Highways, ports to drive urbanisation in Bengal: Jaitley

Kolkata, Jan 7 (IANS) With West Bengal featuring as the gateway to Southeast Asia, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday said he wants to see "glorious highways" and modernised ports in West Bengal which will also lead to the creation of more urban and suburban areas.

"I would be delighted to see if West Bengal becomes a state with some glorious highways, a state where the ports become more modernised, it'll also be a first step to a creation of more urban and suburban areas and more townships in the state," Jaitley said at the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit here.

"At the end of the day, they are important engines of growth as far as the states are concerned," he added.

Jaitley said the aspirational class across India is expanding and West Bengal needs more townships to cater to people's wishes.

"They are not supposed to live indefinitely in villages. The aspirational class in India is expanding... They are shifting in large numbers to urban and suburban centres because that's where the economic activity is," he said.

The minister of corporate affairs said West Bengal needs many more universities and colleges for scientific and intellectual development.

He said tourism, healthcare, manufacturing and infrastructure are the key areas for consideration of investment in the state.