Calcutta, April 9 :    Calcutta, April 9:  Mesmerised by the success of Wal-Mart-a retail chain in the US which topped this year's Fortune 500 list with total revenues of $ 2,19,812 million-Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today picked retailing as one of the major pillars of the services sector. Speaking at the annual session of the Confederation of Indian Industry (eastern region), Bhattacharjee said: 'Our government has given constant attention to one of the most vibrant aspects of the services sector, namely the 'retail' sphere. World-wide, retail is almost always the largest source of employment in the private sector and I believe that a well-developed retail industry in any state can absorb between 8 and 10 per cent of its total employable workforce.' 'Maybe his idea of focusing more on retail has been guided by the recent declaration of Wal-Mart stores as number one in the list of Fortune 500 . It has become a much-talked about topic in Writers' Buildings these days,' a senior commerce and industry official said. The theme of CII's annual session was 'Emerging business opportunities in the services sector in the eastern region'. CII president Sanjiv Goenka and Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi were also present at the meeting. The chief minister said the government has taken up the task of remodelling the commerce wing of the state's commerce and industries department to assist the growth of the services sector. The commerce wing has been interacting with different organisations engaged in services such as trade, retail, finance, exports, construction and the like is coming up with strategies specific to the growth of each sector. 'Our recent success in the IT sector is well-known and its growth in the state continues despite the recession. We have engaged McKinsey & Co to assist us in formulating the business plan for development in the IT sector and also for agri-related industrial and services sector activities,' he added. Bhattacharjee said the state is taking major strides in the areas of entertainment and communications. The state government, in collaboration with the Government of Italy, has undertaken a project under which it will open a training institute and production centre near Salt Lake for making social communication films. The institute, Roop Kala Kendra, is expected to commence full-fledged operations by September this year.