Investment Climate

Investment Climate is a broad concept which encompasses all the factors affecting business decisions which includes profitability, location, etc. to a name a few.

It is needless to say that a good investment climate would undoubtedly provide sufficient opportunity and incentive to firms to invest productively. This will not only help the firms grow and increase profitability but will also result in creating jobs, thus playing a vital role in sustainable development and poverty reduction.

Some of the key factors which influence the investment climate are as follows:

• Availability of input factors like Land, Labor, Raw materials, etc. and the ease of using them
• Availability of suitable requirements like physical and social infrastructure which includes power, telecom, water supply, hospitals and educational institutions
• Availability of proper governance and regulatory framework to safeguard the interest of the stakeholders
• Proper guidelines regarding the operation environment of the firm and the entry exit policy
• Clear mention about the investment policy and expansion policy
• Mention of access to credit

If we talk about West Bengal, the state situated in eastern India having the most diversified culture and ethnicity, we find West Bengal to be the 13th largest state in terms of area. The state is densely populated and is the leading producer of several goods including agricultural products. Agricultural output ranks third in India and it offers a tremendous potential for agri-business owing to the fertile soil and climatic conditions.

West Bengal enjoys being the largest producer of vegetables and fruits in the country and second largest producer of Potato. Also the state is the leading producer of leather goods and over 70% of the country’s leather goods are exported from the state. Some of the other key industries in West Bengal are Jute Industry and Paper Industry.

Industrial Environment development in WB

As far as the industrial environment is concerned, WB is highly conducive for new investments as the infrastructural facilities including power, water, etc. are being developed.  Growth Centers developed in the state are some of the ideal locations for setting up of the industry. Growth Centers are suitably surrounded by the availability of skilled and unskilled labor.

Setting up of industrial parks, special economic zones (SEZs), agri-economic zones, etc. by the government are some of the steps taken towards the development of the state. The steps by the government also include a comprehensive compensation and rehabilitation package for the individuals whose land will be used to set up industries. The policy formulated by government along with the development in the state welcomes the investment not only from domestic players but also foreign investors.

Some of the areas of special attention for the state are petrochemicals, iron and steel, metallurgical and engineering, textile, food processing, pharmaceutical, IT etc. A place for PPP (Public Private Partnership) is also implemented in the state which will help in the improvement of the physical and social infrastructure. The WBIDC or the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation is the premier state government agency which is responsible for the promoting of industrial and infrastructure investments. The single window facility of the state also known as the ‘State Investment Facilitation Centre’ (SIFC) is one of the only facilities in the state which helps in the development and upbringing of industries.

Lastly, the policy named “Look East Policy” of the Government of India has been implemented by the state, to attract investment in some of the key prospective areas. Thus we can conclude by saying that the West Bengal state has developed to a great extent in all these years and the state is one of the sought after states for investment as the climatic, geographic, demographic profile of the state is too lucrative for growth.