The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India’s second biggest industry association, said that Mamata Bannerjee’s victory in Bengal may bring back West Bengal’s lost status as one of India’s industrial hubs.
FICCI, which normally restrains itself from commenting on changing political fortunes, said it “strongly welcomes” the transition of power in Bengal — from the Communists to Mamata.
Indeed, FICCI’s secretary general and a prominent advocate of industry’s points of view in New Delhi, Amit Mitra, is one of the ‘intellectuals’ specially chosen by Mamata to represent her party in the just concluded elections. Mitra, FICCI noted, won handsomely against the Communists’ outgoing finance minister.
“West Bengal was once amongst the top industrialized states of the country and accounted for a high percentage of the nation’s manufacturing output. Unfortunately, over the last few decades the state has lost its pre-eminent position in the industrial hierarchy of the nation,” the organization said.
“FICCI believes that West Bengal, with its rich human resources and its unique location, has immense possibilities to emerge as.. India’s gateway to East Asia,” it added.