NEWS
30-11-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present today in Gosaba, South 24 Parganas to attend a government Public Distribution Program. Hundreds of new schemes were flagged off from the program that will give a huge boost to infrastructure, health, agriculture, education, tourism and self employment in the region. Government benefits were handed over to thousands of beneficiaries on the occasion. The Hon’ble Chief Minister announced that the Sundarbans will soon be constituted into a separate district.

•   Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came heavily on the Centre for holding its policy of “unlimited export of onion”, which in turn has been responsible for the hike in onion prices. She stated that by encouraging unlimited export of onions, the Central Government has created a huge crisis in the domestic market leading to skyrocketing of onion prices. Stating the quantity of onion that is exported, she maintained that, in 2016, export of onions was 7 LMT. In 2017, it went up to 12 LMT. Now, to defuse the crisis, the Central Government is planning to import onions, she informed. Criticising the Centre for such an unplanned move, the Hon’ble Chief Minister stated that the situation was a farce and due to such an unplanned action the common people has been put in great distress. She also came heavily upon the Centre over GDP figures, stating that again there has been no growth, no jobs and the effects of note ban and unplanned GST continue to damage the economy. She informed that during the last year Q2, GDP growth was 7.5% and this year it is 6.3%.
28-11-2017
•  Today, the Government of West Bengal gave a Civic Reception to Ram Nath Kovind ji, Hon’ble President of India, at Netaji Indoor Stadium. This is the first visit to Kolkata by the Hon’ble President after assuming the office of the President. The Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal, Kesari Nath Tripathi, Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, distinguished personalities, representatives from the world of industry, academics, culture and sports felicitated the Hon’ble President. Present on the occasion were invitees from all walks of life, public representatives and my dear Kanyashree girls and school children. The Hon’ble Chief Minister stated that it was a proud moment for Bengal. She stated that The Government of West Bengal was extremely honoured and grateful to the Hon’ble President for his gracious presence in that momentous occasion.
27-11-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present today in a Special Plenary Session of Horasis Asia Meeting, held in Kolkata. This was the first ever Horasis Asia Meeting in India. More than 300 Global Business Leaders took part in this event in Kolkata. The interactions on investment possibilities in Bengal were very positive and the Hon’ble Chief Minister, on the occasion, took the opportunity to invite the business leaders to the Bengal Global Business Summit in January, 2018.
22-11-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, during her three-day visit to North Bengal, today chaired the administrative review meeting of three districts — Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri, at Uttarkanya.
21-11-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today chaired a meeting at Pintail Village in Darjeeling district regarding the development of Hills. After the meeting, she informed that the next date for a meeting will be communicated to all very soon. She congratulated everyone for restoration of normalcy in Darjeeling. She informed about the decision to organise a tourism festival Darjeeling in the last week of December (or early January). She said that the Darjeeling Gold Cup for football will also be revived. The Sports and Youth Affairs Department will organise Vivek Festival (to commemorate birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda), Subhas Festival (to commemorate the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) and Chhatra-Jubo Utsab in January, she informed.
20-11-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today left for a visit to North Bengal. She is scheduled to chair a meeting tomorrow at Pintail Village in Darjeeling district regarding the development of Hills. She will also be chairing the district review meetings during her visit to take a stock of the developmental works.
19-11-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee returned to Kolkata from her England- Scotland visit on Saturday evening. She had left for England on November 10. At Wimbledon she had unveiled a Blue Plaque at the house where Sister Nivedita lived before she had left for India at the end of 1897. During this visit she also addressed a meeting organized by FICCI- UKIBC which was attended by businessmen, bankers and educationists in London. She invited industrialist Lakshmi Mittal to the Bengal Global Business Summit ( BGBS) which scheduled to be held in January 2018, during an informal meeting with him. The Hon’ble Chief Minister also addressed a meeting organised by Scottish Development International in Edinburgh, Scotland where she pitched strongly in favour of investing in Bengal. She was accompanied on her United Kingdom trip by Hon’ble Finance Minister of Bengal Dr Amit Mitra, state officials and a team of industrialists.
16-11-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present today in a Business Meet organised by Scottish Development International with the support of Asia Scotland Institute and Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, at Edinburgh. The Hon’ble Chief Minister informed that top business houses of Scotland were present in the meeting and there was a fine round of interaction with business leaders from Bengal on prospects of investment and doing business in the state. Potential areas of collaboration that were discussed in the meeting included engineering, services, healthcare, education, tourism and hospitality, power and energy, life sciences and research, food processing, IT and ITeS, the Hon’ble Chief Minister informed. The Hon’ble Chief Minister invited Scottish business heads to the Bengal Global Business Summit in January, 2018 to have a feel of the possibilities in Bengal.
13-11-2017
•  During her visit to the United Kingdom, Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was today was present in a high-level Round Table talks with UK Companies, jointly organised by UKIBC and FICCI, in London. Lord Davies, former Minister for Trade, Investment and Small Business and a top banker, a host of British Companies, business leaders from India, Indian High Commission and State Government Officials attended the talks. Extensive discussions were made about prospects of investments and ease of doing business in Bengal. Possibilities of collaboration and investment by British companies in manufacturing, engineering, metals, agro-foods, mining, education, textiles and FMCG sectors, amongst others in our state, were also deliberated at length in the meeting. The Hon’ble Chief Minister stated that the discussions were quite positive and she invited the UK companies to participate in the Bengal Global Business Summit in January, 2018 and have a first-hand feel of the possibilities in Bengal now.
12-11-2017
•  On her trip to London, UK, Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was today present in the Blue Plaque unveiling ceremony of Sister Nivedita’s family home in Wimbledon, London. She termed the occasion as a historic and proud moment for everybody. Later she took part in a programme where she was invited to deliver the keynote address on Sister Nivedita. Present in the occasion were Cllr. Marsie Skeete, Mayor of Merton, Anna Eavis of English Heritage, Swami Suhitananda of Ramakrishna Mission, the Chief Secretary of West Bengal, the Deputy High Commissioner of India in UK and a host of dignitaries. The Hon’ble Chief Minister presented a statue of Sister Nivedita and Swami Vivekananda to the Mayor for Wimbledon History Museum. She sincerely thanked English Heritage and Ramakrishna Mission for this landmark event of placing Blue Plaque on the heritage family home of Sister Nivedita in London and bestowing upon her this unique honour. The Hon’ble Chief Minister said that for India, Sister Nivedita was a dedicated soul for service to humanity, education and overall development of women and other sections of society. Her vision and mission continues to be an inspiration and guiding force, for all, she said.
10-11-2017
•  The 23rd Kolkata International Film Festival was inaugurated today in a dazzling programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium. Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan was present to inaugurate this spectacular celebration of cinema. Also present was Shah Rukh Khan, the Brand Ambassador of Bengal. Gracing the colourful occasion were outstanding cine personalities Kamal Haasan, Mahesh Bhatt, Kajol, Kumar Shanu and the noted English filmmaker Michael Winterbottom. Distinguished guests, invitees, national and international delegates from 20 countries and a packed-to-capacity stadium with thousands and thousands of film enthusiasts, witnessed the spectacular event. While expressing her gratefulness to all for their kind presence,Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that the International Kolkata Film Festival is a true connection between stars of Hollywood, Bollywood, Tollywood and Telewood. The Hon’ble Chief Minister informed that for the first time, the focus country of this year film festival was UK. She also informed that till 17 November, 2017, 143 feature films, 87 short films, 51 documentaries from 53 countries will be screened across 12 venues in the state. Films will also be screened in select localities in and around the city to spread the spirit of the festival beyond the conventional venues. She also informed that for the first time, films in various traditional languages like Garo, Khasi, Chakma, Boro, Maithili etc will also be screened in the festival.

•   Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee left for London today evening. She will be the special guest at the installation of the Blue Plaque at Sister Nivedita’s residence. The function on Sunday is being organised by English Heritage. Swami Suhitananda, one of the vice-presidents of Ramakrishna Math and Mission, will also be present at the function.
01-11-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met top industrialists and bankers today in Mumbai. She met Reliance Industries chairman last night, and today she met the chairman of the State Bank, the heads of the Kotak Bank, Jindal Group, Godrej Group among others. She was accompanied by the Hon’ble Finance Minister Dr Amit Mitra and senior officials