Arun Jaitley hopes states will vie for investments

New Delhi: Amidst Vibrant Gujarat Summit attracting proposals worth a staggering Rs 25 lakh crore, Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley today expressed hope that states   would consistently pursue business-friendly policies and compete with each other to attract investments. Appreciating efforts of West Bengal to attract   investments, the Finance Minister said the Centre would extenall support to the Trinamool-government to promote industry and boost growth in the state. He, however, added the Mamata Banerjee-led government   would have to consistently take pro-reform and business- friendly steps to build investor confidence 

"We, in the central Government, would be extremely keen to help West Bengal to grow," he said in his Facebook post entitled 'A Tale of Two Global Summits'.   States, he hoped, "are going to compete with each other in cornering investment. I have no doubt that the ones   which consistently and uniformly pursue reforms and business   friendly-policies are likely to succeed". The ongoing Vibrant Gujarat summit attracted investment pledge of an astonishing Rs 25 lakh crore in the first two days. As many as 21,000 MoUs were also signed.  Earlier, at the West Bengal global summit, proposals envisaging investment of about Rs 2.5 lakh crore were signed.  

Jaitely said at both - West Bengal and Gujarat summits - the idiom, vocabulary and mind-set of organisers were to   attract investments.  "West Bengal was a key industrial State. Beginning with   the Naxalite problem towards the end of 1960s, coupled with the policies of the Left Front government, industry moved out   of the state," he added.  He said Kolkata remained the principal engine of   development in West Bengal’s growth and the state has to be   redeveloped into an industrial centre once again.  "My colleague Shri Nitin Gadkari, who also attended the summit, was willing to help the State in the creation of a   Kolkata-Siliguri highway. If such a highway is combined with   an industrial corridor, it will give a major boost to West Bengal.  

"Creation of more townships, better infrastructure, an industrial corridor, more effective utilisation of the sea   resource has to be a future agenda of the state," he added.   The GST implementation will increase the revenues of the state and part of the proceeds of the coal block auctions willaugment its revenue, he said, adding NITI Aayog is intended to   further decentralise the various schemes in the hands of the state government. Talking about the Gujarat summit, he said this year "Vibrant Gujarat marketed India".