Adani Says Eastern India Must Drive Country’s Next Trillion Dollars of Growth

Kolkata — Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said Thursday that eastern India must play a larger role in driving the country’s next phase of economic growth, with West Bengal positioned as a key part of that expansion.

Speaking at the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Adani said much of India’s economic momentum over the past several decades has been concentrated in the western and southern regions, but the next stage of growth will require new centers of economic activity.

“For India’s next trillion dollars of growth, the East must rise. And this is where Bengal becomes essential to fulfil the vision of Viksit Bharat. And, in my view, no location in India has Bengal’s combination of advantages,” Adani said.

He pointed to West Bengal’s geographic position, with the mineral and industrial regions of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to the west, the Northeast to the north and east, and access through the Bay of Bengal to markets across Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

“In the language of infrastructure, Bengal is not simply just another market. It is a strategic national node waiting for the expansion of its potential networks. And this is how, at Adani, we see the promise of Bengal,” he said.

Adani said the group plans to invest more than Rs 1 lakh crore in West Bengal over the next decade across ports, logistics, power generation, transmission and distribution, roads, bridges, ropeways, green cement and hyperscale data centers.

“Over the coming decade, our intent is to deploy over one lakh crore rupees across Bengal. This will span ports, logistics, power generation, power transmission and distribution, roads, bridges and ropeways, green cement, as well as hyperscale data centres,” he said.

Adani also said development should not be measured only in infrastructure or industrial output, but in its effect on people.

He cited the group’s planned Adani Arogya Mandir, a 2,000-bed medical institute in New Town, saying half of the beds would be reserved for patients who cannot afford quality medical care.

Adani also outlined plans to support cultural and heritage projects in West Bengal, including the revitalization of Kumartuli Ghat, a curated Durga Puja program and conservation efforts at the historic Writers’ Building.

“But while we build for Bengal’s future, we must also honour what makes Bengal timeless — and that is its ghats, its literature, its architecture, its festivals, and its extraordinary cultural confidence,” he said.

Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, Adani described Mundra in Gujarat as his first “karmabhoomi” and said he hoped West Bengal would become his second.

“Mundra in the West was to become my first karmabhoomi. Today, with the same humility and sense of responsibility, it is my prayer to Maa that Bengal in the East becomes my second karmabhoomi,” he said.

“Not because Bengal must become another Gujarat — but because Bengal must become the strongest version of Bengal itself, drawing upon its geography, its intellect, its industrial legacy, and its historic ability to awaken the nation,” Adani added. (Source: IANS)