Kolkata: Bengal minister of commerce and industry Tapas Roy said on Thursday that more investments are expected for Durgapur’s steel industry ahead of Durga Puja. “We are expecting more investment in the steel sector. Some investments are lined up in Durgapur even before Puja,” the minister said, adding that the investments may be of around Rs 15,000 crore.Roy added that he hopes that there will be a major investment announcement for Singur after Puja. “We hope the (investment) process in Singur will start this year. I cannot divulge the details at this juncture, but you will soon hear some announcements,” he said.The investment updates come in an already busy week for business in Bengal. CM Suvendu Adhikari is slated to lay the foundation stone for Shyam Steel’s plant in Bankura’s Mejia on Friday. Union home minister Amit Shah is likely to partake in the foundation stone-laying ceremony for Amul’s dairy cart plant in the state on Saturday.The minister further said that the govt was in talks with several IT companies. “We are in touch with a number of IT companies for artificial intelligence. Mitsubishi has already spoken to us, they are planning to set up a semiconductor unit here and are looking for land in Durgapur or Panagarh. The central govt has also approved the semiconductor design and manufacturing ecosystem,” Roy said.Additionally, BJP’s Bengal unit has been celebrating the listing of Kolkata-based SME Laser Power & Infra on the NSE.State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya wrote on X: “Delighted to see Kolkata-based Laser Power & Infra Ltd list on the NSE. Heartiest congratulations to the management and entire team on this wonderful milestone. Bengal’s entrepreneurial spirit is rising, expecting many more Kolkata-based companies, including SMEs, to hit the stock markets soon.”
