History - Business Chamber in India

Our Legacy

The Chamber turned into the financial universe of the East from the mid 19th century - not merely as a forum for networking, but as a powerful enabler lobbying for the development of the economy and infrastructure. It became the first port of call on matters of Federal and State Government policies and legislation.

The legislations that the Chamber reviewed and commented upon before their passage through the Parliament and Assembly are too numerous to be commented upon separately.

Some of the mentionable ones are:

• ● Association with the framing of the Customs Act, tariff policy and shipping laws.


• ● Drafting the first Life Assurance Legislation (1910) & a critical role in framing the country's first Income Tax legislation.


• ● The Chamber suggested modifications in the Indian Companies Act and the Indian Insurance Act and examined and certain changes in the first Indian Electricity Bill (1902).


• ● Critical involvement in the conceptualization of the old Dum Dum airport and the Howrah Bridge.


• ● The Chamber even lobbied for the creation of overland trade routes with China through Tibet.

The Bengal Chamber has helped in the formation of a slew of educational and cultural institutions - Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), Nazrul Manch and the Academy of Fine Arts apart from bringing to Kolkata the son-et-lumiere at the Victoria Memorial.

For Society

190 years old, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry has always recognized the fact that in the new environment of society, industry and business, the need for Corporate to internalize and demonstrate their responsibilities to the society in which they operate is no longer a matter of debate. From being the chief relief distributor during the Great Bengal Famine of 1943 and taking a leading part in the Bihar Drought Relief programme in the late 1960s to adopting a Rural Development Programme in a cluster of twenty villages near Kolkata from 1977 to 1985 to initiating a movement on Corporate Citizenship and Social Responsibility, The Chamber has taken CSR as one of the guiding principles for business operations.

In mid-2009, when large parts of West Bengal were ravaged by a cyclone of monstrous proportions, a team from The Bengal Chamber visited the cyclone battered villages in remote and inaccessible places where relief had not reached the population. The team distributed clothing, food and water to 800 individuals in the villages of Lahiripur, Char Gheri and Kalidaspur of the Sundarbans area of South 24 Parganas. The affected people had lost everything but had not lost the will to fight back against the unpredictable vagaries of nature. It was this unconquerable spirit of the people which prompted The Chamber to further donate a cheque for Rupees Six Lakhs Fifty Nine Thousand to Sri Ramkrishna Ashram, Nimpith, which the latter had used towards digging of deep tube-wells in remote areas of Sundarbans. More significant than the amount of monetary contribution was the spirit and the organization of the Chamber to be the first to reach the inaccessible villages and provide on-the-ground relief to the affected families. The Chamber will be remembered by those hundreds for making a difference when all seemed lost.

In keeping with our tradition of standing with and by our fellow citizens in times of crisis, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry provided relief materials to one of the of the worst affected areas in South 24 Parganas devastated by Super Cyclone Amphan.

The Chamber Secretariat visited Ramganga Village in Patharpratima on 30th May 2020 with 4 trucks carrying relief materials. 500 Tarpaulin sheets, 500 solar lanterns, basic medicines and twelve thousand packets of biscuits were handed over to Shri Rathin Chandra Dey, BDO, Patharpratima. Additionally 500 buckets were handed over to the villagers including 4 litres water bottles, 6 packets of biscuits, 250 grams of puffed rice, 250 grams of flat rice, 500 grams of jaggery, powder milk for babies, 16 pieces of sanitary napkins,4 sachets of ORS and 9 packets of noodles.

The Chamber Today

Today, the Chamber's range of operations is diverse and evolving over time. The Chamber is deeply involved in areas like Healthcare, Education, Energy and Environment, Information Technology, Finance and Banking, Corporate Governance, MSME Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Tourism - to name a few and has now assumed a multi-faceted role. Our tie-up with the European Business and Technology Centre (EBTC) on promoting clean technology access deserves special mention. Our linkages with overseas Governments, Businesses and Institutions are growing stronger by the day and we have created very relevant B2B platforms for both inward and outward investments by hosting delegations and taking regular business missions spanning continents. We have over 30 sector/area specific Committees catalyzing business growth, industrial development and socio-economic progress. The Chamber's AGM2013 was graced by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President of India which was an unprecedented occasion, in the words of the President of India, for Chambers of Commerce in general.

  Chamber Initiatives