Friday, December 9 2005 15:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Thiruvananthapuram: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee today (Dec 9,2005) said zhe 'alternative left path of development' adopted in his state could be ideal for Kerala.

Inaugurating the three-day 'International Congress on Kerala Studies' organized by the AKG Study Centre here, he said while formulating the development strategy for the 10 years of the state, experience of West Bengal in agriculture, industry, and service sectors was very relevant.

Giving details of the achievements of West Bengal in the field of agriculture, industry and service sector, he said West Bengal's success was mainly due to the implementation of land reforms, which led to the growth in rural sector.

'Without land reforms, no rural programme can sustain', he said.

Stating that his state's growth rate was 7 to 8 per cent, much above the national average, he said agriculture contributed 26 per cent to West Bengal's gross products while industry 24 per cent and service sector 50 per cent.

Suggesting that CPI-M was not against Foreign Direct Investments, Bhattacharjee said FDI from Japan was highest in West Bengal in new industries. The main emphasis of the Government now was to promote industries that would create more job opportunities.

Bhattacharjee said the growth in IT sector was 72 per cent and all major companies have their units in the IT sector in the state.