123rd Annual General Meeting held at Crystal Hall, TAJ BENGAL, Kolkata
Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry organized its 123rd Annual General Meeting on 18 September, 2024 at The Taj Bengal, Kolkata.
The 123rd Annual General Meeting was inaugurated by Dr. Shashi Panja, Hon’ble Minister of Industry, Commerce & Enterprises, and Woman & Child Development & Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal. The Session was also addressed by Shri Srikant Bolla, Chairman, Bollant Industries and Shri Sandeep Jain, MD, Dynamic Gems.
Dr. Shashi Panja, Hon’ble Minister of Industry, Commerce & Enterprises, Public Enterprises & Industrial Reconstruction invited all to join the Bengal Shopping Festival that will be going held at Biswa Bangla during 20th– 24th September 2024. This concept has been inspired from Spain and Dubai Shopping Festival. Bengal Shopping Festival is a unique event initiated by the Government of West Bengal. This festival aims to highlight the immense potential of West Bengal’s retail and commercial sectors, transforming Bengal into an international shopping destination. All GI tagged products will also be showcased there.
“We are not short in labour, land and water supply and rich in geographical diversity” – said Dr. Panja. While speaking on the prospects of Bengal, she informed that the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at current prices, has expanded by nearly four times from 2010-11 to 2023-24. Dr. Panja informed that the Bengal Global Business Summit will be held on February, 2025. She mentioned that the Government is working on a number of policies such as Sand Mining Policy 2021, Mine & Minerals Policy, Logistics Policy, 2023 and Industrial Economic Corridor Policy 2023. She informed that extension mapping has been done along the two sides of the highways. She also informed that the Government is encouraging start-ups and creating conducive eco-system for them. She highlighted on the need for inclusivity focusing on mainstreaming specially challenged persons in the society.
While welcoming the Guests, Shri Namit Bajoria, President, MCCI emphasised on the need for gender awareness, conducive working environment for women in the working places. He viewed that the government needs to underline the importance of West Bengal as the natural corridor for the eastern states and East Asia, through brand-building initiatives highlighting the state’s core strengths and geographical and logistical advantages. He suggested to develop Kolkata as the financial hub and knowledge capital. The past legacy of Kolkata when it used to be a major financial centre needs to be revived. The government needs to invite financial institutions to set up offices in Kolkata, like it has happened in GIFT City. It should also create ‘centres of excellence’ through PPP to develop Kolkata as a knowledge centre. The number of vocational training institutes needs to be increased along with the state education centres.
