The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized its 167th Annual General Meeting on 29th September, 2021. The AGM was organised at the premises of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce as also streamed live across social media.

Mr. Abraham George Stephanos, Managing Director, Tata Steel Downstream Products Limited took over as the new President of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Mr. Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group graced the occasion virtually as the Chief Guest. Mr. Jindal, congratulated The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry and mentioned:

“Through all the historical milestones since 1833, BCCI continues to play a key role in helping its member organisations through good and bad times, and I am confident that the Chamber will continue to provide guidance and necessary handholding to the organisations that are in need of it. Eastern India, where BCC&I is situated is the hub for several industries, especially mineral based industries and BCC&I has been playing a very important role in supporting these industries and will have to play a even more important role in the growth of this region and ensuring that the Indian manufacturing sector contributes at least 25% of India’s GDP of 5 trillion USD by 2025.”

In his Keynote Address, themed, “India After 75”, Mr. Jindal remarked that his professional journey has drawn strong parallels to India’s growth story and that his growth journey has coincided with the growth journey of the nation.

On how India can showcase itself to the world after India’s 75 year of independence, Mr. Jindal said that PM’s vision of taking India to a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2025 and a 10 trillion dollar economy by 2030 is not an impossible milestone to achieve if we all work together. However, we have to ensure that the 130 crore Indians get fair access to livelihood and quality of life and the only way to improve the quality of life of 130 crore Indians is to improve the economic size of our nation and only then the bottom of the pyramid will get their fair share. He said that India has to ensure that the manufacturing sector contributes at least 25% to the GDP of the country. It is only when progress is made on these fronts that we will be able to provide economic opportunities to the poor and employment opportunities to the youth. Mr. Jindal urged the fellow business leaders of large organisations to support and guide the MSMEs and the new start−ups in their growth.

Mr. Jindal advised the Indian business to explore the export route for sustenance and sustainable growth of business. He said   that India has great potential to be the ‘Factory of the World’ and it’s time to creating a global dependency of product that is ‘Made in India’.

He also insisted that another game changer for ‘India after 75’ could be Sports. He called upon corporate−big and small, to follow through in their determination to contribute to the sporting infrastructure of the country.

The panel discussion themed “India After 75: The Business Agenda” was addressed by Guest of Honour, Mr. Ashwini Kumar Tewari, Managing Director International Banking, Technology & Subsidiaries, State Bank of India, Mr. Sanjeev Krishan, Chairman, PwC in India and Mr. Sameer Satpathy, Divisional CEO, Personal Care Products, ITC Limited. The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Rupali Basu, Managing Director & CEO Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital Limited, & Chairperson, Lifestyle Committee, The Bengal Chamber.

The Guest of Honour Mr. Ashwini Kumar Tewari, Managing Director International Banking, Technology & Subsidiaries, State Bank of India, who had very kindly travelled all the way to Kolkata to address the AGM, informed that SBI is trying to work out a way to debt finance start−ups as the current rules allow banks to fund only profitable companies. Start−ups raise equity funds to run their business and promoters are forced to dilute stake as debt funding is not available for the sector because they are loss−making in the initial years. As initially start−ups are loss making, they are to be funded based on the viability of the idea only. SBI is trying a way out.

Referring to gold loans, he said they are not popular in India but there are a lot of them, which indicate the pain the normal people have suffered. If gold loan is increasing, it is good for business but it is also a sign of the helplessness of normal people.

Mr. Sanjeev Krishan, Chairman, PwC in India in his speech highlighted that as we come out of the pandemic we may look at a K−Shape recovery. The Mid corporate sector is planning how they can recoup for the lost opportunity of the last 18 months. Their competition, which is from larger houses have recovered and started doing better.

Mr. Sameer Satpathy, Divisional CEO, Personal Care Products, ITC Limited stated that the FMCG sector will do well when the Country does well. The prosperity of the Country is going to increase the consumption. Another major aspect is that we need to create our own brands. Brands are the most efficient ways of capturing value and as a country if we are able to create more and more brands it will lead to a lot of  prosperity and investments in the country and for the country. To grow brands one would need innovation and engage the intellectual bandwidth of the country in a very positive manner.

The Bengal Chamber also launched its niche "BCC&i Ease of Doing Business Advisory App" for Industry stakeholders where the Subscribed Members as well as non−members can now ask queries and take the benefit of experts from The Chamber in diverse areas. They can also request for conferences with experts and get well researched and regular business updates on this App.