From selling the Durga Puja experience to the world to building a global brand around tea, the state government is looking to recast Bengal’s image as a destination for business, investment and tourism.
The pitch is to turn what has long been described as Bengal’s “untapped potential” into tangible economic opportunities by improving infrastructure, strengthening law and order and reforming excise policies, finance minister Swapan Dasgupta said on Tuesday at an event organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce.
“We want to be in a situation where we can talk about overtapped potential,” Dasgupta said, outlining the government’s ambition to unlock opportunities across sectors ranging from the Sundarbans’ mangroves and the tea economy to concerts and entertainment.
Durga Puja, he said, offers an opportunity to market Calcutta’s distinctive cultural experience to an international audience. The festival draws large crowds, a spectacle that can be intimidating for some visitors but remains central to the city’s character and offers considerable commercial potential.
“In the next few days, if anyone comes to Calcutta, you’ll find that it is, at one level, crazy,” he said, referring to the scale and intensity of the crowds during the festival. “But that’s part of what the Calcutta experience during the Durga Puja brings. And it’s this experience, I think, that we would like to market.”
The government is also looking to expand the international appeal of Bengal tea, arguing that its potential in Western markets remains underexploited. Dasgupta said the industry needed to build a strong global identity for tea, much as producers in France and Italy have cultivated the mystique surrounding wine.
The proposed makeover extends to the city’s commercial ecosystem. In the state budget, the government had announced its intention to permit round-the-clock operations by shops, restaurants, offices, logistics services and hospitality establishments, seeking to position Bengal as a modern, investment-friendly destination.
He also said the ambition of projecting Calcutta as a city that never sleeps would, however, depend on getting the fundamentals right, including law and order, infrastructure and excise policies.
Dutch interest
The state’s investment outreach is also drawing interest from the Netherlands, with a delegation representing seven companies visiting Bengal to explore business opportunities, industries minister Tapas Roy said.
Marisa Louisa Gerads, ambassador of the Netherlands to India, said United Breweries, majority-owned by Dutch brewer Heineken, was looking to expand its footprint in Bengal. NXP Semiconductors, which already has an active presence in India, is also interested in expanding in the state.
The Netherlands is additionally working with the state government on a study on flood management in the Sundarbans, opening up another area for potential collaboration.