KOLKATA: For the first time since Mamata Banerjee became West Bengal chief minister 14 years ago, a sitting chairman of the Tata Group called on her officially. Natarajan Chandrasekaran, head of the Tata conglomerate, met Banerjee at Nabanna on Wednesday to discuss potential investments in the state, marking a significant moment in Bengal’s industrial engagement history.
The meeting, held at the CM’s 14th-floor office, lasted about an hour and was the first direct conversation between a Bengal CM and the Tata Group’s top executive since the company’s controversial exit from Singur in 2008. That exit, prompted by the agitation against land acquisition led by Banerjee as the then opposition leader, had strained ties between the Tatas and the state government for over a decade.
Although no official statement was released regarding the agenda, senior government officials indicated that discussions likely touched on the availability of large land parcels for industrial purposes. Another subject possibly explored was the introduction of a direct Air India flight from Kolkata to Europe, aligning with the Tata Group’s ownership of the airline.
The Tata Group maintains a significant footprint in West Bengal through companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Steel, Tata Hitachi, and Tata Consumer Products (formerly Tata Tea). However, despite this presence, Banerjee had not met either of Chandrasekaran’s predecessors—Ratan Tata or Cyrus Mistry—since becoming CM.
Chandrasekaran was accompanied by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) director-general Chandrajit Banerjee, while state chief secretary Manoj Pant was also present at the meeting. Chandrasekaran reportedly left the city shortly after the discussion concluded.
