ambani said.
Ambani said that Reliance wants to enhance digital life solutions aimed at augmenting livelihoods in Bengal, and providing quality education, healthcare, and agricultural solutions at scale. Secondly, he said Reliance Retail is fast increasing its footprint in the state and thirdly in the area of bio-energy.
“We are planning to set up CBG (Compressed Biogas) plants in Bengal that will enable Bengal farmers to increase their incomes by doubling up as anna daatas and urja daatas – producers of food as well as energy,” Ambani said.
The seventh edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit will culminate on Wednesday.
(With inputs from ANI)
