JOY ROY CHOUDHURY – Kolkata
On the completion of two years in office, Mamata Banerjee led government in West Bengal announced its draft industrial policy to attract investment and to give incentives to the new entrepreneurs.Tourism has been mentioned as a focus sector in the draft industrial policy unveiled by Partha Chatterjee, the state commerce & industries minister.
The policy envisages to promote private sector investment in greenfield / brownfield projects and through Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode. “We have also incorporated in our draft policy the issues of land allocation and several incentive schemes which we will be offering to the entrepreneurs who will invest in our state,” Chatterjee said.
Chatterjee pointed out that before drafting the new policy, his department had reviewed and studied industrial policies of several states. The government will soon publish a document on this new industry policy, Chatterjee added.
Under the new draft industrial policy, the government will provide exemption on stamp duty, employment generation subsidy, waiver of land conversion fee, tax holiday on VAT returns, etc, to new projects coming up in the state.
For the expansion of the tourism industry in the state, the state government has taken steps for development of attractive tourist spots through its own resources or through PPP. WB government is looking to develop five mega tourism projects and wishes to attract investments worth INR 3,560 crore through the PPP route.
