'I'm willing to apologise for everything...': Can Swapan Dasgupta bring Tata Sons back to Bengal? 

West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta has made one of his strongest pitches yet to revive the state's investment story. In a recent interview, he extended an open invitation to the Tata Group to return to Bengal, saying he was prepared to make an extraordinary gesture if it helped restore the relationship.

"I want Tata to come back... I'm willing to apologise for everything. You take a call on what you (Tatas) want to do, semiconductors or whatever, but come back. I want to put West Bengal back into the Tata ecosystem."

The remarks go beyond a corporate invitation. They acknowledge the lasting impact of the Singur episode and seek to reassure investors that West Bengal wants to turn the page on one of the most defining chapters in its industrial history.

Why the Tata story still resonates

The Tata Motors Nano project at Singur was once expected to transform West Bengal into an automobile manufacturing hub. Instead, the project was relocated to Gujarat in 2008 after prolonged protests over land acquisition, becoming a watershed moment for the state's investment climate.

Dasgupta believes the damage went beyond the loss of one factory.

"We want industry back. We want business back, we want technology back. We are good with handicrafts, culture, but with that we need industries to register growth."

"We need to make a certain public demonstration, like a redemption. We have changed," he said, describing the Tata Group's return as an opportunity to signal that Bengal is once again open for business.

Dasgupta's appeal is less about one company and more about restoring confidence among investors. Recalling the long association that industrial houses such as the Tata Group and the Aditya Birla Group once had with eastern India, he argued that West Bengal needs to rebuild those relationships.

Change is here

Dasgupta also argued that Bengal's industrial revival should not happen in isolation. He called for closer economic cooperation with neighbouring Odisha, saying the state has "come of age" and praising both the Naveen Patnaik and the present governments for driving industrial growth. "If we can get a good sort of synergy working with Odisha... we've got to recognise that Odisha has come of age," he said, adding that Bengal should learn from the policy continuity that has helped Odisha attract investment.

Last month, Dasgupta, in his first budget under the new government, highlighted this shift in approach. He described it as a break from decades of policy, with a focus on promoting business, improving connectivity with Central government schemes and accelerating development in north Bengal. He said the government wanted to send an unambiguous message that West Bengal is "clearly, emphatically and unquestionably business-friendly."

What happened in the Singur land acquisition case?

The Singur controversy began in 2006-07 after the West Bengal government acquired around 997 acres of farmland for Tata Motors' Nano car project. Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress led a prolonged agitation, alleging that fertile multi-crop land had been acquired forcibly from unwilling farmers. The protests intensified through 2007 and 2008, despite court rulings upholding the land allotment.

In October 2008, Tata Motors shifted the Nano project to Sanand, Gujarat. In 2016, the Supreme Court declared the land acquisition illegal and ordered the return of the land to over 9,000 owners. Later, in 2023, Tata Motors won an arbitral award of ₹766 crore, plus 11% interest, for losses arising from the abandoned Singur project.