Bengal's Mamata Banerjee too trying hard but with low result
By Kunal Bose
Holding conferences of investors with attempts made to induct representation of as many foreign countries as possible have become an annual or biennial ritual with states in this country. Closing ceremonies will be marked by state chief ministers proudly announcing promised investments, in most cases of astronomical sums, not necessarily justified by ground reality. Huge public money will be spent on hosting such ceremonies to what results the state administrations will not tell the people at any stage. The obliging print and electronic media, for reasons well known will go to town to report in minutest detail of investment promises made. Sometimes these are beyond the capacity of announcing groups or unrelated to what they are presently engaged in. But the media will not take the trouble of checking at any stage how much of investment promised is in the process of becoming a reality.
West Bengal recently hosted a two-day ‘global business summit,' at the end of which was announced receipt of investment proposals of over Rs3.76 lakh crore in 188 memorandum of understandings. A leading Kolkata based industrialist obliged to attend the summit and make pleasant sounding noises but who cannot be named for obvious reasons says: “If one takes the trouble of adding up all the investments proposed in all the states at such conclaves over the past decade and if all these were being implemented, then we would be seeing a very different industrial landscape in the country.”
Unarguably, Naveen Patnaik is among the few chief ministers in the country who are never boastful, maintain dignity of the office and keep on delivering results on promises made. Patnaik's upbringing and education will not allow him to foul mouth or be discourteous to any central leaders, however resentful he may be of many of their policies. At the same time, he will not cede an inch of political ground to the opposition BJP. This has worked to the advantage of Odisha as it pursues industrialization vigorously in partnership with both private and public sectors.
Let's consider privatization of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) in March 2022. Sale of NINL was a challenge for its promoter shareholders were four central undertakings – MMTC, NMDC, BHEL and MECON – and the state agencies Odisha Mining Corporation and IPICOL. Though NINL had the benefit of ownership of captive iron ore deposits of over 110 million tonnes in Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts and an integrated 1.1 million tonne capacity steel unit, it never could operate to capacity and its production was restricted to pig iron.
In fact, the loss making PSU had remained closed for nearly three years prior to its strategic sale to Tata Steel Long Products (TSLP) at Rs12,100 crore. Disagreements among the promoters over almost everything relating to NINL was its undoing and Patnaik could prevail upon New Delhi to make the four central PSUs to liquidate their holdings along with the two state bodies. NINL has 2,500 acres of land and a good infrastructure to support operations. In fact, within a year of acquisition, TSLP ensured 100 per cent capacity use of NINL plant. The surplus land with NINL will allow TSLP to make the acquired unit to become a 5 million tonne plant making long products.
The strategic sale is a testament to how federalism should work. Opposition leaders are, however, disappointed that Patnaik didn't make a common cause with them in the constitution of INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), a combination of 26 parties that is to take on BJP led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. To come back to investors meeting, Patnaik too swears by the ritual. Your correspondent attended the ‘Make in Odisha Conclave' held in Bhubaneswar in 2022 and was duly impressed by official presentations and professionalism that marked the event hosting.
Odisha's two principal advantages are its enormous mineral resources from coal to iron ore to bauxite to chrome ore and a long coast line marked by three major all season ports –Paradip, Dhamra and Gopalpur– with deep draft and some smaller ports. No wonder, the major steelmakers in the country – SAIL, Tata Steel, JSPL and JSW – are present in the coastal state along with ownership of iron ore mines. Now ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel has begun work on building in Odisha one of the largest single location steel mills in the world, which in phases will finally have 24 million tonne capacity.
Then, the country's entire production of primary aluminium happens in Odisha, thanks to Vedanta Aluminium, Hindalco and government owned National Aluminium. Industry development and attempts at modernising agriculture apart, the Patnaik government is keen on making the state, particularly the capital city of Bhubaneswar a significant hub for IT work, education and health.
As it would happen, boys and girls from West Bengal are going to colleges in Bhubaneswar in growing numbers. Come to Bhubaneswar airport any Friday evening, you will find many young Bengalis working in companies like Infosys and TCS travelling to Calcutta to spend the weekend with their families. Unfortunately, the fear nursed by West Bengal government for a long time that computerisation would lead to job losses and foot-dragging in matching other states in offering incentives and land for building IT campuses has cost it dearly. Secondly, nothing seems to be right with the state's education sector. It is not for nothing a concerned St Xavier's University has decided to hold an open session on “exodus of students from Bengal' next month.
(IPA Service)
