West Bengal received Rs.7,000 crore investment in 2009

Kolkata, March 20 (IANS) West Bengal received Rs.7,000 crore of investment in 2009, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here Saturday.

Addressing a State Summit organised by Bengali news channel Chobbis Ghanta, he said the figure was a vast improvement over 2008, when only Rs.4,000 crore had come in to the state.

Industries Minister Nirupam Sen said the state had received expressions of interest of Rs.44,390 crore for 206 units in 2009.

Bhattacharjee said the state registered an agricultural growth rate of four percent last year.

Agriculture constituted 22 percent of the state gross domestic product of West Bengal, whereas industry contributed 18 percent and the service sector 59 percent.

"As far as the contribution of agriculture is concerned, it is not a happy situation. Industry should overtake agriculture," he said.

The chief minister conceded that in education, children from poor families had been a neglected lot. "Economist Amartya Sen has pointed this out. We have to correct this."

The state government was also trying to reach out to six lakh children who were outside the education system, he added.