Derek O’Brien cites Tata investments in Bengal after state BJP chief vows to ‘bring back’ the firm
In a post on X, O’Brien listed the investments and expansions of various Tata Group companies in Bengal and maintained that the conglomerate already has a significant and growing footprint in the state.
Former West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra also backed the state’s industrial record.
“Once the second campus becomes operational, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will employ more people in Bengal than in Bengaluru. In the last 15 years, Bengal has become the leather capital of India, the cement capital of India and is among the top five states in reducing unemployment,” Mitra said. he said.
This comes against the backdrop of Bhattacharya’s comments in an interview with PTI in which he said that the BJP government in West Bengal will try to bring the Tata Group back to the state.
O’Brien said Tata Group companies have been steadily expanding their operations in Bengal across sectors including information technology, manufacturing, hospitality and retail.
According to the TMC Rajya Sabha leader, TCS employs more than 54,000 IT professionals in Kolkata and is setting up another 20-acre campus in Bengal Silicon Valley Centre. He also pointed out the expansion of Tata Hitachi, saying that the company currently operating in the state has now expanded into large-scale mining machinery manufacturing as well as construction equipment manufacturing.
O’Brien also said Tata Metaliks is undertaking a Rs 600-crore expansion in 2022 and later merged with Tata Steel.
Highlighting the hotel industry, he said the Tata group’s hotel brands – Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta and Ginger – have seven hotels in Kolkata alone, two of which are under development, besides properties in Darjeeling, Durgapur and Asansol.
The TMC leader also said that the registered office of Tata Sponge Iron Ltd was shifted from Odisha to West Bengal in 2019.
In the retail and jewelery segment, O’Brien said Tanishq has set up manufacturing operations at West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation’s Gems and Jewelery Park in Howrah, while Westside and Starbucks are expanding their footprint across the state.
In an interview with PTI, Bhattacharya said the BJP wants to lead political and developmental change in Bengal and stated that the party will work to attract industry to the state, including bringing back the Tata group.
The Tata group’s proposed Nano automobile factory in Singur had become one of Bengal’s most controversial political issues after protests against land acquisition led to the project being moved from the state in 2008.
