The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association with JETRO and Japanese Consulate in Kolkata organised the Japan Country Session at the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) 2019 on 7th February at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, Kolkata. The programme, split into three sessions, saw Shri Debashis Sen, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Information Technology & Electronics, Government of West Bengal & Chairman and Managing Director, Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, Government of West Bengal and Chairman, Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority, deliver the opening remarks. He expressed how keen Bengal government is to build bridges with Japan and welcomed their involvement in building a robust platform for artificial intelligence and its applications, clean air and pollution free initiatives and transportation in general.

The opening session also witnessed His Excellency Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India deliver his Welcome Remarks. He mentioned that the number of Japanese companies in India is increasing. The number has now reached 1441. He spoke about India's promotion of the Act East Policy and Japan's renewed interest in West Bengal. Following this, the President of Kawasaki Rikuso Transportation, Mr. Keiichi Higuchi during his speech presented the inauguration of the KRT plant at Singur on January 1, 2019. The plant is a self- generating and charging temperature controlled warehouse. Many such small warehouses with operating space of a decent 2000 sq ft are in the plans which will be affordable and will not be far from farms. These warehouses implement Nizuri, the Japanese technique of warehousing and use Shikkui plaster to keep walls durable and humidity under control. Mr. Higuchi termed them as medium technology settlements which are easier to setup, operate and maintain. He ascertained that they will go a long way in increasing farmer's income.

The next session on Japanese Official Activities commenced as Mr. Arnab Basu, Chairperson, IT Committee, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited, took up the role of moderator. He stressed again on the humungous number of Japanese companies in our country but however grieved that the north eastern region of India has yet to see enough interest from them.

Mr. Katsuo Matsumoto, Chief Representative, JICA India office, after gracing the stage said that JICA, a government agency of Japan that implements Official Development Assistance (ODA), over the past 40 years, has become one of the closest development partners in West Bengal. The cooperation with Bengal has now expanded to various fields. JICA funded projects have enhanced economic growth, quality of life and business environment of the state. Since the first ODA loan provision in 1983, JICA has made commitment of ODA loan for 28 projects, which amounts to JPY 352 billion (around INR 23,000 crore). The agency has further supported prioritized areas which contribute to the sound development of the state. Currently they support areas such as Energy, Water, Waste Management, Metro, Forestry & Biodiversity and Private Partnership.

Mr. Kanzuya Nakajo, the Chief Director General of JETRO New Delhi, citing examples of success cases of Indo-Japan collaboration such as Calsonic Kansei - Larsen & Toubro and Gray Orange - Ground Inc, explained how the role of Indian companies has changed from just being an outsource partner to being a total collaborator. Mr. Takeshi Sato, Representative, NEDO New Delhi Office, took the discussion forward presenting New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization or NEDO's activities in India. Japan's largest public sector organization, established in 1980, operates to address energy and global environmental problems. NEDO has already completed 13 projects pan India and are currently working on Micro-Grid System with PV Power Generation, Smart Grid Pilot Project, EMS for Multiple Energy Sources at Steel Plant and ICT Based Green Hospital.

The seminar moved towards the last session on Showcasing Japanese Technology & Products which was moderated by Shri Debasish Sen. Mr. N Venkatakrishnan, Senior Vice President & CFO, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery exhibited the 50 + year joint venture between Tata and Hitachi. Employing more than 1930 people, the organization has its facilities in Dharwad, Jamshedpur and Bangalore apart from the one in Kharagpur, established in 2009, which over the years has grown to become the India's largest State of Art CE Manufacturing Plant. Currently the facility has 20 - 45 T and Wheeled Products. Mr. Kosuke Nakagawa, COO, Tera Motors then introduced Tera Motors' electric vehicle business which focuses on South and South East Asian markets. He also said that the company is also venturing into the drone business. The company currently manufactures E-Rickshaws with around 2000 monthly sales. Mr. Sanjay Mundley, Senior Vice President - Business Development, Mistubishi Heavy Industries displayed a corporate overview of Mistubishi Hitachi Power Systems India whose product line includes Gas Turbine Combined Power Plants, Boiler Turbine Generation Plants, Integrated coal Gasification Combined Cycle Power Plants, Geothermal Power Plants, Generators, Boilers and more. They also have complete integration of emission control systems which will help meet the criteria for the new emission norms in India. MHPS also delivers novel emission reduction technology which has been developed to meet the strict emission norms in World Bank, Japan, EU and the US. Having served all throughout the world, the company boasts an incredible order amount of 35.2 billion USD from 2017. Thereafter, Mr. Masato Yuasa, President & CEO, Nomura Research Institute Financial Technologies India, graced the stage to deliver on NRI FinTech's capacity to deliver a range of reliable, scalable and adaptable IT Solutions to capital market entities around the world. NRI FinTech has 300 technical consultants focused on consulting, design, development, delivery and support who ensure a balanced skill set to optimize delivery quality. They work on I-STAR/GV, I-STAR/CS and T-STAR/GV, serving clients such as Broker Dealers, Custodians and Asset Managers.

The three-session program concluded with Mr. Subrata Majumdar's deliverance of the Vote of Thanks. He thanked the West Bengal Government for taking the initiative to host a summit of such a big stature, of which the Japan Session was a part of.