Investment: West Bengal should put its past behind

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West Bengal is a classic case study of a state going downhill in economic parameters. At the time of Independence, it was one of the most advanced industrially with excellent rail-road connectivity, water, power and skilled human resource and a bountiful industrial base in engineering, tea, jute, steel and minerals like coal. These competitive advantages never left the state but it declined fast in the mental map of investors due to a number of factors, prominent among which was militant trade unionism and anti-industry steps such as the ouster of the Tatas from Singur nullifying aggressive wooing of investors by the Left. The state government’s refusal to grant SEZ status to Infosys and TCS for software parks also tarnished the image.

While the slide of the state was staking place, several states rose up the ladder fast on the yardstick of ease of business. States that were earlier considered backbenchers moved ahead while Bengal kept groping for ways to put jobs into the empty hands of its educated youths many of whom left the state for career and even for higher education.

On July 19, Bengal’s industry minister said the Tatas are welcome to invest in Bengal, an invitation that Mamata Banerjee extended 10 years ago. Her government has to quickly win back the trust of investors. She has to get a few big bang projects quickly off the ground to demonstrate her political will. For more than a quarter of a century, Bengal has been suffering from a perception problem, even after Marxist Jyoti Basu adopted a new industrial policy in 1994, yielding the preeminent position to the private sector. Mamata would do the state a world of good if she can rectify this image problem.

Industrialisation is the only way forward. The state has to get out of the low-level equilibrium of dole politics and create enough employment for its youths through setting up industry. It would also result in increased revenues for the state. The ruling party also has to revisit its policy of acquiring no land for industry to help investors. For trust is the precursor of all investment decisions.