In 2006, the Left Front won the Assembly elections in West Bengal on the basis of its pro-industrialisation campaign led by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
An important political milestone during the year was the return of the Left Front to power with an over two-thirds majority.
A proposed Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion) greenfield modernisation and expansion programme is expected to give a fresh lease of life to Iisco Steel Plant, a unit of Steel Authority of India.
On January 3, Bhattacherjee had strongly advocated capitalism and not socialism as the only way to industrialise the state.
The visit is being viewed as a politically significant event with Bhattacharjee being at the centre of a controversy, over the bloody recapture of Nandigram early last month by his party cadres, and the turmoil in the area since January over the state government's move to acquire land for a mega chemical hub project. The chief minister's visit has already created a great deal of enthusiasm among the Communist Party of India Marxist workers in Nandigram.
Facing all-round attack over Nandigram, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee sought on Wednesday a 'fresh look' into the Centre's policy on SEZs, which he felt should be restricted to select industries. He also wanted the Centre to fix a ceiling on land for a particular type of SEZ and work out the percentage of land area to be compulsorily utilised for industries within that limit.
He said the Sethusamudram project was being opposed by the Sangh Parivar on religious ground, but it was vital for economic development of the region.
Standing by his denouncement of the ruling CPI(M)'s capture of Nandigram, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Sunday visited the troubled area on Sunday and said wrong-doers must not be exonerated and pitched for presence of CRPF for some more time.
"We want the Centre to invoke Article 356 of the Constitution in West Bengal. We want Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to go. He is an arrogant and stubborn leader. Let a sincere leader come as the chief minister. Please remove him. The United Progressive Alliance government should take action to send message to the poor people that they care," says Maulana Mahmood Madani, All India general secretary, Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind.
Billionaire L N Mittal, who runs the steel behemoth, is keen to set up a central office in Rajarhat near the city, for which the company has sought land from the state government, Bhattacharjee said in Kolkata, inaugurating the 36th World Congress on Housing Science.
Industrialist Anil Ambani will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in Kolkata on August 18 to discuss a host of investment proposals, including a Light Rapid Transport System.
Five senior police officials told the Calcutta High Court that they handed out threats to Rehman, the computer graphics teacher, were baseless.
Shortly after scrapping the proposed IT township project -- Vedic Village -- at Rajarhat near Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said late on Wednesday that the two IT majors must be retained in the state, reports the Indian Express.
Supporting West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's stand, Mittal said, "Let us see for the next 7-10 years what Indian companies deliver and then we can take a call."
Work on modernising, expanding and renovating the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport will be taken up from January next year, civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla said on Friday.
The Centre on Friday asked the Maoists in Lalgarh area of West Bengal to lay down arms and come for talks. Home Minister P Chidambaram said he endorsed the appeal of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to the Maoists and the tribals to come for talks.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will seek Rs 15,000 crore from the Centre for building a "mini Chinese Wall" along the coastal area of the Sundarbans to protect the area's 4.1 million people from further cyclones and high tides. The area was recently hit by cyclone Aila.
Seeking to expedite the process, the front had also empowered all partners to initiate peace parleys on their own and talk to the Opposition.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Wednesday announced that a proposed chemical hub would not be set up in Nandigram.
Bhattacharjee, speaking at a function on the second day of the biennial national conference of the All India Lawyers' Union in Siliguri, stressed on the setting up of a national commission for accountability of judges.
Tyre major Dunlop India's main plant at Shahgunj near Kolkata would be re-opened on October 31, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said on Monday.
From Latin America to West Bengal, it is Communism that binds. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sent a cheque for Rs 11.91 lakh to construct a new building of a school in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. Chavez, a man of strong words and actions, promised during a visit to West Bengal in 2005.
Bangladesh on Wednesday said that no Indian insurgents training camp exist in that country and that this has been verified during investigations on the basis of a list provided by New Delhi.
The new economic dawn that is being sought to be initiated in the state may have received a severe jolt from two ongoing developments
The latest step comes in the wake of allegations from the CM's own party, the CPM, and opposition parties against the involvement of senior police officers. Bhattacharjee said Rizwan's death had stirred the society.
Naxalite groups came to the state from Andhra Pradesh while the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation was trying to re-group and rebuild its organisation, the CM said.
A slew of investment proposals in West Bengal, starting from agri-retail chain to petrochemicals, are likely to be discussed when Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani meets Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Company MD Ravi Kant meets Chief Minister Buddhadeb, discusses plan.
The proposed chemical hub in West Bengal, which won't come up in Nandigram because of violence there, has to be set up near a port, state Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said on Wednesday.
Dasmunshi said the chief minister, who cannot avoid administrative responsibility for the incident, should offer a public apology for it.
Darjeeling project may see Rs 1,500 cr investment.
The compensation package for land acquisition decided by the West Bengal government is very generous, so why are the farmers protesting?
Two bomb blasts rocked close to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's residence in Ballygunge area in Kolkata following a clash between two groups of a political party.
Then chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, had laid the JSW project's foundation stone on November 2,2008, for the 10-million tonne capacity plant.
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