He was joined by the Managing Director of Ambuja Neotia Group and President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Parthiv Neotia, Vice President of ICC Keshav Bhajanka, and Director General Rajeev Singh.

The event was attended by various senior dignitaries belonging to the Indian Chamber of Commerce and various start-up founders and entrepreneurs from different fields of India’s diverse business world.

The deliberations ranged across various topics of improvement with keeping Bengal's economy at focus, notably accelerating manufacturing and industrial growth, advancing the digital economy and technology-led development, enhancing MSME competitiveness, deepening global economic partnerships and the role of Artificial Intelligence in today’s economy.

Prasada, reflecting on the topic, spoke at length on Bengal receiving the same transformative approach Uttar Pradesh has received in the past few years and on the breakdown of previous barriers towards this approach.

“Now, I can say that the pipeline between Delhi and Bengal is clear. There are no roadblocks in the middle, you know. Something will be announced in Delhi, but it won't reach the benefits won’t reach Bengal; that is over.
The people of Bengal have spoken decisively and wanted this much-needed change.

“Bengal has a glorious past, great location, legacy of industry, manufacturing, ports, access to the northeast, huge talent, and a huge amount of industries from jute to fisheries, handloom, jewellery, steel, you name it- and Bengal was born with capabilities of manufacturing, industrialisation. But over the years, that took a backseat. And I can tell you, the people of Bengal have missed out on an opportunity.
But today, I can say it is not only the defining moment and defining time of our country, but also for Bengal,” said Prasada.

His speech’s key takeaways were, briefly, increased focus on manufacturing and exports, new opportunities in the form of electronics, technology, data centers, and AI, India’s increasing Free Trade Agreements with countries, and increasing requirement of government, industry and academia to work together.

The session brought together a conglomeration of various new ideas for the growth of Bengal and the achievement of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.

(Reporting by Swastik Sarkar, Photos by PR Team)