Reliance plans to invest $2.4b in West Bengal

Mumbai, Nov 21 (Reuters): India's Reliance Industries plans to invest 200 billion rupees ($2.40 billion) in eastern state of West Bengal over next three years to expand Reliance's telecom, retail, energy businesses in the state, Chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Tuesday.

After investing close to 450 billion rupees ($5.40 billion) in the state of West Bengal, Reliance would be making additional investments for rapid roll out of its 5G network, expansion of retail stores and for setting up compressed biogas plants, Ambani said in a speech at the Bengal Global Business Summit.

Reliance has so far covered 98.8 per cent of the population of the state with its 5G telecom network, enabling use of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other disruptive technologies to modernise its economy, Ambani said.

The investment announcements also come as a boost for the state's chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, the head of the Trinamool Congress party, who earlier this year called for a unified opposition to challenge Narendra Modi's right-wing BJP party in the 2024 elections.