Bose told members of the Merchants Chamber of Commerce that Tripura is “very investor friendly.”

The MCC was hosting a ceremony to felicitate Sarkar.

“Tripura is well ahead of West Bengal in several aspects. Tripura has reached literacy levels of 83 per cent, while West Bengal is touching 75per cent,” Bose said, adding that Sarkar’s government has blend human development parameters with economic performance.

Bose and Sarkar were just back from the Coimbatore congress of the CPM, where the West Bengal CPM unit had been criticised for its poor record in the social sector including literacy, drinking water and implementation of NREGA.

Atul Churiwal, president MCC, stressed that despite large reserves of natural gas and great potential in horticulture and floriculture, Tripura’s infrastructure was poor.

Replying that connectivity had improved considerably, Sarkar admitted there was lot to be done.

“The roads are not good in the rural areas. We have asked the Centre to give us one more national highway at least,” he said, adding that Tripura is floating on natural gas.

While ONGC and GAIL are now into exploration of gas in the state, Tripura is not closed to private players.