Ratan Tata: Plainspeak

Calcutta, Jan. 11: The people of Bengal have to decide if they want industrialisation, Ratan Tata said today.

Talking to reporters after the launch of Nano, the world’s cheapest car slated to roll out from Singur, he said industries were needed because they created jobs.

“Lack of industrialisation has hurt the people of Bengal. If people do not want industrialisation, it’s easiest for anyone not to go to the state. Bengal will remain an agri-based state,” Tata added.

He praised Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and some of his cabinet colleagues for their drive for industrialisation. “In (the) years ahead, we want to look back and feel that our faith in the Buddhadeb government was well founded and justified. We greatly appreciate (the) CM’s involvement and encouragement.”

In Singur, he said, people would be trained to make them employable. “We are providing school, conducting health camps in Singur.”

Tata also listed the investments his group would make in the state. Tata Steel is investing in coke and power plants in Haldia. Telcon is setting up a plant in Kharagpur. TCS is looking at setting up a large facility in Calcutta.

The “country’s largest cancer hospital” with “world-class research and development” facilities will also be built in Calcutta. Fifty per cent of the beds there will come free for those who cannot afford to pay.

“We hope to bring back many doctors now based abroad,” Tata said. “Most cancer patients from the eastern part of the country do not have access to adequate treatment.”

Yesterday was “the happiest day of my life”, he said about the launch of Nano, and dismissed concerns about traffic congestion, pollution and the car’s safety standards.

“Safety on four wheels is by far superior than on a two-wheeler,” he said.

Tata Motors MD Ravi Kant said the people of Bengal “should feel proud that the People’s Car has come from Bengal, which hasn’t seen industrialisation in many years”.